Hitting the gym to stay healthy? Turns out fitness centers are ideal breeding grounds for many germs that can make you sick. “It’s a good environment to transfer organisms because it has many people over a short period of time using the same equipment, and they’re doing a strenuous activity where they’re perspiring and doing a lot of wiping and dripping,” says Philip Tierno, associate professor of microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine. And you’ll be surprised at just what nasty bacteria can lurk on your favorite machines: Tierno has found E. coli and trace sites for hepatitis A and salmonella. He says that E. coli, which is found in feces, likely gets on gym equipment because feces are present on people’s hands and also because people tend to work out in as little clothing as possible, exposing areas of the body that are usually covered. The highest-risk machines are those used in quick succession by many people, such as dumbbells and certain weight machines. Although E. coli and many of the other germs Tierno has found are nonpathogenic and therefore won’t make you sick, he says that 80 percent of infectious disease is transmitted by direct contact (such as kissing) and indirect contact (like touching something an infected person has touched.) “Pay attention to where your hands go, and never touch your eyes, nose or mouth until you’ve washed your hands,” Tierno says. She says your best bet for a germ-free go at the gym is visiting in the morning when the machines are most likely to have been freshly cleaned.
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