I sweat more than the average human being. I attribute this to the fact that I must be working harder than everyone else. Or that I consume massive quantities of beer and my body must find any possible way of releasing these toxins. This being the case, when I go to the gym I bring a towel with me to clean off any sweat I leave behind. Steve always questions the merits of the sweat towel and we had a bit of a discussion yesterday that left me a bit confused. Here’s my logic behind the correct ways of dealing with body sweat at the gym.
If you are working out hard you are going to produce some sweat. If I sit on a machine and leave some ass sweat behind I will usually just wipe it off with the sweat towel. No spray or anything just not leaving behind any trail. We have to be reasonable and understand that hundreds of people use these machines each day and it’s not practical to clean off every machine you use in a gym session. Each machine isn’t going to be 100% clean for every use. This is why I feel that a wipe down with a sweat towel suffices. It’s not like you’re eating dinner off the seat. Your sitting on it with layers of clothes blocking you from any remnants left by other gym goers. Now this is where it gets tricky. After wiping down the machines that my ass just left sweat from, can I use the sweat towel on anything but a seat? I answer yes and I do. If I go running on a treadmill and start breaking a huge sweat I will without even thinking use the towel. Is it hygienic to be using a towel on your face that you just used to wipe down ass sweat from? Probably not but I don’t really care. The alternative is leaving huge puddles of sweat all over the treadmill.
I can’t really think of a better alternative besides cleaning each machine individually after use with the gym’s paper towels and saving the towel specifically for my head. This honestly would become quite a nuisance and I don’t even consider it. And just an FYI, my sweat towel gets cleaned after every use. When I write about it like this is comes across as extremely disgusting, disturbing, and you probably ask what’s wrong with me but it doesn’t really bother me that much. I rarely get sick and I wouldn’t say I’m a germaphobe but I try to keep myself away from bacteria and using my towel on machines and myself just doesn’t feel gross. Am I wrong here?
Hey Tom, I know this is almost 2 years old but I ran across this question and would love to answer it. I had the same problem. The main problem with using one towel to wipe your face after you’ve wiped down equipment is you increase your chance of catching a staff infection. I developed one several years ago and the doctor said I most likely caught it from the gym. I’ve been way more careful since. I would like to share with you a new product called the Swowel. Website is http://www.Swowel.com. It was designed for running but can be used in the gym. So you can use a gym towel to wipe down the nasty equipment and the Swowel for your face. Since its wearable it never comes in contact with equipment. Just a suggestion. Thanks and good luck.