Don’t treat the locker room like your own bathroom

Even more so than the weight room, the locker room is the place where your true colors emerge. Women are on equal standing with men in this arena:
Men may be more likely to hog dumbbells in the weight room, but women can stand for hours in the only available shower stall with the best of ’em. Follow these suggestions for locker room etiquette to maintain good relations with your fellow gym mates:

• The shower: Don’t take a marathon shower if people are waiting. With the exception of sweat, what you take into the shower should come out with you when you leave. Make sure that you remove all your shower supplies and that little pile of your hair from the drain. (Carry a latex glove or two in your shower supplies if picking up your own hair freaks you out.)
• The vanity area: Don’t hog the mirror or the hair blow dryer. If you brush your hair and 200 strands of hair fall on the counter, wipe them off with a paper towel (wipe them into the towel or in the trash, not on the floor).
• The locker area: Don’t take up three lockers and spread your clothing over the entire bench. Share with others. Shut your locker when you leave. Don’t leave your belongings in lockers overnight unless you have permission from your gym to do so. Most gyms empty out unsanctioned lockers at the end of every day and won’t guarantee the safe return of your personal items. If the lockers at your gym require a key, return the key at the end of your workout. Keyed lockers are a convenience to members so they don’t have to carry a lock of their own. However, members often walk away with the keys, rendering the lockers unusable and creating a big expense for the facility, which has to keep replacing the keys.
• The laundry and trash areas: Limit yourself to one or two towels. After you finish using your towels and other paraphernalia, place them in the laundry or trash bin instead of dropping them on the floor.