Can we talk lockerroom etiquette?
I think we had a similar discussion before, so sorry. I workout at the local community rec center and I have a long-term locker rented. This keeps me from having to store all of my swim and spin stuff in my car. So, I walk in this morning, still half asleep, when what do I spy??? A fella sitting bare-bummed on the bench, right in front of my locker. Oh, and to be "nice", he "slides" out of the way so that I have a place to sit. Can you believe that? "Oh.......... thanks....... but I'm OK. I think I will stand FOREVER before I have a seat there, Thank you though." As a guy, since about grade 6, I have been in and around lockerrooms for a long while. There is typically pretty much no privacy, however there is etiquette and this was clearly not on the list!
Sorry to rant, but this is just something that I can not stand.
Comments
Also had an occasion when a dad comes in with his young kids, say 4-5 yrs old - in that instance I changed under a towel but same old geezers still strutting around naked; thats just wrong in my book!
All I can say is that in the women's locker room at my gym, there are signs up to remind people to "sit on towels." Grownups have to be told that no one wants to sit where your bare arse has just put down who knows what!
Almost too gross to think about. The fact that grownups don't do that automatically is...is...beyong belief to say the least. The naked bodies strolling about the women's locker room (I can assure you it's as amazingly eye-popping, and not in a good way) doesn't bother me a hoot. It's the sitting bare nekkid that is unmannerly, to put it nicely.
Then...how about the woman standing there over my gym bag talcing her private parts with all the dust falling on my stuff? I had brought my lunch that day, and I look at her and say, "THAT'S NOW ALL OVER MY SANDWICH!" I was ticked, and let her know it. The powdering thing with the old ladies happens all the time.
I have a horrible bare bum visual now:-(.
yup, happens all the time at my pool's locker room Plus, if it isn't bare asses on the bench then it's peoples wet stuff suits, towels, gear bags laying on the benches (my other pet peeve). You'd think that with all the getting undressed / dressed standing up after swims that I'd have more balance when trying to get through T1 without sitting..
...and I have to add that rule #1 is just 'classic'. This rule says something to the effect of "Drying anything other than the hair on your head for any reason in the locker room is simply not permitted." I can't imagine this being an issue for women, but, I really have a mixed emotion when I run into a guy not following this rule...can't decide whether to throw up or laugh at him!
Hope that wasn't 'too much'!
Seems we have two camps of most inappropriate behavior.
Men--blow drying in places best left undescribed
Women--baby-powdering places best left undescribed, leaving a sandstorm in their wake.
Common ground is both seem to think it's OK to sit butt nekkid anywhere they darmn well please.
Gawd.
Isn't this why they gym has stacks and stacks of towels?
Bench + towel + wet stuff/junk/bits =
for everyone.
Bench + wet stuff/junk/bits =
Talcum powder + lunch =
WTF? Really?!
My first tri ever I was quite nervous as one would expect. It was a pool swim and I go into the locker room to change and thats where I saw the worst site ever. Now remember I have been a cop for a long time so I have seen some things.
Well in this locker room it seems that someone thought it would be a great idea to wrap the big steam room in windows, and there spys my eye but numerous old men in the steam room naked
. I almost lost it right then and there, and my eyes have never recovered.
How tmely....funny article this month in Triathlete Magazine!
Olivia- LOL!
My worst locker room experience- when living in Tucson, did masters at U of A. One of the women " Crazy Judy"
, was older than me, apparently was stalking prior race times of mine. One night after practice, I was naked in the open shower, she Grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me proclaiming "
I'm so mad I can't beat you" I am still traumatized by this event 
This definitely goes against all locker room etiquette. Besisdes, who really tells their nemesis openly that they want to beat them?
Too funny. Then there's the guy shaving in the shower right in front of the "DO NOT SHAVE IN THE SHOWER" sign. One time some old guy blows his nose in the shower, pretty gross stuff in it's own right, another guy turns to him and points to the sign that says "DO NOT BLOW YOUR NOSE IN THE SHOWER" and of course I have to say quit being so gross man.
My pet peeve - apart from old chaps blow-drying their 'tackle' - is folks that don't shower before entering the pool despite having to walk past 2 large 'Please Shower' signs on the way to the pool - OK, probably is a bit of a token gesture but come-on!
On mainland Europe (not UK) - lots of pools insist on speedo's & swimcaps for all - we stayed on a holiday camp in France many years ago, despite being full of kids there was a strict no-board shorts rule.
Scene 1: Foggy sauna, just me sitting in the back corner, minding my own business. The naked butt, bench-sitter comes in and starts to strech right in front of me, NAKED!!! What the hell! So, I just close my eyes and pretend that it's not happening. You know, it's early, it's Monday, just maybe what I just saw just didn't happen. I opened my eyes and naked butt, bench-sitter is now in Barking Dog. I couldn't do anything but laugh. THEN, he gets up and starts to do some trunk rotations, like he's hitting a golf ball. The enitre time I kept saying, "My wife is not going to believe me when I tell her this." Eventually naked butt, bench-sitter leaves and I can't stop laughing so I decide to hit the showers.
Scene2: I exit the sauna and turn the corner to sep into the shower room and what do I see??????? are you ready?? An older fella with Crystal Gail-esque length hair past his back side, shaving. So, what gives you say?? Well, he had a hand full of scrotum and was shaving his nether region. What to heck to you say to a fella who is man-scaping his private area in a puclic shower. I honestly had a hard time not laughing.
All this and it wasn't even 8am yet. I knew is was going to be a bad day.
Chuck that is FREAKIN funny, but I am glad it happened to you and not me.
My eyes hurt just reading that
Well it was funny. I'm not sure how you can actually respond to this.
At least Scene 1 was the same guy and you might expect it. Well no I'm not sure I'd expect barking dog in the sauna naked. How many oddballs do you have at your gym?
Gordon
Hahahaha. That is so funny. I can't stop laughing!!!
Would it be appropriate locker room etiquette to spit that on the bench where my bare ass sits?
Good stuff!
@Linda: Pics or it didnt happen!
For me, I only blow dry the goods if there is one of those wall mounted units....the hands free just feels better. (JUST KIDDING)
The most recent event in the locker room was when I was assessing some dude having a heart attack. I had all these young female staff members and nurses around me helping. So there I was on my knees, and I look up to see random whipper snappers. The old guys were just standing there butt naked watching everything! You should have seen what happened when I reached up to grab the O2 mask without looking....
I have heard others write about this...but I had never had the experience until TODAY!
I come in, open my locker and I turn around to set my stuff on the seat (which I would have thought was in MY area) and there was a guy...not just any guy, but, a guy that looks like he just turned over a new leaf and decided to start working out (trying not to be 'ugly' about it). He was sitting there, 24-36 inched directly behind me, facing my back, legs spread open, towel over his shoulder, sitting directly (as in, no towel between butt and bench) on the bench, breathing hard...WTF?!
I mean, I turned around and jumped because it caught me off guard. Then when I saw how...exposed...he was, I about said out loud...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
So, I move my things and work around him...until I see that he had like 3 towels, which were all being used to dry his...man parts...repeatly and as thoroughly as possible - like for 5 minutes repeatly. Then, he just sat back down.
In the time he dried is 'stuff', I put on my pants, shoes, shirt, tie and got the hell out of there...unbelievable.
I think I am scarred for life!
Rules/take-aways: keep covered up (at least make an honest effort), keep a towel between butt and bench, DON'T SIT FACING ANOTHER DUDE, NAKED, 24-36 INCHES DIRECTLY BEHIND ANOTHER GUY IN A TOWEL
Wow!
that is why, even fully clothed, I do not sit on locker room benches without a towel. Shudder. Unfortunately it's no better when women who are apparently very comfortable with their womanhood galavant around a locker room sans towel. Typically these are women who most need to exercise discretion for many reasons I will not go into (except perhaps in the women's thread). Shudder.
Here's a thought for those freaked out by unsanitary locker room benches. Don't sit down at all. Use the time changing clothes as part of your exercise routine by putting on your shoes and socks standing up - balance on one foot to help build up those foot and calf muscles. Same thing with putting pants on.