This would be an example of what not to wear. Naked is not good but Hannibal Lecter couture is way worse.
Judging from advice columnists and The Apprentice, working with your coworkers is tricky enough (Who knew clipping your toenails in your cube is the modern-day equivalent of lancing your Black Plague boils over the community well?) but add a little skin, sweat and spandex to the formula and working out with them is a whole new social minefield. I’ll be honest, the last time I worked out with an official coworker (i.e. someone who is over 4 feet tall and doesn’t store Legos in his or her underpants) was over a decade ago. That “friendly” game of “basketball” pretty much ensured none of us would ever be friends nor play basketball again.
So when Reader Meghan brought up this question in the comments (like… a month ago? Sorry it’s taken me so long, girl!), my first thought was, “It’s awkward enough being nose-to-tail with the Gym Buddies and I already know their entire gynecological histories; I can’t imagine having to give a status report to that sweaty heinie.” But Meghan’s question is a great one because a) she’s a lawyer (or in law school, not sure) and lawyers always ask great questions and b) be it lunch-hour power walks or in-office yoga classes, lots of professionals are finding themselves in this situation. I’m definitely no expert but I came up with a few tips for navigating the gym with your coworkers and I hope you all will chime in and help Meghan out too!
1. Wear clothes. Tonight as I splashed in the kiddie pool at the Y with Jelly Bean, I contemplated the fact that the same (cuuuuute retro) swim dress that made me the most covered-up woman in the pool would make me look like a poorly-accessorized hooker at the grocery store. When it comes to modesty, context is everything and when in doubt cover it up. Yes you may be more comfortable running in just a sports bra and shorts but if you’re running on the treadmill next to the CEO, throw a t-shirt over the top. Full-coverage undies are a given.
2. Stay professional. Singing “Pour some sugar on me…” along with your iPod may inspire you to lift heavier but your coworkers probably don’t want to know about your deep love for 80’s hair bands. (Or maybe they do and will secretly videotape you and post it on Facebook?) This also includes no weird grunting when you lift, not spitting in the drinking fountain and never using a Shake Weight. Not that you’d do that stuff anyhow, right?
3. Keep business in the office. Down Dog is really not the position you want to be in when you ask for your next promotion. At the very least, make that pitch from Goddess Pose. Seriously though, most people are in the gym to workout not to talk shop so save the questions or commentary until afterward (and by after, I mean after you’re showered and dressed – nobody likes the naked locker room chatterer).
4. Resist the temptation to gossip. Office gossip is a Pandora’s box as it is but mix in exercise endorphins and the rumor mill can get going faster than the treadmill you’re jogging on. I have a theory that the less clothing you are wearing the more likely you are to spill your guts. (No? Just me?)
5. Have a sense of humor. I can tell you from personal experience that the gym has a high potential for embarrassment (my most current humiliation was bending over to pick up my sweat towel and running face first into the mirror that was right in front of me – I hit so hard I literally bounced my head off it). Between all the slapstick, the farting and moves either named after or resembling sex acts, the only way to get through it is to just laugh. This doesn’t mean you should make inappropriate jokes but if you do something dumb, a well-timed laugh and shoulder shrug go a long way in fixing it.
What do you guys think – should you workout with your coworkers? If so, how do you manage it? Do you have any ground rules?
I don’t work out with anyone. Coworkers or not, doesn’t matter. I have learned over the years that in theory, it’s “fun” to workout with someone but in reality, that someone either flakes out, is running late, is being wimpy, or is being too terminator for me that day…so I’d rather just go solo and be in charge of my own workout fate that day.
I love running with a few of my (all male!) co-workers during our lunch breaks! This works fine for me, for several reasons: none of them is my boss, we are dressed appropriately (the guys have zero fashion sense, but at least they’re sufficiently covered), and we have separate showers. I love how we motivate each other to stay active.
Our team leader hates running and suggested swimming instead, but I declined. I don’t want my co-workers to see me in a swimsuit, that goes too far!
Considering I work at the Y, it’s impossible to NOT work-out with my coworkers; I was doing it for several years before I got the job.
But, yeah, it is tricky separating my workout from my work. I act like a doofus and say many things that are totally inappropriate once I punch that time card. I try to act more “professional” when I’m on duty.
I am going with a solid ‘no’ on this one. I began doing hot yoga with a coworker and it hasnt worked out well at all. I loathe going now when I know she is going.
i want my ME time!
I don’t really know how I feel. I think it is highly dependent on the two people involved. That said, i generally workout alone anyway, so I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask anyway.
No way! It was bad enough when I worked in an office where everyone thought I was scarily fit and refused to exercise with me. Now everyone I work with is exercise obsessed too and we’re all so idiosyncratic there’s no way it would ever work. You say drop sets for the next ten minutes, I say progressive planks for the next ten minutes, let’s call the whole thing off.
Px
I don’t think I have any co-workers that I would want to work out with, other than maybe a leisurely bike ride or walk. My harder workouts are for me only!
Plus, I like having everyone think I’m in awesome shape despite still being a little overweight. They all think I’m super human because I run 5ks and I’d like to keep it that way!
I recently organized a Zumba class in my office and I’ve had a lot of fun working out with my co-workers. I think it’s fun to see people out of their element, doing things you wouldn’t expect them to do. (Case in point-when our instructor introduced “Pumping” with hilarious results. There has been lots of totally inappropriate “practicing” in the hallways.)
I guess, though, that while I DO think a once-a-week-for-ten-weeks Zumba class with my co-workers is a lot of fun, I probably wouldn’t feel the same if I had to endure them at every workout.
Charlotte, great advice! I’ve actually been wondering about this a lot lately, because I recently just transferred to a new department at work, and our office building has a gym and locker room in it. I haven’t gotten up the nerve to use it yet, because I didn’t want to be guilty of any serious faux paus (such as proper attire and what have you). It’s good to realize, in situations like this, that even if you are working out on your own, per se, you’re still in the office and near coworkers, so the rules still apply.
Thanks for the help!
I know some of my old coworkers used to do “friendly” basketball or softball games but I never joined in. Because seriously, my-ex boss was the woman who, after her group won the happy hour trivia game, stood up, pointed at her boss’s face, and yelled “yeah, of course we beat you!” Awkward. I decided then to stay out of anything competitive with those people. But with the right group of people (and by that I mean not crazy) I could see it being fun.
I’ve run with co-workers, and have seen them at the fitness center. It’s a non issue for me.
I guess it all depends on your relationship with them. Since so many people spend most of their waking hours at work, some of their best friends may be there. I don’t want to work out with people I don’t know really well, unless I’m teaching the class, of course:).
I read an article a few years ago about something similar: with all the gyms being built into office buildings, people were wondering what the etiquette is when working out in the same room as the boss. One woman who is a supervisor said that she takes a lot of classes and stays in the front line. That way her staff won’t feel like she’s giving them the stink eye from behind while they try to Zumba.
I think the problems come up when people are competitive at work and bring that to the gym. Kinda like the handball scene in “Big,” lol!
I don’t workout with any of my coworkers, however I often seen them at the gym during our lunch break when some of us do our workouts. It was kind of awkward at first but I got over it. As for working out with them, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal if you’re friends with them.
I run at lunch with some people who work for the same university that I do and we did a Ragnar relay together. It’s not awkward at all and has actually made me feel more involved as an employee even though it’s just n unofficial group.
My little awkward moment with this is that I work in health care and the fitness director of my gym happens to be the mother of one of our patients. I sometimes wonder if seeing me wipe my under-boob sweat off in the locker room has damaged her ability to see me as a competent professional, but que sera sera.
I almost always work out with my co-workers, but then again I do work in a gym. It is fun and motivating to have people around you at work who are equally as motivated. It can be tough though..sometimes it is a bit too much together time.
Woah, that sweatshirt thing MUST be photoshopped…right? Either way it’s seriously creepy.
I just became a personal trainer and there are weekly group workouts for all of the trainers in the gym, so I’d say in my case it’s AOK to workout with coworkers 🙂
OMG this is so timely for me! I love that my boss doesn’t work out, so the gym is usually my one sanctuary (vs the week she ended up with the hotel room next to mine and I was afraid to watch TV or talk on the phone in case she could hear through the walls and would judge me). But this morning, I went down to the gym, and there she was! And of course, it was a week that I packed a really dumb workout outfit (a running skirt instead of shorts because they were all dirty… I usually only wear skirts for running outside and not for weight lifting).
My only solution is (if I start seeing her there all the time and this wasn’t a one time thing), change my workout routine and go back to doing Insanity in the privacy of my hotel room. I don’t want to work out with my boss!
I work on a university, where I also workout. Thankfully hardly nooone else gets up at the hour I do to workout. If I see people from work I smile and say hi but continue with my workout. I have a very finite time to workout and I don’t want to talk to people while I workout…and then there’s the whole changing with people I work with. No thanks.
Students I supervise is wierd enough…a supervisor would make me want to overdo it just to show off I think. I save my talking for when we’re walking to the building we work in…I’m a lot more awake and social by then. Thankfully noone has found me rude when I do this. It’s my time to be in my head and sweat…
Greta post Charlotte. When I worked in Corporate type stuff & there were no 24 hour gyms, I had to utilize the work gym. I did my thing & went home. Ya have to be really careful with what you say & do. It is very political in the Corp. atmosphere so ya have to act like yo would in the work place. Plenty of people ready to bring you down, unfortunately…
I think it really dpends on the people involved in the workout. I workout at home and workout alone. I can’t imagine working out with a previous co-worker. I like to be comfortable and set my own pace. I don’t like having to see if someone else is ready to move on or doesn’t fell like doing the workout I’m doing. I think if your coworkers are failry laid back it might work, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Hi!! I was so excited to see this post! Yay! Also, I just finished law school in May, but I’m not quite a lawyer, because in Canada you have to article for a year…so I’m like 9 months away from being a lawyer:)
Your points about avoiding gossip and shop talk are both really good- I was trapped beside an associate on a treadmill, trying to run, and she was just chatting on about a work thing- and she’s lovely, but really, I did not want to hear about the various documents while I was trying to run (because really, the gym is my escape from the office to a degree).
And the gossip point is especially salient when pretty much everyone in my office goes to our gym- including other female lawyers, and well…everyone knows everyone, to the extent of knowing their voices. So, my mouth stays shut.
I am still struggling with wearing the clothes- only with regard to what happens when I’m trying to shower/change.
We do have individual showers with curtains, and towels at our gym, but…I always feel so awkward trying to wrangle myself out of a sports bra while hearing gossip about xyz’s personal life, and I have a meeting with xyz in an hour. Awkward on so many levels.
Thanks Charlotte!
p.s. a partner already heard me singing Ke$ha’s Cannibal in my office while working late, so that ship has definitely sailed. I just really hope he doesn’t think “I eat boys up, breakfast and lunch, then when I’m thirsty, I drink their blood”. Oh Ke$ha, why are you so catchy??!!
Also I will add that though working out with co-workers is not ideal (as many commenters have pointed out), it’s sort of my only option- I’m at work for 12-14hrs a day, and there’s no gym near where I live, but there is a good one in my office building (which excellent prices for tenants of the building), so….I guess I could have other options, but none so convenient, or reasonably priced.
By going to the gym on my lunch hour I seemed to have started some sort of weird revolution in my office! EVERYONE wants to go with me, ask me for advice, and basically personal train them. I even had one person stop talking to me because I didn’t *ask* them to come with me. Insane! These are GREAT rules to live by especially the gossip one. Everyone always wanted to talk about everyone else 🙂 Awesome post!
Awesome post, you crack me up!
I don’t work out with anyone, I work out of a home office and workout at home. too. Besides, I like to grunt and don’t want anyone’s sideways glances when I talk to myself. 🙂
I mainly work with women in their 40’s so I 1) refuse to admit they’re in better shape than I am. I love living in ignorance. 2) Don’t want any weird rumors started. So yeah, no working out with co-workers here.
These are some great ideas.
But I feel if working out with co-workers can be avoided then avoid it like the plague. 🙂
Speaking of which, in September past we celebrated one week of free Yoga here in Kingston. A part of that initiative was teaching Yoga at some of the big shot corporations. I was a teacher’s assistant for two classes at two different corps and I swear to you Charlotte that both classes had the most uncomfortable energetic dynamics Ive ever seen in Yoga. I concluded that co-workers are just not meant to be doing Yoga together.
Working out is my me time, so I am not about to go hang out with the people I am trying to escape. I also have to admit that imagining the faces of my boss or co-workers meeting my hands, feet or knees really adds a special spring to my turbokick session.