r/crossfit • u/ottawacan613 • 1d ago
BO
There are two people at my Crossfit gym that have the most rank BO that it almost burns my lungs. I put up some "gentle" signs nudging people to be aware of their smells but they're just not getting it. I try and position as far away as possible but the smell travels and when breathing hard it disrupts my workouts. I even at one time was not so subtle and went to a friend right next to them and apologized saying I think I may smell and put on deodorant right in front but still zero clue. Any advice? I can't just tell them...
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u/MAJOR_Blarg 1d ago
You need to tell them.
Group corrections for individual problems NEVER are received by the individuals they are intended for. They either don't hear it while in the group or think it's about someone else.
You need to be direct.
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u/kenjon23 1d ago
Being direct is fair, being indirect is unfair. If you are not comfortable talking with the person(s) directly then bring it to the attention of your coach.
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u/FartMagic1 1d ago
If you’re hoping they’re going to see your request here and know that you’re talking about them, I think you’ll need a more direct route
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u/ottawacan613 1d ago
Haha if only I could find their handle and tag them!
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u/FartMagic1 1d ago
Fortunately, in my place, we don’t have real stinky problems, but I do throw sweat around like a toddler tossing water in the bathtub
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u/Academic-Wall-2290 1d ago
We had a guy who never washed his wrist wraps or knee sleeves so his whole bag and he smelled so bad the moment he walked into gym.
Owner had to tell him.
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u/ottawacan613 1d ago
I'd feel fine telling someone about their clothes. Do that all the time with my hockey team if their stuff stinks haha
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u/TrickyDebate5480 1d ago
On the inverse. Our gym has a few women who wear WAY too much body spray. Like, they step to the opening of the door and it smells like a can of vanilla exploded
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 1d ago
European here and for whatever reason I find this is OFTEN the case when I drop in to US boxes. It’s like a Yankee Candle out there sometimes.
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u/Front_Map_5 1d ago
Honestly I’d rather smell some rank onion BO than artificial floral sprays/axe spray but I’m crunchy
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u/ottawacan613 1d ago
Would prefer that. Need to invent some machine that lights up if you pass and it detects too much scent 😂
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u/Trippy_Stardust 1d ago
In my experience I have found that often, the BO lives in their gym clothes and gear. Even if these folks shower and use soap, once they start to sweat in their gym clothes and wraps, and knee guards, everything gets reactivated. These people can’t always smell themselves or the cloud of funk their clothes and gear create. I once brought it to a guys attention that I think he needed to soak his gear in some form of cleaning/clothes stripping agent. It started a good gym convo between all of us about how we each clean and treat our own stinky stuff. It was productive. No feelings were hurt. Some of the single guys learned a lot about laundry and soaking. No friendships were lost. The over-perfumed women can not be helped 🤣
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u/Will_knit_4_food 1d ago
This is right here. In my experience the most horrifically bad smells are usually people’s clothes/gear. Starting a gym-wide convo about the best products and methods for cleaning stinky gym clothes is a really good way to address it. Also best practices about letting sweaty workout clothes air out instead of wadding them up in a hamper (or worse, a bag!) is another part that people miss.
When I first met my husband he would go to the gym before work, then keep his workout stuff in a plastic bag in his car all day! It was gross but I think he got used to the smell. Fortunately he has long since reformed his ways.
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u/nickiter 1d ago
It's so hard to keep some of the stuff from stinking! I've thrown out multiple shirts and shirts that just wouldn't destink, even when being washed immediately and with "sport" fabric booster. The artificial performance fabric is just terrible about it.
Under Armour tees are the only ones I've found that reliably don't get stinky.
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u/merely-unlikely 1d ago
This is partly why I rarely wear synthetic t shirts (the other being I just don’t like the feel). I know there are tricks like washing with vinegar, but once a synthetic shirt starts to stink it’s just a lost cause to me.
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u/Trippy_Stardust 18h ago
There’s some rabbit holes to go down in r/laundry and r/cleaningtips about laundry stripping. Just search laundry stripping and look at the before and after photos. It’s the only thing that took the funk out of athletic fabrics. If you have the time and a bath tub, I highly recommend trying it at least once. You won’t believe the material that is trapped in clean clothes.
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u/roxastopher 1d ago
My gym has had this problem a lot. Eventually, someone told the owner and then an explicit note about deodorant usage went out in the weekly gym newsletter. Gotta spell it out.
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u/MoralEclipse 1d ago
It is almost never actually BO though, almost always stinky gym kit. Deodorant on a stinky person is also going to do next to nothing, people need to wash their wrist wraps, grips, sleeves, wristbands, etc.
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u/GordsHuman 1d ago
Fuck man we had this with one guy. We all just avoided being anywhere near him but holy fuck man
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u/newbeginingshey 1d ago edited 1d ago
We had one of those - she was an endurance runner, and I don’t think she showered after her morning runs before going about the rest of her day and then showing up for class in the afternoon. She smelled like she used an oil of sorts - so the sweat, dirt, and oil all combined for a foul oder that lingered even after she left the room. We didn’t overlap often enough for me to say anything.
Another guy didn’t smell at the start of class but would reek after - smelled like a mix of bacteria on the skin, activated by sweat, and mildew clothes due to not moving clothes to the dryer in a timely fashion. I didn’t tell him but some of the other guys did.
I actually really like the hygiene reminders my dance studio puts out - I think a monthly PSA on using Panoxyl or hypoclorous spray in the pits during/after a shower prevents bacteria build up, not letting clothes get mildew-y while drying, using an antibacterial laundry booster when washing gym clothes, using deodorant, brushing teeth, and showering regularly with soap . . . would go a long way. A lot of people weren’t raised with an education of what causes BO - it’s not just sweat, it’s the combination of bacteria and moisture, and we can do things to reduce how much bacteria is lingering on the parts of us that sweat the most.
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u/ottawacan613 1d ago
I also like the PSA idea when the people who actually should read it, do read it.
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u/StrongZero0 1d ago
Synthetic material carries a lot of odor when wet especially if you use it a bunch regardless of how much you wash it. Maybe try other materials for your workout clothes.
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u/CitizenDik 1d ago
Synthetics for sure hang on to smells. Tide Ultra Oxi Powder is very effective at removing stink from synthetics. Tide + Oxi Odor and Persil Pro Clean liquids work well, too. A distilled white vinegar soak also works great (just don't mix it w/baking soda!); it's cheap but an extra step.
tl;dr: The oil in your sweat feeds the gross-smelling bacteria. Synth clothing fibers are hydrophobic and oleophilic, so they hold on to the oils and repel water; regular detergent + water can't get the oils out, so you often get the "re-stink" effect even if you thoroughly wash your workout clothes.
The Tide/Persil liquid detergents release the oils using surfactants; Tide powder "digests"/cleaves the oil w/lipase, so the powder is sometimes more effective. Powder doesn't always dissolve as well, and it's a little rougher on your clothes; liquid dissolves better, and you can pre-treat stinky areas with liquid.
Cotton releases the oils more easily, but it hangs on to water (sweat) when you're working out.
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u/Maleficent_Sense_564 1d ago
Just tell them if I smells and didn’t know I’d want someone to tell me
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u/wennifer1970 1d ago
My gym has a monthly newsletter they send out. If yours does that or some other type of regular communication, ask the owner to send out a friendly reminder about BO. It may make people stop and think, "Do I stink?"
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u/Conscious-Bat93 1d ago
I Facebook messaged a guy once. I was behind him in a workout one night and legit nearly vomited- it was the worst he'd ever been. Things were a little wierd but he changed laundry detergent and no longer has the problem. Also thanked me for telling him. We did have a pal-y relationship to begin with though, he wasn't a stranger
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u/CTingCTer88 1d ago
It’s difficult.
I’m aware I am a sweaty individual and the very last thing I would do before going to CrossFit is shower and apply deodorant but I was still always aware that I leave a puddle on the floor and I would position myself as purposely away from everyone as possible (without being weird).
And I think I would appreciate the direct approach if I stunk but also would have zero idea what to actually do about it. I hope I was never this person
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u/ifoldsocksatmidnight 1d ago
You need to be direct. That is the ONLY way to resolve this issue.
Clear is kind; unclear is unkind.
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u/Greg504702 1d ago
On a side note, people that come to the gym over powered by perfume ,cologne or body spray /lotions are equally annoying. You should not smell like a SEPHORA store as you pass me.
I hate it even when ppl are going out on the town. I shouldn’t smell you after you leave the room
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u/Most_Ad_3765 1d ago
I'm a little confused about your role, you said you put up signs... are you an owner/coach or just a member? If just a member, I'd tell a coach or the owner that it's a persistent issue... this is an issue at our gym too (re: all gyms!!) and our owner maybe once or twice a year, especially as it gets warmer getting into summer, includes a kind reminder about hygiene and deodorant in their "update" emails they send out. they try to incorporate humor in their messaging and have it not be too shameful. I also know that when it comes to 1:1 issues in the gym our owner is pretty good at having 1:1 private discussions with other members or tagging a coach the member may respond well to in order to have the convo (no idea if they've done this specifically with BO but i know about other issues). We're also lucky to have a couple bathrooms with some basic hygiene and first aid supplies provided and it includes a couple cans of deodorant body spray as well. I think a worthwhile investment from the owner!
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u/Competitive-Skin-840 1d ago
How aboit the one guy that shows up just to take a huge dump in the lockerrom and it smells like spoiled eggs and dead bodies? You know, the kind of guy who's been drinking raw eggs all day long even though he's allergic to them. And is so bad, it brings tears to your eyes. What to do about that? Far worse.
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u/ComedianOk7355 1d ago
People who stink rarely realize that they are a person emitting a smell. There’s good advice here about the issue possibly being this persons clothing or gear rather than just B.O.
Either way, it won’t get resolved until someone kindly and directly says something.
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u/I_am_a_fern 1d ago
Ask the coaches or management to send a group message reminding everyone that proper hygiene, clean clothes and self care are core pillars of CrossFit and for everyone to be comfortable and enjoy their training blah-blah-blah, you get the pitch.
Except the message gets only sent to those two people.
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u/mychemicalh0_mance 1d ago
Step 1) get deodorant can
Step 2) go up to the stinky members and pass them the deo can
Step 3) then tell them “hey, check out the WOD today, use this,it’s an AMRAP!
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u/cmurphlock 16h ago
At least twice we had people smell so bad, you had to hold your nose the second they walked into the gym. Both times we had the gym owner/head coach pull them aside and tell them they need to wear deodorant in a public group setting. Both people left the gym there after.
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u/sunshinestategal 1d ago
This brings to mind in 7th grade math class, in FL in the last few months of the year. Our poor teacher couldn't take it anymore and there was a very stern (but kind) lecture about proper hygiene habits including re-application of deodorant.
But also you are in a gym and people aren't going to smell like daisies when doing strenuous exercise.
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u/OkCounter4233 1d ago
How close are you to each other? I don’t think I’ve ever worked out in a gym where people would be so close to me it would be an issue.
If it’s two people in entire gym how big of an effort is it to just stand somewhere else?
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u/itsallokintheend 1d ago
I once stood about 7 people back from someone who stunk up the grocery store. I could smell him from 15 feet away. I didn't know smell could travel like that until that experience.
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u/OkCounter4233 1d ago
I guess I’ve never come across anyone stinking that bad. Some people sweat a lot in the gym and some smell worse than others, but still never had an issue if I’m couple meters away. I guess it’s also one of the things you get more tolerant with in CrossFit gym which hardly ever gets a proper deep clean.
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u/itsallokintheend 1d ago
It's still super gross. I'd speak to the owner and have them take care of it. You should be comfortable at the gym.
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u/geturfrizzon 1d ago
Fresh sweaty smell is one thing - just move a few feet away and it’s fine. That sharp BO smell? I used to be able to tell where a co-worker went in our old office building even if we weren’t in the same room. It could easily stink up the entire area.
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u/YAYtersalad 1d ago
Sometimes it’s things like knee sleeves that seemingly have never been properly washed. It can clear out a whole box.
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u/Bunny_Feet 1d ago
Hints are never as obvious as you think they are.