Fitness and Hygiene: 4 Rules for Taking a Shower at the Gym

October 5, 2020

Fitness and Hygiene: 4 Rules for Taking a Shower at the Gym : Exercising is one of the best things that you can do for your body. Not only will it improve your mental health and mood, but it’ll also reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions.

Given that, it’s not surprising to know that many people go to the gym. For one thing, they have many types of exercise equipment that you can use.

Plus, many of them have showers. In other words, you won’t have to soak in your sweat.

Thinking of taking a shower at the gym? Looking for some tips? If so, you’re on the right page. Keep reading to learn more!

Benefits of Showering After Exercise

There are many reasons why you should take a post-workout shower. For one thing, it’ll wash away the sweat so that you won’t have to worry about body odor.

That’s not all—it can also help your muscles recover by removing lactic acid.

4 Rules For Taking a Shower at the Gym

There are a few things that you want to keep in mind when you’re showering at the gym. Here’s what you need to know.

Cool Down Before Showering

Don’t rush into the shower right away; let your body cool down first. In other words, you shouldn’t be breathing hard or sweating heavily when you hit the showers.

What you want to do instead is some light exercise (e.g. walking, jogging) so that your body can cool down.

Use Hot and Cold Water

Both hot and cold water can do wonders for your body after a workout. More specifically, hot water can relax your overworked muscles while cold water can reduce inflammation and speed up recovery.

Given that, you might want to alternate between hot and cold while you’re showering.

Take Care of Your Feet

Athlete’s foot is a common infection that can be picked up in gyms, especially from showers or locker-room floors. Symptoms include itching, burning, and stinging.

The good news is that you can prevent it by wearing flip-flops or shower shoes into the shower. As a general rule, you’ll want to keep them on unless you’re washing your feet.

Tip: Make sure to dry your feet completely before putting on clean socks. If necessary, you can also apply some lotion such as those by Eminence Organics.

Practice Good Shower Etiquette

There are a few things that you want to avoid when you’re showering at the gym. For starters, you don’t want to hog the shower; limit yourself to 10 minutes max.

It’s also important that you clean up your mess. That is, the shower and changing area should be the same as when you found them.

Taking a Shower at the Gym

And there we have it—four things to consider when you’re taking a shower at the gym. As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward!

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