Sex at the Gym

Two surveys reveal that a lot of people are focused on something other than their workouts. Warning: This gets a little frisky.


Hey Girl, Need a Spot?

There’s an unwritten rule about dating people at your gym. Here’s the rule: Don’t.

Why? Well, something about not pooping where you eat. But on the other hand, the gym is a social environment full of people with whom you have at least one thing in common. Plus, there’s lots of skin showing, grunting, and bending over. So, mating behaviors naturally occur.

Now, two recent surveys have shed some light on what’s really happening between sets.

Locker Room Shenanigans

According to one British survey of 2000 gym-goers, 20 percent said they’ve had sex AT the gym. Out of those frisky folks, 49 percent were straight, 31 percent were gay, and 20 percent just weren’t picky.

But there’s a problem here. The survey was conducted by Ann Summers, which is a UK sex shop. So we have to assume some bias in the data collection – people who shop at adult toy stores may statistically be more open to hooking up at the gym. Or maybe the Brits are just a randy bunch.

The second survey, though, is more reliable.

The Mating Rituals of Meatheads

A survey of 1000 people conducted by Elliptical Reviews gave us some fascinating insights. Here are the highlights:

  • 43 percent of women report being hit on at the gym. Only 21 percent of men report being hit on. This seems normal. In a related survey of 2000 women, only 10 percent said they’ll make the first move.
  • People who flex in the mirror and drink protein shakes are 2.3 percent more likely to hit on someone during a workout. Those who take gym selfies are 1.9 percent more likely to flirt.
  • If a woman wears a tank top, she’s 7 percent more likely to get asked for her digits than if she’s wearing a T-shirt. Surprisingly, men get hit on slightly more often if they’re wearing hoodies. (Tank tops came in second for men.)
  • The more time you spend in the gym, the better your odds (or worse depending on your perspective) of getting hit on. Just spending 7 more minutes in the gym and an extra 3 days a month boosts your odds. Play those numbers, players.
  • People get approached more at gyms where the monthly fee is LOWER. Hmm, cheap gym, cheap dates? Or maybe more younger singles go to less expensive gyms, while married older people go to more expensive gyms.
  • 71 percent of men admit to staring at women in the gym while only 53 percent of women do. But creepily, more women secretly take photos of other people at the gym (8 percent of women do it verses 6 percent of men.) That’s weird, people.
  • 97 percent of gym flirters say that it has worked for them. 66 percent report hook-ups, 61 percent said they’ve gotten a real date out of it, and 24 percent have started a serious romantic relationship at the gym.

Just for the fun of it, we polled T Nation Instagram fans about this topic:

Based on the comments, some of these were meaningless hook-ups, but a surprising number of T Nation readers met their future spouses at the gym. Aww…

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