Germ Warfare - How to Protect Yourself While Working Out
Germs are everywhere. On the keys of ATM machines, stair railings and door handles. Every day you're exposed to an incredible variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa.
Fortunately, most of the time people remain healthy despite what surrounds them. We owe it to an immune system that (for most people) protects us from infectious diseases, and the simple fact that most of the germs we come into contact with can't hurt us.
FACT: Regular, moderate exercise is linked to fewer or shorter upper-respiratory infections.
Working out in a gym, just like any public place, can expose you to some of those germs. You can minimize your exposure to the potentially nasty ones if you take some simple precautions.
BEFORE YOU JOIN A GYM ask if they follow any code of practices covering health and safety. See if they belong to any associations or trade groups that require members meet minimum standards of hygiene or customer care.
Ask gym personnel what cleaning measures they take. It's not unreasonable to ask how often the equipment is wiped down.
Don't forget to give any potential gym the sniff test when you take a tour. Take a deep breath. Does it smell musty? If it does, that means they have a cleaning problem. Modern ventilation and HEPA filtration help limit airborne pathogens, so a fresh-smelling gym is more than cosmetic, it’s a health sign.
AT HOME remember to check your gym bag. It should have everything you'll need when you finish your workout so you don't have to borrow from a friend. Staph infections have been documented when people share towels or razors.
TIP: If you bring your own towels, put an X on one side. Keep the X side down so only one side comes into contact with any germs that may be on the equipment.
WHEN YOU GET TO THE GYM wash your hands before you begin your workout, so you reduce the number of germs you're bringing from outside. Use soap and water for 20 seconds when available (long enough to sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice). Use greater than 60% alcohol sanitizer when you cannot wash; rub until dry.
Learn more about the differences between handwashing and hand sanitizers here.
Avoid gyms that require you to touch something when you go in. Check-in procedures should be touchless.
Antibacterial Soaps Discontinued
Triclosan and triclocarban, common antibacterial chemicals, were phased out of consumer soaps. The FDA ruled they didn’t make handwashing more effective and might contribute to antibiotic resistance.
If you're at high risk for infectious diseases you should use bottles of alcohol-based sanitizers like Purell, which are even more effective at killing germs than soap and water. An added bonus is that the alcohol kills germs without creating antibiotic resistant super-germs.
If there's a cold or flu outbreak going on, you might want to avoid classes. Make sure you have at least 10 feet of space between you and the other class participants and consider wearing a mask. Classes outside are even better.
ONCE YOU START WORKING OUT you should always wipe down equipment with a towel after you've used it. If your gym provides a spray bottle with antiseptic cleaner, use it. Sweating at the gym is a good thing, but sweating on the equipment and not wiping it up is unhygienic and rude. Use EPA-registered disinfectant the gym provides and let surfaces stay wet for the label contact time.
Recent studies show that free weights can harbor up to 362 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, with over 1 million germs per square inch on some gym surfaces.
Carry two towels with you. Use one to put down on seats or benches before you use them. I suggest you always put the side with the tag on it against the equipment. That way your body is always touching just the clean side. Use the other towel to wipe your sweat away.
Don't rub your eyes, nose or touch your mouth with your hands. For an infection to spread it must have a point of entry into the body, and you don't want to provide that pathway.
You should also limit touching your phone, your earbuds or mouthguards mid-workout. If you do, sanitize your hands after. Phones can collect more than 10 times the bacteria of a gym bench.
An open cut is another entry point for germs, so clean minor cuts right away with an antiseptic wash and seal them with a waterproof bandage.
FACT: Something as simple as wiping your nose can make you sick! Approximately 20–30% carry Staphylococcus aureus in the nose. If you happen to wipe your nose and then later touch an open cut you can actually infect yourself with Staph, no outside help necessary.
Top Germ Hotspots in Gyms (2025)
- Free weights – 362× more bacteria than a toilet seat
- Treadmills – 74× more germs than household taps
- Locker room floors – Common sources of fungus causing athlete’s foot
- Yoga mats – Frequent carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and mold
(Stats from CBC Marketplace and GymMaster studies.)BACK IN THE LOCKER ROOM always wear your sandals or flip-flops. Walking across a locker room floor can expose bare feet to athlete's foot. You should also put a towel on the locker room bench before you sit down to avoid any bacterial infections left behind by the last person who sat there.
If you have time, take a shower after your workout. You'll wash away germs you might have come in contact with, plus you'll smell a lot better.
WHEN YOU GET HOME AGAIN, dry your weight lifting gloves out. Moist gloves can encourage bacterial growth. Wash them regularly with soap and water just like you would any other gym clothes. Change out of your gym shoes too and wash them at least once every few weeks.
While you're cleaning things, remember to wash your water bottle thoroughly after each use with hot water and soap. If you've got a dishwasher, run it through a cycle. Let it air dry completely before you screw the top on.
Finally, DON'T GO TO THE GYM WHEN YOU HAVE A COLD OR FLU
Some fitness experts suggest the "neck check" rule: exercise if symptoms are above the neck (runny nose, sneezing, scratchy throat) but stay home for below-the-neck symptoms (fever, muscle aches, coughing up phlegm).
We disagree. About 80% of infectious diseases spread through hand contact with contaminated surfaces. When you touch gym equipment, then touch your face, you create a pathway for infection. This includes germs from people with runny noses who touched surfaces before you.
If you feel well enough to exercise, work out at home. Keep your germs away from others at the gym.
MYTH: This one comes from runners. Some swear that jogging can clear their clogged sinus passages. The theory is based on the fact that the body releases epinephrine, a supposed natural decongestant.
Unfortunately it's not true. An overflooding of epinephrine can actually harm the immune system and cause more dire consequences to an already weakened immune system.
Eight Symptoms that Require a Doctor's Visit
If you have any of these symptoms, you should skip your workout, stay home from work and see a doctor.
- Fever of 100.4 Degrees Fahrenheit or Higher
- Severe Nausea or Vomiting
- Symptoms that haven't Improved in 7 Days.
- Swollen glands for 5 or more days.
- Pain swallowing for 5 or more days.
- Nasal congestion along with pain on one side of the face.
- Dark colored mucus.
- Persistent toothache for 5 or more days.
Antibiotic Use
Some doctors simply prescribe antibiotics to shut a patient up. The drugs won't help, they waste money and risk creating "superbugs" that antibiotics won't be able to kill. Here is a list of common ailments that benefit from antibiotics and a few that don't. Find out what you have before you pop those pills.
Bacterial Bronchitis with a mild fever and minimal mucus Bacterial Gastroenteritis Bacterial Meningitis Bacterial Sinusitis E. coli Gonorrhea Lyme Disease Pink Eye (bacterial conjunctivitis) Pneumonia Salmonella Strep Throat Urinary tract infections (UTIs) Chicken Pox Common Cold Flu (Influenza) Hepatitis Herpes Human Papillomavirus Measles Mononucleosis Viral Bronchitis (High Fever, Cough, Thick Mucus) Viral Gastroenteritis
Reference Links:
Investigation and disinfection of bacteria and fungi in sports fitness center
Nonglak Boonrattanakij, Sirikorn Yomchinda, Fang-Jia Lin, Luzvisminda M Bellotindos, Ming-Chun Lu
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Published 2021 May 20Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14323-5
Characterizing the molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus across and within fitness facility types
Mark Dalman, Sabana Bhatta, Nagashreyaa Nagajothi, Dipendra Thapaliya, Hailee Olson, Haji Mohammad Naimi & Tara C. Smith
BMC Infectious Diseases, Published 18 January 2019Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-019-3699-7
Surfaces of gymnastic equipment as reservoirs of microbial pathogens with potential for transmission of bacterial infection and antimicrobial resistance
Mengge Zhang, Yanan Ma, Hai Xu, Mingyu Wang, Ling Li
Frontiers in Microbiology, Published 19 April 2023Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1182594
Consumer antibacterial soaps: effective or just risky?
Allison E Aiello 1, Elaine L Larson, Stuart B Levy
Clinical Infectious Diseases, Published 2007 Sep 1Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.1086/519255
Efficacy of handrubbing with alcohol based solution versus standard handwashing with antiseptic soap: randomised clinical trial
Emmanuelle Girou, Sabrina Loyeau, Patrick Legrand, Françoise Oppein, Christian Brun-Buisson
BMJ, Published 17 August 2002Click Here for the Study: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7360.362
Can exercise affect immune function to increase susceptibility to infection?
Richard J Simpson, John P Campbell, Maree Gleeson, Karsten Krüger, David C Nieman, David B Pyne, James E Turner, Neil P Walsh
Exercise Immunology Review, Published 2020:26:8-22.Click Here for the Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32139352/
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Stay healthy by using your own pen.
Every time you use someone else’s pen, you may be touching something that’s been in dozens of hands a day. It’s a fantastic way to spread germs. Bring your own pen and you avoid the problem.
For even more protection, get a pen that also doubles as a stylus for electronic devices (that means it has a rubber like tip). Then when you need to sign charge machines, you can avoid using the electronic pen too.