what is the etiquitte for the sauna and steam room at your local gym?
At the sauna and steam room where you workout, are you allowed to be nude? Are there seperate facilities for men and women? Obviously if they are coed then you have to wear clothes. See, I think clothes stick to you and it is really gross when using the sauna or steam room. Therefore, it is much easier to go au naturale. So, if there are seperate saunas and steam rooms, do you go nude or do you wear clothes? What do other people do?
Also- in coed facilities, is it appropriate to only wear a towel and nothing else?
Sauna and steam room etiquette is always geared towards hygiene and, if the facitilites are mixed sex, toward modesty.
If the facilites are shared by men and women, you need to wear swimtrunks, and also take a towel in wrapped around your shoulders like a shawl. That’s so if you lean back against the wall, you aren’t sweating on the wall.
If the facilities are single sex only, it is perfectly acceptable for you to wear a towel wrapped around your waist, and the one around your shoulders. If you get to the room and other men have loosened the ones around their waist, and are just sitting on them, then it is acceptable for you to do that, as well. If they all have their privates covered, you should follow suit.
The main thing is that having your bare skin touch the surfaces is a no-no. You always need to have something between your bottom and the bench, and between your back and the walls. The simple fact is that no one wants to sit in your bum sweat.
I used to go to a club that had both types of facilities. Many of the ladies in the ladies’ only sauna removed their towels once inside, and simply sat on them. Others felt more comfortable in a swimsuit, or in their underwear, which is also fine. In the mixed room, everyone wore clothing, mainly swimsuits. My friend’s brother joined the gym, too, as they got a good two-for-one deal. He told us that the men’s sauna was the same way–some wore just towels, which they took off and sat on, an others kept their towels or swimsuits on.
Your main goal is simply to not sweat on the surfaces where other people will be sitting, and to make sure you don’t make anyone uncomfortable if you go nude. Since most people of the same sex don’t care one way or another, you an usually go buff in a same-sex room. Just be sure to make sure you are sitting on your towel, and not directly on the bench.
Best of luck!
May 23rd, 2010 at 3:41 am
Always wear clothes whether it is coed or not.
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May 23rd, 2010 at 4:14 am
In coed facilityes I wear a small bathing suit – but I avoid co-ed facilities if I can. In men’s only I wrap a towel around my waist and do not come in contact with the sauna if I can help it!
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May 23rd, 2010 at 4:54 am
dont go nude!
people came to work out not for a peep show… just wear your bathingsuit or something, wrap yourself in a towel, or make your bathroom really steamy and go "au naturale" there
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May 23rd, 2010 at 5:04 am
No matter what you must have a towel upon which to sit. Just a towel is OK for co-ed steam rooms, but I have never seen a co-ed steam room.
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May 23rd, 2010 at 5:50 am
Sauna and steam room etiquette is always geared towards hygiene and, if the facitilites are mixed sex, toward modesty.
If the facilites are shared by men and women, you need to wear swimtrunks, and also take a towel in wrapped around your shoulders like a shawl. That’s so if you lean back against the wall, you aren’t sweating on the wall.
If the facilities are single sex only, it is perfectly acceptable for you to wear a towel wrapped around your waist, and the one around your shoulders. If you get to the room and other men have loosened the ones around their waist, and are just sitting on them, then it is acceptable for you to do that, as well. If they all have their privates covered, you should follow suit.
The main thing is that having your bare skin touch the surfaces is a no-no. You always need to have something between your bottom and the bench, and between your back and the walls. The simple fact is that no one wants to sit in your bum sweat.
I used to go to a club that had both types of facilities. Many of the ladies in the ladies’ only sauna removed their towels once inside, and simply sat on them. Others felt more comfortable in a swimsuit, or in their underwear, which is also fine. In the mixed room, everyone wore clothing, mainly swimsuits. My friend’s brother joined the gym, too, as they got a good two-for-one deal. He told us that the men’s sauna was the same way–some wore just towels, which they took off and sat on, an others kept their towels or swimsuits on.
Your main goal is simply to not sweat on the surfaces where other people will be sitting, and to make sure you don’t make anyone uncomfortable if you go nude. Since most people of the same sex don’t care one way or another, you an usually go buff in a same-sex room. Just be sure to make sure you are sitting on your towel, and not directly on the bench.
Best of luck!
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May 23rd, 2010 at 6:38 am
I think you are allowed to be naked, but another rule is to never fart in a sauna
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May 23rd, 2010 at 7:24 am
I think if you do have a bare butt, it should be sitting on a towel cause i don’t want to sit where your butt crack has sweated on.
When its co-ed everyone wears something- terry robe or big towel.
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May 23rd, 2010 at 7:30 am
I’ve seen a sign that says "absolutely no shaving." Also, another sign that says "If you have athlete’s foot, don’t enter."
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May 23rd, 2010 at 7:50 am
You’ll be fine as long as you cover yourself up with a towel. It’s not very comfortable to sit in a sauna with all the guys flaunting their privates.
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