Is Your Gym Too Hot? Too Cold? Mine is Just Right?

I love working out next to the wood stove!

It’s too hot!!    It’s too cold!!

The number one complaint that every gym owner hears is a tie between “It’s too hot in here” and “It’s too cold in here”.  One of the trickiest things for a gym to do is to maintain a constant temperature in a place filled with varying numbers of heat-producing people, at different times of the day, all of whom have different temperature comfort ranges, and all of whom are performing different types of exercises.  The people who crank on the cardio machines usually want it cool, while the folks lifting weights and stretching usually like it warmer.  If you are one of the people who “run hot”, there’s a good chance there’s someone else in the gym who “runs just as cold”.  Finding guidelines on the ideal gym temperature from an authoritative source is difficult and the blogs I’ve read were pretty entertaining, with many outspoken gym rats voting for hot vs. cold gyms.  My preliminary research shows the following recommendations for weight rooms and workplaces:

American College of Sports Medicine                                   68 – 72 degrees

National Strength & Conditioning Associates                      72 – 78 degrees

OSHA                                                                                        68 – 76 degrees

When gyms are kept below 68 degrees, the risk from injury increases due to the fact that cold muscles are more susceptible to pulls and strains.  If gyms are kept too hot, there’s a chance of members’ overheating. 

Keep in mind that what you’re wearing has a lot to do with how hot or cold you feel.  If you’re too cold, there are many light-weight exercise clothes that will keep you warm while working out.  If you’re too hot, don’t be wearing sweat pants to work out in!  There are some great new hi-tech fabrics that will cover you up, but keep you cool, while wicking moisture and sweat away from your skin.  Keep a sweat towel handy and remember, sweating is good for you.  Target has a great selection of both men’s and women’s fitness clothes that are hi-tech and reasonably priced.  

Personally, I like it hot! I work out in my home gym that is heated by a wood stove. Right now, it's about 75 degrees and for me that's about perfect. I hate cold gyms and I hate fans blowing cold air on me, especially if I'm sweating. That just makes me feel hot and sweaty, and cold and clammy, all at the same time.

So give the gym owners and managers a break. Stop complaining that it's too hot or too cold and just workout!