Monday Manners: Ooooh, That Smell!

Okay, so you're at the gym, minding your own business on the elliptical machine when the most foul-smelling human on God's green earth climbs on the machine beside you.

What do you do?

Absolutely nothing. You can turn your face away and try to breathe the air coming off of the less-smelly gym-goer on your other side. You could, if you feel like being conspicuous, get up and move to the empty elliptical at the end of the row. But no glaring, no obvious coughing, no asking that person to move or reporting him to the gym's front desk. That the dude smells while he sweats is basically unavoidable. At least he's trying to stay fit.

That being said...

If you know you smell when you sweat (and don't feed us any bullshit about how people aren't really aware of their body odor—after a certain point, there's no ignoring it), be a courteous exerciser, won'tcha?

That means avoiding the gym when it's at its busiest, opting instead to go when you're less likely to need to squeeze in on a treadmill between two other gym users. It means trying, whenever possible, to choose the machines farthest from those occupied—an end, if possible, so you're only gagging one person with your odiferous presence. It means using as much deodorant as possible, and maybe even asking your doctor for a prescription for something stronger. It means taking more than one towel from the gym's front desk and using them to wipe the sweat from your brow (and wherever else) and them tossing them in the nearest hamper as soon as they get too saturated. It also means wiping down all of the equipment you use—thoroughly. B.O. lingers. It means paying attention to those around you, and if the dude on the stair-stepper beside you is desperately trying to breathe over his opposite shoulder, it means maybe moving elsewhere so as not to force him to (a) be rude or (b) faint. Because trust us, you'd want that same courtesy extended to you if you were the one inhaling, rather than emanating, the smell.

Image Credit: Flickr user DanieVDM.