The gym is a popular place where people go to exercise, but do you know that many gym equipment are incredibly filthy and even harmful?
A company that rates workout equipment, Fit Rated, carried out a study in 2017. They examined bacteria samples from 27 pieces of equipment from three gyms. With different people grabbing, sweating, releasing body fluids on gym equipments, it’s no wonder they are dirty and full of germs.
Here are three of them.
1. Free weights
According to Fit Rated, free weights have 362 times as many germs as a toilet seat. With 1,158,381 CFU (Colony Forming Units), the Fit Rated study discovered that free weights are a huge source of bacteria.
Researchers discovered gram-negative bacteria on free weights. Pneumonia, skin infections, and blood infections can all be caused by gram-negative bacteria strains.
2. Treadmills
Treadmills had the highest colony-forming unit (CFU) density, measuring 1,333,432 CFU per square inch, according to Fit Rated. According to the study, there are 74 times more bacteria than what is discovered on a bathroom sink faucet.
3. The elliptical bike
On the elliptical, there are a lot of germs as well. The most common type of bacteria found on ellipticals was staphylococcus, which made up 52.7% of the bacterial load, according to a study that was published in the Journal of Environmental Research. This results in skin abscesses from staph infections.
An easy solution is to use disinfect wipes or spray bottles before you use any gym equipment.
