No one wants to be the person in the office, or the roommate, or the significant other that has to hide their smelly gym bag in the deepest and darkest corners of their closet. You know there’s a serious problem when that awesome designer sack that you splurged on to motivate you to actually go to the gym this year smells worse than the cat litter… or trash can… or garbage disposal… or compost. (Does anyone actually compost? No seriously, comment below.)
The real issue is not actually the smell; people can survive the foul odor or you can invest in an air freshener. The problem is that the people at the front desk who sign you up for a membership don’t tell you that the gym isn’t exactly a very clean place. They don’t enforce the use a towel rule… or the clean your equipment after you use it rule… or the put your weights back rule… I’ll stop there.
Take every germ, bacteria, virus, and other nasty thing you can imagine and give it a nice, warm, moist environment like the equipment at the gym, or those weightlifting gloves you use so you feel tough (studded, like you’re in a biker gang, right?) or don’t get callouses, or your sweat stained socks you happened to forget to air out and throw in the hamper. I haven’t used gloves to work out since 2009. Why? Something found its way from the gym equipment, to my hands, into my gloves, spread from my sweat, and my entire forearm, wrist, and hand was covered in a nasty, bumpy, itchy rash for months. It was awful.
So let’s get to the point, what’s the solution? Keep your workout gear clean! The people over at PartSelect did an amazing job throwing together this visually appealing infographic that tells you green, yet effective, ways to keep yourself and your gear clean before, while, and after you exercise. Sure, you could use the stuff at the gym but you have no idea if they’re trying to keep costs down by filling it with water and some vinegar. That won’t kill everything. Keep a bottle of some of this at home and when you get home sanitize your bag. Trust me, it’s worth it because you don’t want me to say… I told you so. And as always, stay hungry and fit!
