Facility Etiquette

Etiquette is a code of behavior that defines expectations and behavior within a social group. Like most
businesses, Athletic Lab has its own expected etiquette to ensure we can deliver an un-compromised
experience for all our members. You can read about our session etiquette here. The following is our
facility etiquette.

This is a good a refresher to those who’ve been with us for awhile and a primer for those who are just joining us.
These guidelines will help to make everyone’s experience as amazing as possible. Following these guidelines
will help us to keeping the facility organized and clean and the equipment in working order.

Facility Etiquette

1. Organization
1. If you take it out. Put it back. There are only a couple of people (all young children) who come
to Athletic Lab who can say their mom works here. Chances are, you’re probably not one. If you
take something out please make your mom proud and put it away. We pride ourselves on being
the cleanest and most organized facility in the area. And much thought has gone in to the
planning and layout of the facility to ensure that the space and workflow is optimized. This starts
with having everything where it’s expected to be. The most common items to be left out are
jump-stretch bands, foam rollers, jump ropes, kettlebells and change plates.
2.

Put it back where it belongs. It’s not just enough to put things away. Please put them back where you found
them. In particular, bumper plates, bars and change plates are all distributed around the facility in a very
specific manner to ensure they are available for the groups that need them. If you take extra bumper plates for
heavy sled pushes or squats, please put them back on the rack where you found them. Likewise, if you take a
short jump rope, put it back with the rest of the short jump ropes. We’ve color coded almost all equipment in the
facility to make this process as simple as possible.

1.
1. Weightlifting equipment should stay on the weightlifting platforms. This one is an extension
of the previous point. While the equipment on the weightlifting platforms resemble the equipment
elsewhere in the facility, they should not be intermixed with equipment elsewhere. The bumper
plates are different. The bars are different. There are extra change plates necessary for training
for the sport of weightlifting. Each platform should have a complete set (and nothing more) of
plates in addition to a 20kg bar:
 Change Plates (0.5kg, 1kg, 2kg, 2.5kg, 5kg)
 Technique Plate (5kg )
 Bumper Plates (10kg, 15kg, 20kg, 25kg)
2. Keep order in the kids room. We love having kids around Athletic Lab and feel it’s important
that they see their parents training. That said, the training hall isn’t a safe place for unsupervised
children which is why we’ve added a kids play room. If you use the kids room, please help us out
by picking up any trash left over by your child, returning toys to an ordered position and taking
any toys or you supplies you brought with you.
2. Cleanliness
1. Use the trash can and not the floor. We have multiple trash cans throughout the facility.
Please use them for your trash. This includes, but is not limited to: your empty drink container,
your thumb wrap and your finished workout sheet. This goes for the locker room too.
2. Blood and sweat happen. Clean it up. We recognize that sweat and sometimes even blood is
going to happen during some training sessions. That said, if you made a mess, clean it up. And if
you see a mess that isn’t your own please notify a coach so they can take care of it. Not only
are blood and sweat a serious hygiene violation if unattended to but they can also make things
unsafe (and gross). A sweaty pullup bar or barbell is much more prone to slip out of the hands.
And a sweaty ab mat is just disgusting. If you bleed, no big deal. Really….it’s not a big deal.
 Don’t be the guy who glamorizes their torn callus by taking a photo for Instagram only to leave
the blood for others. Grab the disinfectant and towel and clean it off.

3. Use chalk judiciously. Even if your name was

Lebron James we’d still ask you to be judicious with your chalk usage. We know you might think
it looks cool to chalk up every part of your body and do chalk claps but the reality is that it’s
wasteful and creates a huge mess that needs to be cleaned up. Please use only as much chalk
as is necessary and brush off any excess IN THE BUCKET…not on the floor.
4. No animals please. We love animals. But not all our members are animal lovers and some may
actually have allergies to common household animals. Please refrain from bringing your pets
inside of Athletic Lab.

Care of Equipment. Athletic Lab is outfitted with the best equipment for sports performance training. Please
respect the equipment for the high performance pieces they are.

1. Respect the turf. The turf is the one area of the entire facility that EVERYONE uses. Lab Rats use it.
Scholastic Sports Performance use it. Performance Fitness uses it. Private training clients use it. There’s
nothing more damaging to the turf than dropping heavy weights on to it. Dropping kettlebells and metal
change plates on the turf tend to do the most damage, so please be careful. Remember, if you can pick
it up, we expect you to also be able control the descent.
2. Avoid ghost riding. Ghost riding refers to the phenomenon of dropping barbells, kettlebells and loaded
bars from overhead, regardless of the situation or weight. This is important because dumbbells,
kettlebells and barbells with 5kg, 15 lb and 10kg plates can bounce when dropped from overhead and
ricochet into yourself and other athletes. While the sound of crashing weights is exhilarating, limit it to
controlled drops of heavy weights on to appropriate surfaces (jerk blocks, pulling blocks or the
floor….never the turf).
3. Don’t slam the bar. You just hit a PR. We’re happy for you. So please don’t ruin the moment by
slamming the expensive bar down to the ground. While the rubber plates and flooring might lead you to
believe they’re invincible, this isn’t the case. The bars, plates and flooring are all high performance
pieces of equipment that need to be treated with respect.
4. Equipment in the weightlifting area should be used for weightlifting only. The bars, bumpers and
change plates on the weightlifting platforms are all specialty items. While they resemble the equipment
elsewhere in the facility, they should not be used for anything but weightlifting. In particular, we’d ask that
you please refrain from using the weightlifting equipment for MetCons.