The smelly side of using a public gym - and what to do about it

You want to be fit and healthy, but you need extra motivation, so you enrol in a gym.

It takes extra strength and willpower to get out of your bed every morning. Sometimes, you drive or take public transport to the gym, other days you walk to the gym, but do you know what’s hard? Waking up early in the morning, and getting yourself to leave the bed - so you roll out of bed and look for what to wear, but there are no clean gym clothes around. You pick the next best thing, black shorts and a shirt, and you wear them - you don’t even attempt to sniff them or remember that this is your fourth time wearing that same outfit to the gym.

You pride yourself on minding your own business in the gym. So the fact that you didn’t brush your teeth is of no consequence, you won’t talk to anyone, and no one will talk to you. Once you have exercised for an hour, you can go home and clean up properly, forgetting the havoc you wrecked at the gym with your terrible odour.

The gym is one of the dirtiest places [AdobeStock] Pulse Nigeria

Research has shown that the gym is one of the dirtiest places you can ever be in; the sweat and body fluids everywhere make it worse than a public toilet. How can you make the gym clean and sanitary for everyone involved?

Bathe before going to the gym or at least the night before

It might be an extra strain on your reluctance to go to the gym, but for the sake of the air quality at the gym, bathe. If you skip showering at night, you'll bring yesterday's dirt, sweat, and body discharge to the gym, where it will mingle with fresh sweat and make for an uncomfortable environment for everyone.

Get a lot of gym wear and wash them every day

Wash your gym clothes [Womenshealth] Pulse Nigeria

If you are beginning your exercise journey, get at least seven pairs of athletic wear for the gym. The fact that you wear them for an hour or two doesn’t mean they are clean. Every time you wear it to the gym, you have to wash it, you cannot re-wear it, the mix of body fluids and sweats - and the fact that you didn’t even bathe in the first place is why you should wash and sundry your gym wears.

Also, cotton retain more moisture than polyester or any other synthetic fabric, so buy more cotton gym wears.

Wash your privates if you are not going to bath

Do you know you can wipe your underarm and private parts with a warm towel? Well, if you are too lazy to have your bath, do a quick cleaning of the important parts.

Use deodorant or perfume oil

Whether or not you had your bathe, spray a generous amount of perfume, deodorant or spray, whatever you can do. When you smell well, people like you more, and you are more confident.

Use the gym shower

The shower in the gym is not meant for decoration. You can take your bathe before and after using the gym equipment. Also, oily sweat makes women's vagina have a stronger odour, so it's important to keep it clean.