{"id":46163,"date":"2015-12-10T07:15:04","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T12:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=46163"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:07:24","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:07:24","slug":"germs-gym-flu-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/lifestyle\/germs-gym-flu-season\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Don\u2019t Know About the Germs in Your Gym"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ve probably read about the germs lurking on your cell phone<\/a>. And we\u2019ve all heard about the icky stuff contaminating the surfaces of our desks<\/a>. But could your favorite cardio and weight machines be breeding grounds for infectious organisms, too? (Sorry, germaphobes!)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not always vigilant about wiping down your elliptical machine, or yoga mat (and who is, really?), we\u2019re here to set the record straight on what\u2019s really going on with the germs at your gym. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Are You Crazy for Working Out While Sick?<\/a><\/p>\n

3 Things You Need to Know About the Germs at Your Gym<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Some gyms are cleaned much<\/em> less frequently than others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a dirty secret: Some gyms are cleaned seven times<\/em> less frequently than others, according to one professional gym cleaning service. Why? \u201cGenerally speaking, the larger gyms might not outsource more frequently,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that the [gym] staff isn\u2019t keeping it up in the interim. But it\u2019s really a budgetary thing.\u201d says Brad Wallace, president and owner of Jan-Pro<\/a> Cleaning Systems of Greater New York, a cleaning service that works with over 20 fitness facilities in and around New York City.<\/p>\n

While Wallace isn\u2019t naming names, he does share that boutique fitness companies are often under more pressure to wow customers during each and every visit \u2014 which often means these spaces have to prioritize cleanliness. Plus, these pricey studios often have bigger budgets, too, says Wallace. Jan-Pro cleans some facilities five to seven times a week, while other facilities only get a professional scrub down once or twice a week.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Sweating Out the Sadness: Can Exercise Help You Grieve?<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Tanya Altmann, an assistant clinical professor\u00a0at Mattel\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital at UCLA who’s in partnership with\u00a0Clorox, recommends scoping out your gym\u2019s cleanliness by scanning to see if there are fingerprints or sweat marks on equipment and counters. Observe the environment and make sure you see people actively cleaning the gym space and locker rooms while you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

2. The flu virus can lurk on your treadmill for up to 8 hours.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your spin bike might seem <\/em>like it harbors fewer germs than say, a public restroom, but when you think about the fact that you\u2019re wiping sweat off your face \u2014\u00a0and touching the equipment \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s not such an innocent space. \u201cThese are viruses you can catch anywhere, and the gym is no exception,\u201d says Altmann. \u201cAny surface can harbor germs, especially equipment that is touched by a lot of people.\u201d Think weights, doorknobs, faucet handles, water fountains and machine touchscreens.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Which Vaccines Should You Get as an Adult?<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, germs hang around way longer than that creepy guy flexing in front of the mirrors<\/a>. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>, the flu virus can live on surfaces for two to eight hours. (Meaning: Someone might have contaminated your treadmill<\/a> hours before you stepped on it.) Sure, you can clean your equipment with whatever\u2019s available, but \u201cwipes can vary from gym to gym,\u201d Altmann says. So she recommends bringing your own<\/a> to swab down benches, free weights and machines before and after you use them.<\/p>\n

\"do
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Germs spread more easily when people are sweating. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSweaty environments can be a breeding ground for many germs, including bacteria such as staph [a common skin infection] and fungus such as athlete\u2019s foot,\u201d Altmann says. While these bacteria can live on the skin and cause no problems, they can get into minor cuts and then cause an infection.<\/p>\n

Her pro tip: Don\u2019t dry off your machine and your face with the same towel. Using different towels will ensure you won\u2019t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with the germs a towel might have picked up off your machine.<\/p>\n

Yoga lovers, your mats aren\u2019t safe, either. If you\u2019ve been doing sun salutations<\/a> barefoot (or working out sans shoes in a place that isn\u2019t your living room), Altmann recommends washing your feet as well as your hands when you\u2019re all done. \u201cOtherwise you\u2019re taking those germs with you!\u201d says Altmann.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there\u2019s an easy way to keep yourself germ-free post sweat session: Simply take a shower! And when you can\u2019t hit the showers, stat \u2014 washing your hands with soap and warm water for 30 seconds reduces bacterial count by 99.9 percent<\/a>. Your immune system will thank you later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spread the word, not your germs. You\u2019re going to want to know these three gross things about exercising during flu season. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[289,208,341,357,186],"class_list":["post-46163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-stress","tag-exercise","tag-flu","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running","tag-winter"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}