I have a blog post with all of my etiquette tips. It is a great time to refresh. Sometimes I need to go back and re-read these just to make sure I'm not unintentionally pissing people off.
http://inshapewoman.blog.com/1971940/

A few I have that you don't:
"Hogging" a weight machine - let people do their sets while you rest
Taking dumbbells or a stability ball while someone is still using it
Talking to people who are in the middle of working out
Talking to friends during an exercise class
hogging the water fountain

Read my blog post for more info on why these are on my list.

Much of etiquette is common sense, but not all of it is. It's great to remind people to be considerate of others.
Since I workout at home I don't have to worry about any of this stuff...unless my husband is waiting to use the equipment.

I have never been to non-college gym with a time limit on the machine though. Everything else is dead on. I have a few to add though:

1) don't go to the gym when you are sick. no one wants your cold.

2) don't take your shoes off and walk around the stretching area. it is gross. people will be laying where your sweaty feet just were.

3) wear appropriate gym attire. men seem to have more difficulty with this than women.

Oh man, that last tip about the birthday suit...

At the old gym I went to, there was this really annoying girl who was there somedays after work, who would just walk around the locker room in her bra and panties, yakking away on her cell. It was so weird!! I wanted to be like, hey are you here to talk on the phone in your undies or actually work out?? ugh so annoying/weird. I guess she was there just to talk since she was about 80 lbs overweight.

I can't stand when people hog the machines at busy times!! I like to do an hour long workout, so I get up early and go in the morning when it isn't a problem.

I so agree with the brithday suit one!

One older lady at my guy will shower when she's done and prance around in what gad gave her! And really, she still has A LOT of working out to do. I'm not hating, but please. There's a point. And I think it's between quickly changing your bras and blowdrying your hair NAKED BENDING OVER!

I hate the whole sweaty thing. This guy next to me was sweating up a storm and using his rag to wipe his face and neck. Then he finishes and uses the SAME rag to wipe his sweat around the machine. I was like seriously gagging. Use a clean towel or most gyms have paper towels and cleaning spray. PLEASE. The machine looked Wet, it was SO disgusting.

Take the plates off the bars. I hate having to take plates off of machines that are a little high for me to get a good grip.

I really don't mind people walking around naked in the locker room. It's like whatever, everyone has a peepee and balls in here. and I REALLY don't mind the HOT boys walking around naked either.

I HATE it when people grunt super loud and drop the weight on the floor.

Please don't sit naked on the bench in the locker room. Seriously, for your sake and mine, put down a towel.

I never understand why people have to talk on their cell phones while working out.

You know what I hate? Hovering. Like if I'm on a machine in the middle of a set and someone is standing over you. Then when I get off they practically jump on top of me to use it. Have some patience!

DON'T leave your bags, jackets, towels, etc where people can trip on them! Honestly, I hate it when people do this. It's a major pet peeve. Someone can get hurt!

don't wear a fragrance or cologne to the gym. it only smells stroner while you're sweating!

i almost hurled once when a man wearing way too much cologne jumped on an eliptical next to mine. the smell was rank especially mixed with sweat and i had to jump off! where can you share these tips with the fellas??

In line with the "no cologne" comment, it would be nice if people would TRY not to fart. I know that it's hard sometimes since you are running or biking and you're bouncing around a lot, but god, sometimes it smells so bad that I can't breathe...and the last thing I want to doing while running is NOT breathing.

Ooh. If you have a workout buddy that you meet at the gym that is super, but please watch the volume of your conversation. The rest of the people there do not want to hear your conversation. I feel like I am blowing out my eardrums lately, turning up the volume on my ipod, trying to drown out the inane chit chat going on behind me.

I may have to switch times, as these two yakkers like to show-up at the same time I do. Ug.

Wow, reading everyone's comments it sounds like it's hard to go the gym and not annoy someone for doing something! I try my best, but I'm sure I've done something from time to time that people didn't like.. I usually don't mind other people's bad habbits, I just do what I gotta do and get out

These make me laugh =)

I'm a fan of the no-grunting rule, especially.

Talking on your cell phone while you're working out drives me crazy!! If the call is so important that you have to take it while you're at the gym, then shouldn't you get off your machine and take the call where you give it your full attention?

Trackstar, it's true that no matter what you do, you'll annoy someone. I just go by, whatever annoys me I don't do.

The rule that is most often broken in my gym is wiping down the machines. Please clean up after yourself! Even if you didn't sweat much on the machine, wipe it down anyways. Most gyms have spray bottles and towels to wipe down machines with, if they don't, bring two: one to wipe yourself down and one to wipe down the equipment.

IMO, breaking this rule is the worst. I can deal with machine hogs and grunters just fine. But blech, I can't deal with other people's cooties.

I agree with all of the above, what mainly irritates me are those guys who just walks around looking at themselves in the mirror or checking out other girls - the gym is not a bar, few people look their best in sweaty gym clothes and those who do are not working out hard enough!

I am a Y member, so low/no-frills is the name of the game.

However, one of the Chicago Y's that I frequent for a particular class has developed a huge pet peeve of mine: people that put all their crap in a locker & then don't have the courtesy to buy a damn $3 lock. This week, every single locker that looked open, actually had some poor schmuck's things in there for anyone to steal.

I was so aggro from a snowy drive over, looking for parking, etc. and then dealing with that locker mess, I was this|close to dumping someone's crap on the icky, sludgy floor & just using the locker with my own lock.

Thankfully, a very nice girl who uses one of the monthly lockers (which you have to pay extra for, what a crock!) and was on her way out allowed me to use her locker for the night.

Geez, c'mon people, buy a lock, as next time, that stuff is going on the floor. Good thing I was going to my NIA class & getting rid of all that stress!

Just to give you another side of your story, my Y recently bought all new lockers and my lock doesn't fit on them now. I'm beyond pissed. And I love my lock because it's one of the cool staples one where it's letters and you have a phrase as the combination. Grr.

How about keeping your clothes ON in the treadmill area? At my gym there is this old, super obnoxious running guy who, after runnning on the treadmill for 45 minutes, will get off, TAKE OFF HIS SHIRT and towel off his sweat. That is what the changeroom is for! One of these days, I, as a woman would love to do the same thing (shirt and bra off), just to see what the reaction would be. But I'm too chicken.

Wow, they usually have strict rules about taking shirts off. You should let a staff member know. I'm big on the cologne too, ew. But I don't mind girls' body splashes because they are lightly sented and make it more pleasurable to run and smell some pretty body splash. WOW, that makes me sound even gay-er, lol.

Ladies!!! All of us who do the early morning workout--we are ALL trying to get to work at the same time so KINDLY reserve the counters with outlets & hair dryers for hair drying ONLY!!! Please please please once you are done drying your hair, move it on over to one of the sink counters or areas with no outlets to do your makeup--I live in chilly Boston and I can't tell you how many times I've had to walk to work with wet hair.

Ditto on the farting while running--I've had to leave the cardio room more than once because it smelled so bad.

On a lighter note--recently my hubby was changing into his shoes while seated on the bench in front of his locker when a nude older man chose the spot right next to him, propped up his leg on the bench FACING him, and started doing lunges!!

Amen Spider Pig, amen.

Goddamn lady of an elder generation just strips down butt naked and practically wiggles her rear on the bench. It disgusts me. People put their gym bags there for goddess sake!i don't want her. . . rear on my bag.

Don't like the grunters either.

The gym annoys me. LOL.

My gym at school requires you to sign up for 30min increments.. and I absolutely HATE when people dont get off the machine I signed up for. I shouldn't have to stand there impatiently while someone is cutting into my 30 minutes of cardio.

This is great! I go to the gym at my universit and people are pretty good about all these... I never even knew about some of these problems! The only one is that people wipe off the cardio machines but skimp on wiping thew weight machines sometimes. Ew.

I do have a question for you ladies though... We have an area where we get mats out to stretch and we wipe them off before they go back, BUT is it okay to take off my shoes to strecth? My feel never smell at all (I am gifted in that area I suppose) but I was just wondering if it was gross? Ive done it a few times now and no one cares but I need more opinions! I just cant point my toes properly in the Aasics...

Perhaps my old gym should have had that image posted in the mat area where the exercise balls and free weights were? Because signing a contract saying you'd put away the equipment didn't work. Watching people trip and slam their heads against machines didn't work. Not knowing if someone was using all 100 pieces of equipment at once while they exercised on a mat and ignored you was sure a fun time to learn the art of patience.

taratootie - if you are wiping the mat off afterward I wouldn't object to you taking off your shoes to stretch on the mat. I've done it before I just dangled my sweaty feet off the end of the mat cause my gym was out of spray and towels to wipe off the mats.

Your last two tips are hilarious because those are my two biggest pet peeves! I go to the gym every morning and this guy stares @ me constintly! I even catch him and he doesn't look away. This lady who is there every morning as well does everything else but put her clothes on first. She does her whole morning routine naked and she is huge!

I hate it when people show up to the gym to socialize. Girls I think are more guilty of this, at least from what I've noticed. It sickens me when girls come to the gym all done up, hardly work out, and flirt so much you'd think they came to the gym to find a boyfriend instead of a good workout.

I always used the sanitizer spray and toweled off the machines before I used them AND after, just cuz I'm kinda paranoid, lol. But one thing that really bugs me is people singing to their iPods while working out. If you think you sound good, you're WRONG. I also can't stand it when people try to comment on your form or how much weight you're using. It's like: hey, it's my workout, butt out unless you're a hot personal trainer, lol.

Another thing: please, please, PLEASE wear deodorant at the gym, especially if you plan on getting really sweaty. There used to be this one guy at my gym who would get on the treadmill next to me and his funk was so bad that I almost would pass out.

I'm so happy I don't go to a gym anymore. Everything's at my house.

I hate it when old men ask to "work in" with you and then don't wipe down the machine... really, people!!

I don't understand why you can't chat with your workout buddy at the gym?

I agree with all of these. People are really annoying at the gym.

There is a padded area at my small gym for ball work and stretching. It is big enough for 4-6 people using it at the same time, if you pick your spots with consideration. Nothing pisses me off more than a couple of bozos decide to mindlessly throw their bodies in areas that leaves no "real" room for anyone else.

just_kelly - I don't know about everybody else but I don't have a problem with people talking to each other... but when I'm on a treadmill and two people next to me are talking to each other so loud that I can't focus on my run, I do get annoyed. So if you want to talk to your buddy in a normal tone I wouldn't be upset.

I think all of these have one thing in common - respect for other people. Some people go to the gym to get a light workout and get their heart rates up and others go to train for races and triathlons or body building. So you have to be respectful of people at all levels of intensity in everything you do at the gym. Because the gym is not your living room or your workout room, it's a place where we're all paying monthly fees to get healthy and fit and we need to respect each other's right to workout comfortably and safely.

I hate it when people ask to cut in and do a quick set when you're on a weight machine!

I also hate when people ask to cut in and do sets inb/t your own sets on a weight machine! Just wait!

I hate when workout buddies are chatting it up like theyre out to dinner or shopping together. Work out, don't socialize! If you're working out at such a slow pace that you can carry on a normal conversation every single time you're at the gym, then go walk around the mall instead. The rest of us don't care about your lives.

I don't care if people dont' wipe down machines b/c I always wipe them down before I get on one. You can't trust that its already been done, so I do it anyway.

Please no perfume at the gym! I once had to hold a towel over my nose and mouth while I was trying to run b/c the girl next to me had on such strong perfume.

Hate, hate, hate grunting!!! I understand it for the beefcakes who are lifting insane amounts of weight, but for the guys doing crunches in the stretching room, come on!!!

wow, i going to the gym for the first time in a year tomorrow and this posts upset me so bad i tell you, i'm gonna be waiting for this stuff to happen to me now

yeap, sometimes it's ust like - why do we even go there?

I have to disagree with AMP. I run half marathons and my training actually comes out and states that when you're doing your weekly runs, you should be able to converse with someone, otherwise you're going to fast. While that doesn't indicate the volume at which you should be speaking, talking doesn't indicate you're not working.

As for wiping down machines, I go to a really nice gym in Chicago (super pricey but i refuse to do my runs outdoors when it's freezing out). They don't provide spray or disinfecting wipes. What IS that?? No one at my gym cleans ANYTHING! Someone tell me I'm not crazy here. I'm the weirdo who has to clean EVERYTHING because i'm allergic to metal... so if someone were to touch metal and then i touched their sweat, i'd have an allergic reaction. major bummer. seriously.