The email laid out examples of \u201cexpected gym etiquette\u201d, which included: refraining from unnecessary grunting or shouting; limiting phone use; no scrolling on mobile devices; wearing appropriate and fresh gym attire; and carrying a towel during workouts.<\/p>\n
Independent personal trainer Erik Ferrer thinks all gyms should set out a list of rules and gym etiquette clearly for members when they are signing up. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to solve everything but at least people should be aware of what they are signing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Ferrer has worked in gyms for more than 14 years, both in Brazil and Ireland, and he believes behaviour at the facilities is definitely \u201cgetting worse\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of cell phones is making people blind to the world, they are not paying attention to people around them. They are so deep inside their phones, scrolling. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou see people taking video calls in the gym while sitting on the equipment, and they just don\u2019t pay attention to the needs of other people around them.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ferrer says \u201chygiene is a problem as well\u201d. \u201cEspecially in male toilets,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn a gym where I worked, one day a guy was just wringing a wet towel out on to the floor, and then we had to put up a sign saying: \u2018Don\u2019t wring wet towels on to the floor.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cI did not think it was necessary to put a sign up, but what\u2019s obvious to me is not what is obvious for you. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnother day I saw a guy shaving in the steam room. I am a transgender man and I saw different things in the female toilets and changing rooms in comparison to the male changing rooms. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe ladies\u2019 changing rooms were a very clean environment, and then when you switch it\u2019s like you switch into a different reality. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like men are not used to cleaning up after themselves. It\u2019s both men and women who do this, but it\u2019s mostly men because they usually have someone who cleans up after them.<\/p>\n
\u201cA set of clear rules on how to behave would be great.\u201d <\/p>\n
But Niamh Doherty, a 23-year-old marketing executive, believes sending an email detailing proper gym etiquette is \u201cexcessive\u201d and could feel intimidating for people who might be new to fitness. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf gyms are sending out emails that are so stern, I can see how that would be offputting to someone who isn\u2019t a consistent gym-goer,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor someone like me who is a consistent gym-goer, I would be put off by that. I would be self-conscious about being on my phone, looking at my plan, or if I forgot my towel. You are creating an atmosphere that is not a welcoming environment.\u201d <\/p>\n
Doherty has been going to the gym, not a West Wood one, since she was 15, after completing a teen programme with her mother. She now attends three to four times a week. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe gym is supposed to be a place of positivity, so to kind of assume that people are on their phone to be lazy or just to be on their phone for the sake of it is unfair. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have online personal trainers and have their workout on their phone, so they are not necessarily scrolling on TikTok or Instagram or just texting their friends. They could well be looking at what their next exercise is.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"Luke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5C4ABAOHIREVBASYNOEXH26CW4.JPG\")
Luke Heapes: ‘When you pay a high price, you expect a certain standard to come with that.’ Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n