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Gyms are well-known for the germs that harbor there, so going bare-foot is really going to cause issues for someone eventually~! Plus, if a weight falls or someone drops one by accident, there ya go an injury for sure. Feet need to be protected just like people who ride bicycles to motorcycles~!
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Please refer to prior posts in regard to the impact resistance of a common shoe.
Aside from prehistoric humans; primates, felids, canids, bears and other species I can't think of, have survived for a considerable amount of time in the wild with soft, flesh-padded feet (shoe-less). There are even humans these days that don't EVER wear shoes. A couple of them are even on very popular television shows. They are all fine! If there is no access to your blood stream, an infection is not likely.
One thing I do find a little stange is that as far as I know Equinox is supposed to be an upscale fitness center company and I would think that such a chain would not even consider barefoot trainning especially in today's world where people have phobias of just about anything especially germs but if it works for them then more power to them.
Althlete's food fungus and plantar wart virus do not need access to your blood stream as they are spread by contact. No, they're not serious diseases but they are a nuisance enough that in school or at a public pool people are told to wear something on their feet. Both are really hard to get rid of.
The people with the phobias about "germs" need to get over it. That's not the problem.
Last edited by in_newengland; 09-15-2014 at 12:31 PM..
I see some guys doing squats barefoot at my gym for whatever reason. Then there's those people wearing the "toe shoes" who must know they look ridiculous...
Shoes are generally required for safety reasons, not hygiene. Go to any activity that involves a mat, you will not be allowed to wear your shoes (at least all I have experience with); but, those mats are cleaned often, much more so than a typical gym floor. As for the safety; that thin piece of shoe material is not going to protect against much.
Lots of people prefer to lift without shoes, I never liked doing so because it feels uncomfortable to me.
I think some here are going a little overboard on the hygiene thing.
I'd be worried about the possibility of athlete's foot or contagious warts and other things that can be spread. Just the general ick factor of bare feet doesn't bother me though.
By the same token, no one could EVER make me take my shoes off at the door and go barefoot in their house. Same reason. I go barefoot in my own house and outdoors though. But not in territory where I don't know what's been there especially if it's sweaty and a good incubator of athlete's foot fungus.
This. Athlete's foot is notoriously difficult to get rid of and is extremely uncomfortable. I've never had it and don't plan to ever have it!
Shoes are generally required for safety reasons, not hygiene. Go to any activity that involves a mat, you will not be allowed to wear your shoes (at least all I have experience with); but, those mats are cleaned often, much more so than a typical gym floor. As for the safety; that thin piece of shoe material is not going to protect against much.
Lots of people prefer to lift without shoes, I never liked doing so because it feels uncomfortable to me.
I think some here are going a little overboard on the hygiene thing.
The gym I attend offer wipes to cleanse your mats off and machines. They are all over the place~!
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Originally Posted by UrbanAdventurer
I see some guys doing squats barefoot at my gym for whatever reason. Then there's those people wearing the "toe shoes" who must know they look ridiculous...
I tried on a pair of those "toe shoes" and they are not comfortable for me at all. I have no problems with the stretching of my toes of different directions, it isn't comfortable in the sole of them and walking. But there area couple guys at my gym who have them.
I am the original poster that brought this up. To me, the issue is not just germs.....it is the worst form of etiquette I have ever witnessed at a gym, and Equinox refuses to address this. Many members have complained to management, but they are so freightened to try and tell someone paying $200 / month to do something, they let them ruin other members' experiences.
The germ part is bad enough as is. But just the ignorance of people to sit on the stretch mat and think it is totally normal to put your bare feet six inches from someones face is incomprehensible to me.
I go to a gym chain in NYC called Equinox. I've been involved in fitness for most of my life, and have never seen this anywhere else....but the gym allows members to walk around in bare feet. In my opinion, it is the absolute most disguisting thing I have ever seen and has made me want to cancel my membership several times.
It is two fold....people walk from the studios where they do class in bare feet (yoga, etc) and then just walk thru the gym floor and thru the lobby in bare feet to the locker rooms, etc.
But then a few select people also go over to the group stretch mat and sit there and do their workouts in bare feet. These stretch / abs areas are packed beyond belief, so you are only a few inches away from each other....and then someone decides to conduct their own personal yoga class on the mats and has their bare, sweaty feet inches from your face. As no one stays in one place, the foot sweat is all over the mats and throughout the gym floor.
I guess I really don't see the difference between sweaty feet and sweaty arms, backs, butts, legs... Some of which will be in various states of bare.
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Most gyms mandate that you have footwear even in the locker room. I think every gym in the world except Equinox requires footwear in the main gym area. Am I over reacting or do you feel this is disguisting as well? I'd love feedback. Maybe if my suspicions are confirmed, I can even share with management.
I cannot work out barefooted in my gym. So I wear five fingers, which is pretty close. But whatever.
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