---
title: 'Every Gym Etiquette Explained (dont look silly)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=8ISoZsWzwjk'
video_id: '8ISoZsWzwjk'
date: 2026-08-01
duration_sec: 500
---

# Every Gym Etiquette Explained (dont look silly)

> Source: [Every Gym Etiquette Explained (dont look silly)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=8ISoZsWzwjk)

## Summary

This video breaks down the most common gym etiquette rules, covering everything from not hogging equipment and re-racking weights to respecting personal space and avoiding unsolicited advice. The speaker emphasizes that small courtesies go a long way in creating a positive, safe gym environment for everyone.

### Key Points

- **Don't Hog Equipment** [00:01] — Avoid taking every dumbbell or claiming multiple stations at once. Allow others to work in if they ask. Never reserve a machine with a towel—you're either using it or not.
- **Maintain Personal Hygiene** [01:04] — Always wear clean clothes to the gym. Overusing body spray can be worse than smelling bad. Wipe away sweat from equipment after use.
- **Re-Rack Your Weights** [01:59] — Return dumbbells and plates to their proper locations after use. Failing to re-rack, especially heavy plates, is inconsiderate and burdensome for others.
- **Respect Personal Space** [02:49] — Don't step in front of someone using the mirror, as it ruins their set. Give each person enough room to train comfortably.
- **Avoid Unsolicited Advice** [03:26] — Offering unsolicited advice, especially to strangers, is annoying and condescending. You may not know the full context, like doing partial reps for a reason.
- **Don't Doom Scroll on Machines** [04:42] — Sitting on a machine and scrolling social media is rude, especially when the gym is crowded. Track progress on paper to avoid phone distractions.
- **Don't Interrupt a Set** [05:32] — Never distract or touch someone while they're mid-set. It can cause injury or ruin their lift. Wait until they finish to talk.
- **Be Mindful with the Squat Rack** [06:12] — Avoid curling in the squat rack unless there's no alternative barbell. Never bring dumbbells into the squat rack to do curls—it's unnecessary and blocks others.
- **Don't Waste Others' Time** [07:02] — Intentionally wasting someone's time at the gym is rude and disrespectful. Treat others' time as valuable.
- **Always Ask** [07:15] — When unsure, ask instead of assuming. For spotting, clarify what you'll do. Assumptions can ruin someone's set or cause misunderstandings.

### Conclusion

Basic gym etiquette comes down to respect and common sense: don't hog, don't disrupt, and always ask. Following these simple rules makes the gym safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

## Transcript

equipment in the gym is one of the most annoying things that you can do. It's with a couple of dumbbells, but don't take every single dumbbell on the rack like an absolute madman. This also goes for when you do some kind of super set
on multiple stations at once. It's completely okay to do that, but you need to allow people to work in with you if they ask. You can't say, "I'm using that." and then point to five different stations at once. I can guarantee you
that you will not make any new friends doing this. And what is probably the absolute worst thing imaginable is when someone puts a towel on some machine, walks away, and pretends like it now belongs to him. It really is one of the
most infuriating things imaginable. You simply can't claim a machine in the gym like you just bought a plot of land. That's not how it works. You are either using it or you are not. I don't want to see your smelly towel laying on a
your smoothie and trying to unsuccessfully re-up that chick behind want to be an equipment hog, then you just need to build your own home gym. Then you can hog it all day long. Smell.
Everyone has that one stinky and smelly dude in their gym. And the best part about that guy is that he will never use a towel and always leave the seat themselves right there. And of course, he wears a t-shirt that was last washed
in 1907. So, you feel his presence even if you don't see him. That is just so many gym etiquette violations in one. First of all, always wear clean clothes because you might not smell it, but the others surely will. Clean clothes really
are one of the most important things. And I don't care how much Axe body spray you put on yourself to mask it because you can't. And in fact, people that use so much body spray that when they walk around you, you can't even breathe might
arguably be even worse than if they smelled absolutely terrible. Then wipe away the sweat once you are finished because nobody wants to sit in your Shrek's swamp. Re-rack. Re-racking your weights is one of the most basic
pair of dumbbells from the rack, put them back exactly where they should be. This will make it so much easier for everyone. Re-racking your weights is especially important when it comes to exercises where you can load a bunch of
plates. It's cool if you can squat 405, but you need to put those plates back. Imagine that a complete beginner comes to squat rack after you. It would probably take him ages to get rid of all those plates. Not re-racking your
weights is borderline criminal. So, please always re-rack your weights. What is also very much criminal is still doing random exercises and having no check out my training plans. They will give you the exact structure that you
need to succeed. All you need to do is follow it and get the results. You can check it out down in the first link below. Personal space. When you go to the gym, there is a lot of people, but even though it might look rather chaotic
and random, each person needs some personal space. And it's very, very upsetting if you disturb that personal space. For example, if you see someone doing lateral raises in front of the mirror, don't walk up right in front of
think they are doing lateral raises in front of the mirror? Yeah, obviously they want to see themselves. And if you step in in front of them like an absolute donkey, you completely ruin their set. If you want to just quickly
quickly disappear, that's understandable. But literally going in front of the guy to block his view while he is doing an exercise is absolutely mental. Don't be a smart-ass. If you have been watching a lot of YouTube
videos, you might feel you are really smart about all the gym stuff, but if you are not careful, it might come off as condescending. No one likes when someone goes for the classic, "Um, actually that's incorrect." especially
if you are rocking that science-based build. Then you will most definitely you what happened to me a couple of months ago. I was training in a gym on the chest press machine doing some partial reps at the end of the set to
failure. And then I had a guy that looked like it was his first day in the gym come to me and say, "You really need to work on your range of motion, man. You are just doing half reps." When I heard this, I was in a complete state of
shock. I had no clue what I should say. In my head, I was thinking, "You realize that my biceps is the size of your thighs, right?" After a couple seconds of my blank stare where it looked like my soul just left my body, he walked
that he actually went back to working out. He literally went to the guy next to me and also started to give him his very useful advice. All right, I might be just venting at this point, but you know, giving good advice to someone who
looks like they are very new to the gym in a friendly manner can be great, but going to the gym just to give out unsolicited advice is both useless and annoying, especially if you have no idea what you're talking about. Doom
scroller. If you want to be a doom scroller at home, be my guest. That's your business. But jumping on an leg extension machine, for example, just do one set every 10 minutes and then sit and scroll for an eternity is just
extremely rude, especially if the gym is super crowded. When you are working out, it's not the time to be scrolling social media. It completely takes you out of the workout mood. That's why I'm a such a big fan of tracking your progress on
paper and not on your phone because then you are running the risk of your brain going on autopilot and automatically opening Twitter or some other realizing that you are doing it. You might not realize it, but you do this
exact thing. It's like a tick where you just automatically grab your phone and open your favorite app on complete autopilot. And instead of checking your progress, you end up arguing with Elon Musk by complete accident. Don't
interrupt. The rule of not interrupting is very important. If someone is in the middle of a set, don't ask them any questions. Don't distract them. Don't finish the set, then you can talk to them. For majority of people, this is
basic decency, but from time to time, you run into complete lunatics. Imagine you are lifting the weight up, some dude starts banging on your shoulder. Doing something like that just deserves a punch in the face because you could
seriously injure someone by doing ignorant things like this. So, never, and I repeat, never disrupt anyone while they are in the middle of the set. Squat rack. If you have ever done squats, you probably know that they are done in the
something a little different. I'm of course talking about the infamous curling in the squat rack. But this isn't as black and white as one would barbell curl in the squat rack all the
time. Not because I particularly want to, but because my gym of choice is super old school and also super small. So, there is just one squat rack and one benching station. And if I want to do a barbell curl, I need a barbell,
obviously. So, I really don't have a choice. If you can get a barbell from somewhere else than the squat rack, then there is absolutely no reason for you to block the squat rack. Or God forbid you bring the dumbbells into the squat rack
to do the dumbbell curl because at that point, I'm absolutely certain that you amusement. Time is one of the most important things we have, and intentionally wasting the time of other people is very rude and disrespectful
and will definitely not make you any friends. Always ask. No matter what the situation is, it's always better to ask if you are not sure about something because you know what they say about assuming. It makes an ass of you and me.
Just by asking, you can easily prevent so many weird situations from happening. for a spot on the bench press. So, you agree. They start pressing the weight up, and the bar slows down. So, you instinctively grab it, and you pull it
up. But unfortunately, you just ruined someone's set because what the guy wanted from you is to just grab the bar in case he wouldn't be able to lift it. He was slowly grinding that bar up and would have been able to finish the rep
by himself, but you ruined it because instead of asking, you just assumed. That's why it's always important to ask because it shows that you have respect for all the other gym members and that you actually care, and people really
like that. It just builds a really good atmosphere because usually you will over and over. So, it's good to have a nice and friendly relationship with them. And you never know, you might even make some great friends while doing so.
enjoyed. Don't forget about the training plans in the description, and I will see Take a look at this video. I think it's pretty good. pretty good. [Music]