Toilets vs gyms

Your workout equipment may be hundreds of times dirtier than a toilet seat. At least, that is what some online reports have been saying for the last eight years. A report from fitness equipment review site FitRated in 2021 resurfaced roughly a week ago, scaring habitual gym members in several territories around the world. This first came to light in 2016, after the site’s findings were carried by mainstream media like CBS News.

FitRated gathered samples from communal equipment from 27 gyms, and discovered that, in those cases, exercise bikes, weights and other training gear contained up to 362 times the number of pathogens than a public toilet seat. But according to experts in the field like Robert Baranda, fitness training manager for Slimmers World International, that is far from the truth. In fact, it is the contrary, more so after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We became uber-sensitive about sanitation,” Baranda begins. “We have alcohol sprays and wipes. And people individually are very particular about keeping things clean, because you don’t want to pass on anything to the next member. What we’ve learned during the pandemic, we keep applying now. “

Going back to the gym was one of the first things people could do to regain some sense of normalcy after the pandemic. Many even worked out wearing masks, which added the hazard of breathing back in the carbon dioxide that they expelled. Many people became more aware of their mental health, too, because they had a lot of time to reflect. Even if they were able to work out at home and keep their fitness up, there was still no one to talk to, no one to share feelings with, no communal experiences. It became a very lonely situation. But also, people became more conscious of the cleanliness of their surroundings because they didn’t want to get sick.

“Even without the pandemic, there are bugs being passed around,” Baranda says. “You have cough and cold, flu, there are things being passed around. And it is so hard to get sick in the Philippines.”

The lesson here is that, regardless of the situation, whether there is a pandemic or not, we should look out for one another. It is in our best interests that we stay healthy and strong. Besides, it’s the right thing to do, isn’t it?