The weight room is a dark and dingy place. We wear tennis shoes, big shirts, Spandex and mesh clothing. We sweat. We breathe heavily. This place seems like the last place you would worry about etiquette. However, there are many subtle rules that exist in the gym in addition to the typical signage posted throughout. I’ll give you five of the most common offenses I’ve seen around our gym.

The Loyola Recreational Complex is our gym. It contains enough machines and weights for a sufficient workout. But it’s small, and weight lifting stations and cardio equipment can fill up quickly.

This leads me to Rule 1: Don’t hang out on the equipment. Use it. Do what you need to do. Then get off of it. If you see a friend and you want to catch up, just step out of the way so that someone else can use the equipment.

There are two full sets of dumbbells and one full set of weighted barbells in the Rec Plex. They are crammed into small corners of the weight room.

Rule 2: The space in front of a rack of weights is not the appropriate place to perform your exercises. Pick up your weights, and then take them to an open area on the floor. Standing in front of the rack prevents other people from using the remaining weights on it.

Another drawback about the size of the weight room at the Rec Plex is that we only have access to one power/squat rack and one Smith machine.

Rule 3: The Smith machine and squat rack are not for performing curls. There are at least six other barbells in the weight room. Use one of those stations for curls if you must, but please don’t take the only squat rack.

We all get sweaty when we work out. We all smell kind of bad. We all use different amounts of weight.

Rule 4: Clean up after yourself; leave each station as you found it. If you sweat a lot, wipe it up. If you’re done with the barbell, take the weight off of it. Not everyone can lift what you can. If you’re done with the dumbbells, put them back in order. This isn’t your gym, it’s our gym, and no one wants to pick up after you.

Exercising can be hazardous. It’s remarkably easy to severely hurt yourself while exercising, especially when you’re doing something new. One of the best ways to prevent injury is to have a spotter.

Rule 5: Ask for a spot. If you’re doing something out of your comfort zone (maxing out, trying a new exercise, etc.), then you need a spot. It is extremely distracting to have to stop what you’re doing to go save someone who is trapped under weight. No one will ever say no to a request for a spot because we all need it from time to time.