Heavy Breathing And The Opposite Sex

If you’ve been around me much at all, you know how I’m all over clients about proper form, and proper form includes breathing.  In a nutshell, you should be exhaling on the concentric/exertion portion of the exercise.  However, this article isn’t about how to breathe, it’s about the ability to breathe comfortably without choking on someone else’s scent.  Obviously, we’re in a gym, and there’s going to be certain odors, but those odors shouldn’t include overwhelming perfumes, deodorants, aftershaves, etc.  Although most people wear a little scent, it shouldn’t be smelled several feet away, and you shouldn’t be leaving a trail of that scent everywhere you walk.  I know that some people are only in the gym to meet the opposite sex and they need to resort to artificial means to do that (i.e. a fake scent instead of their own personality and charm), but a lot of us are there to work out and this usually involves heavy breathing.  There’s nothing worse than being near the end of an especially grueling set of squats and suddenly choking on some flowery/fruity smell!  For some of us, it’s just uncomfortable and we find it inconsiderate of the offender, but other people will actually have severe breathing problems triggered by heavy perfumes.  So, be considerate of others.  Not everyone wants to smell (and sometimes almost taste) your choice in perfumes.  What may be acceptable in the average workplace may not be acceptable where people are doing a lot of heavy and deep breathing.  Also, when primping after your workout, be aware of who’s around when you spray deodorant or hairspray----no one likes to suck in your choice of scents in such a concentrated form.