--- title: The 10 Commandments of Gym Etiquette description: Treat others who are working out as you'd like to be treated canonical: https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-14T17:20:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:36.352Z og:title: The 10 Commandments of Gym Etiquette og:description: Treat others who are working out as you'd like to be treated og:url: https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt836b6e3b11c94f42/698779c9cd1bba396d6f49f6/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: gym og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 10 Commandments of Gym Etiquette twitter:description: Treat others who are working out as you'd like to be treated twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt836b6e3b11c94f42/698779c9cd1bba396d6f49f6/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 10 Essential Rules of Gym Etiquette > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Jan 14, 2015 5:20 PM UTC  People exercising in health club People exercising in health club Getty Images by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Jan 14, 2015 5:20 PM UTC 1\. **Contain your exercise equipment.** Don’t leave your water bottle, towel, weights, and other equipment strewn all over the stretching area. That may fly in your bedroom, but others will not appreciate navigating an obstacle course on their way to work out. 2\. **Do not socialize.** While working out with a friend is a great motivator, it’s difficult for others to focus when you’re chatting loudly on the treadmill, or worse, standing on the machine next to them but _not actually using it._ That heat you feel on your back is people shooting daggers with their eyes. 3\. **Respect others’ headphones.** If you see someone you know at the gym, say hello! But don’t try to strike up a conversation with someone in the zone with headphones on. In fact, approaching someone with headphones can be _dangerous._ Tapping them on the shoulder could startle them enough to lose control, and we can pretty much guarantee they won’t be happy. 4\. **Share with others.** We know it’s tempting to hoard everything you need, but there is a gym full of people who likely use some of the same equipment, so loosen your grip a little. 5\. **Do not peer at adjacent TV screens.** You know that feeling you get when someone is looking over your shoulder and you can’t get anything done? That’s how it feels to have someone watching your channel on the elliptical television. 6\. **Do not loiter and text on a machine.** If you need to catch up on emails or text messages, feel free to do so in the locker room. Sitting on a machine texting, unfortunately, doesn’t count as working out. 7\. **Arrive to group classes on time.** If you’re late to a cardio class, politely set up in the back, and try not to disturb others. If you’re running late to yoga, know that you’re likely disrupting people’s practice when you enter 10 minutes after it starts. 8\. **Wipe down your machine.** We know—you think that the next person will just wipe down the treadmill before they start their workout. You’re wrong, though. 9\. **Do not douse yourself with perfume.** Perfume and sweat is not a great combo in an already smelly gym. But while you should skip the perfume, please _don’t_ skip the deodorant. 10\. **Do not stare.** No, everyone will not have a private little changing room in the locker rooms. Keep your eyes to yourself, please. _This_ [_article_](http://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/gym-etiquette-rules) _originally appeared on_ [_RealSimple.com_](http://www.realsimple.com)_._ _More from Real Simple:_ * [How to Master the ‘Coffee Interview’](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/job-career/mastering-coffee-interview?xid=time-rs-010815) * [Cold and Flu Prevention](http://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/cold-flu-allergies/cold-flu-prevention?xid=time-rs-010815) * [10 Whole Grain Breakfasts to Power Your Day](http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/healthy-meals/whole-grain-recipe-breakfasts?xid=time-rs-010815) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/"},"headline":"The 10 Essential Rules of Gym Etiquette","datePublished":"2015-01-14T17:20:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:36.352Z","description":"Treat others who are working out as you'd like to be treated","url":"https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/","keywords":["Living","fitness","Diet & Fitness","health","gym"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt836b6e3b11c94f42/698779c9cd1bba396d6f49f6/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Real Simple","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/real-simple/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt836b6e3b11c94f42/698779c9cd1bba396d6f49f6/gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"gym","caption":"","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/","name":"The 10 Essential Rules of Gym Etiquette"}}]}] ```