MINNETONKA, Minn. — A new year means more people heading back into the gym. Some are coming for the first time since the holidays and others coming in for the first time ever.
"We definitely see a big uptick with our members coming in and signing up for memberships at the beginning of the year," said Stephen Leslie, district manager of Planet Fitness.
Monday, at the new Planet Fitness location at Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka, Leslie shared a few tips on sharing the space with others to make sure the fitness experience is great for everyone involved.
First, be sure to store your gym bag in a locker, rather than carrying it around with you setting it on the floor next to your equipment.
"We just want to make sure we don’t have any kind of gym bags, coats, extra pairs of shoes or boots on the gym floor," Leslie said.
This will make sure the walkways are clear for people. On that note, when you use free weights, don't stand right in front of the mirror and block others from accessing the remaining weights.
"We definitely recommend grabbing the weight you need, going back to an area where you were planning on working out, not any walking paths," Leslie said.
Of course, you'll want to put all the equipment back where you found it.
"Putting dumbbells away, same thing with weight plates," Leslie said. "We also do have cable towers in our facility as well, so any kind of attachments, bringing those back to where you found them."
Lastly, though Planet Fitness and other fitness clubs have their own process of sanitizing equipment, it's important to do your part by wiping down your machines.
"Making the gym clean, making sure that you’re having a good time while working out – it’s just going to give you an overall better experience and that’s just going to make everyone else’s experience in the club better as well," he said.