The Treadmill Is Dirtier Than Your Toilet Seat- So What Next?

It’s a little-kept secret that the gym is one of the dirtiest places you can enter. In fact, the average piece of gym equipment is dirtier than your toilet seat. Research has found that free-weights contain up to 360 times more bacteria than a toilet seat and treadmills contain 70 times more bacteria than a public water tap. Shocked? Hardly. 

It takes less than five minutes to look around at a gym and to find sweat dripping all over equipment and hundreds of people handling gym equipment, much more focused on their form than where their bodily fluids are ending up. Some of the most prevalent bacteria found at the gym included anything from flu and gastro related bugs to the HPV virus, warts, and other fungal bacteria.  Now we are not trying to put you off from going to the gym and certainly won't be an out card for those who were looking for an excuse to cancel that late afternoon session (nice try). Here are some simple steps and rules to follow to ensure a germ-free visit. 

- Apply a 1-wear rule to all gym clothes. While it may be tempting to recycle your gym clothes and wait for that end of week laundry run, germs found on gym equipment will not only survive but will thrive on your moist gym clothes. Re-wearing your gym clothes will leave you more susceptible to yeast infections, ringworm, and rashes.

- Don’t ever walk around a gym barefoot, not even during your yoga class or Pilate’s class. When it comes to hygiene, leave your earth-loving vibes at the door and ensure you have socks on at all times (a pair that will go straight from the gym into your wash basket)

- Always pack your own gym or yoga mat to avoid lying in a pool of someone else’s sweat. Not a scare tactic but the hard, cold truth. By design, Yoga mats will soak up any moisture it comes into contact with. -       Don’t recycle your gym towel for use in the shower. Pack two separate towels and ensure you wear things in the shower.

 - Cover any open wounds you have before you enter the gym, for your own sake and that of other gym goers. While an obvious choice, many gym enthusiasts will obtain scrapes and scratches during those grueling CrossFit and Weights sessions. Don’t wait until the class is finished to attend to your wound. 

 - Disinfect all gym equipment before and after use. With all gyms providing their very own bottles, sprays, and wipes, there is no excuse not to really