clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Gym Cell Phone Ban: Good or Bad Idea?

New, 6 comments
24 Hour Fitness in Glendale
24 Hour Fitness in Glendale

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Gyms want to ban cellphone usage from the exercise floor, reports the New York Times, but such a ban has been hard to enforce. Many gym-goers are particularly attached to their smartphones, using them to listen to music, to check Facebook or to make and receive calls while working out.

Aside from being disruptive, phone usage in gyms is a privacy issue: Some patrons are worried about being taped or photographed while working out or changing. The Times found one who'd talk on the record at a 24 Hour Fitness in Glendale. David W. Marr, a 26-year-old Wal-Mart employee/massage therapist, suspects a teen videotaped him semi-naked in the locker room. "I see this kid caught with a deer-in-the-headlight look," he said. "He looked at me, and shut the phone."

How do you feel about a gym cell phone ban? Do you use your phone while working out? In addition to being the annoying person on your phone, isn't holding a cell while sweating kind of...gross?
· Struggle to Ban Smartphone Usage in Gyms [NYT]

24 Hour Fitness

240 North Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA