Germs at the Gym?

The Lexington Herald Leader published a story today titled "Germs at the Gym". The following recommendations are from a flyer we have available for our members and guests.

Germs, bugs & bacteria:

Protecting yourself from germs, bugs, and bacteria — which might be just about anywhere — may seem daunting, but these common-sense precautions can help reduce your risk while at Lexington Athletic Club.

What you can do to reduce your risk:

Wash your hands.
Careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a paper towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Wash your hands before and after working out and after using the bathroom.

Use instant hand sanitizers.

Take advantage of the alcohol-based instant hand sanitizers available in the workout areas and in the group exercise studios.

Keep personal items personal.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, razors and clothing.

Use a towel.

Towels can serve as a barrier between you and shared equipment. However, use one side face down on all of the equipment, keeping the clean side face up for direct contact.

Keep up with your towel.

Keep your towel with you at all times. If you suspect someone may have inadvertently used your towel, return it to the front desk, wash your hands and pick-up a clean towel.

Wipe off equipment.

Wipe off equipment before and after using it. We have several cleaning stations throughout the Club that are stocked with rags and disinfectant.

Keep cuts and wounds covered.

Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with bandages until they heal.

Skin-to-skin contact.

Germs and bacteria are frequently transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact. Good hygiene and covering open wounds can help prevent infections.

Wash your workout gear.

Wash your gym and athletic clothes after each wearing. Keep your gym bag clean too.

Shower after each workout.

Showering after you workout and changing into clean clothes is part of good personal hygiene. When showering, consider using shower shoes or flip-flops. After showering, make sure you are using a clean towel, not your dirty workout towel.

What you can do to reduce your risk to others:

Cover your wound.

Keep wounds that are draining or that have pus, covered with clean, dry bandages. The pus from infected sores often contains infectious bacteria, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading.

Use cleaning spray.

We have several cleaning stations throughout the Club that are stocked with rags and disinfectant. Use provided disinfectant to clean shared equipment before and after each use.

Skip your workout.

Do not workout when you are sick or when you may have an infected cut or abrasion.

What we do to help reduce your risk:

Diligent Cleaning.

We frequently clean and disinfect all surfaces throughout the facility.

Complimentary towel service.

Towels can serve as a barrier between you and shared equipment. Take advantage of our towels or you can choose to bring your own.

Towel laundering.

Our towels are washed with bleach and a strong detergent in 140º water and are dried in very hot gas dryers.

Instant hand sanitizers.

We have instant hand sanitizers mounted in our workout areas and in our group exercise studios.

Cleaning Stations.

We have cleaning stations in our workout areas stocked with cleaning rags and disinfectant spray.