As we approach summer and KAIST students slowly begin to shed their long padded jackets and sweatpants, we begin the annual tradition of becoming more self-aware of our physique. The solution many students turn to is to start hitting the gym religiously. Although I can’t personally speak for the specific number of people using each individual gym at KAIST, this trend has been particularly visible since the restarting of offline classes. 

Exercising, both sports and weight training, have been a fundamental part of my life. It’s hard for me to imagine my day-to-day life without a certain level of routine around physical exercise that is attached to my study schedule. As a result of this upbringing, I inevitably have a certain biased expectation for others that use the gyms at KAIST — in the same way that KAIST professors often assume much of the course content to already be fully understood at the start of each semester. My experience in using KAIST gyms is an unfortunate lack of gym etiquette, and a lack of understanding of gym equipment, attire, and exercise form from many users. More often than not, this observation is seen in freshmen who are trying out the gym for the first time. I understand that KAIST’s demographic doesn’t have a large proportion of students that have any significant level of physical training, let alone on a competitive level. That being said, what I can’t understand or excuse is the lack of effort into trying to learn more about using the gym. 

Gym etiquette is not something that you can necessarily read in a textbook and learn; it’s largely acquired through time spent in the gym. It could take time to understand that personal belongings placed near a machine shows that it is being used, and that you should not occupy a squat rack or a bench when you’re not performing an exercise that requires that specific space. However, there is no reason to not understand the absolute basics by reading the signs posted around the gym. Things like putting weights back onto their racks, not playing music out loud, giving each person their personal space while exercising, and wiping excess perspiration off machines are common sense. And more than it being about showing respect, it’s a safety issue. It’s incomprehensible to leave 15 kg free-rolling empty gas canisters around the floor of your lab. Why would it be acceptable to leave even heavier dumbbells on the floor of common thoroughfares in the gym? 

Another element of etiquette is something a little more niche, and it revolves around “ego lifting”. This phenomenon born of insecurities and an unjustified ego takes the form of a person lifting far heavier weights than they should be, with terrible form neglecting all the factors involved in muscle isolation and hypertrophy, often with the intent of intimidating others in the gym. Apart from the fact that regular gym-goers laugh at ego lifters, it simply becomes a nuisance when an ego lifter casually follows you around in the gym simply to do the same exercises you just did but with a little bit more weight. It’s not a good look.

Understanding exercise form is something that can be learned outside the gym. There is so much information on gym exercise on the internet that there really is no excuse for not doing at least a very fundamental amount of research before going to the gym. Every gym exercise tutorial will be slightly different but something always present is the importance of correct form over heavy weights. Although this isn’t an issue for myself as an observer, incorrect form is a very simple way to injure yourself and ruin muscle growth progress — often resulting in many new gym-goers quitting within a few weeks. In my few years at KAIST, I have seen more people squat and bench with dangerously incorrect forms than I care to count. Again, while it is new lifters that make this mistake, making this multiple times despite the information available is, in my opinion, inexcusable. 

Gym attire is not as large of an issue as the other two. Nonetheless, the people using KAIST gyms have expanded my understanding on how incorrect gym attire can be. Although gym attire is a personal choice, when you exercise then attend lectures in the same clothes, it is undoubtedly — to put it lightly — an unpleasant experience for those close to you in the lecture hall. Deodorant, showers, and changing rooms are all available — if not in the gym facility, you have a dormitory on campus. Use them. Others using the gym should not be able to tell their distance from you based on the intensity of your body odor.

Going to the gym and exercising should be encouraged. There are far too few KAIST students that exercise regularly – you can tell by the number of students that use the elevator in the Creative Learning Building (E11) even if they aren’t injured. Everyone at KAIST has the mental ability to learn from online sources as well as others in the gym. All it requires is a little effort or communication. Avid gym-goers are always more than happy to give tips if you ask for them — use the resources available to make the most of your exercises.