The gym is surely the healthy outlet for a little heavy breathing. But while we work out to enhance our health, the air we inhale may not be helping us.
A new study of the air quality in gyms has found concerning levels of indoor air pollutants.
Researchers from the University of Lisbon in Portugal and the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands placed air-quality monitors in the weight room of 11 gyms, as well as several of the gyms' exercise and yoga studios.
The monitors measured the levels of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), dust particles and chemicals like formaldehyde (CH2O).
The gyms showed high levels of airborne dust, formaldehyde and carbon dioxide, which can lead to asthma and other respiratory problems.
"We consider that the gymnasiums meet the criteria for a poor indoor quality," said Carla Ramos, the lead author of the paper, due to be published in in the journal Building and Environment.
"The pollutants CO2, VOC and CH2O presented high concentrations exceeding the national limit values."
The pollutants were particularly high during peak exercise times when dust and other particles were stirred up and all the gym-goers were huffing and puffing and producing more carbon dioxide.
Indoor air pollution has been consistently ranked among the top five environmental risks to public health but Australia has no specific laws for indoor air quality and gyms are not monitored.
The study raises questions but shouldn't scare you away from your workout, says Professor Guy Marks, a respiratory specialist from the University of Sydney's Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
"The health consequences to short-term exposure to these pollutants is not really well-defined," he says.
"Long-term seems to have adverse affects on breathing and cardiac function . . . it is hard to quantify whether [gym air poses] a significant problem, but they are certainly interesting findings."
Marks explains that the source of the pollutants measured may be generated from the gym equipment, explaining that foam materials and cleaning products can produce formaldehyde.
Pollutants can also come in from the outdoors, Marks says, pointing out that people are exposed to similar pollutants every day at home, too.
"During exercise, people are more susceptible to whatever is in the air because they are breathing deeper and stressing cardio and respiratory systems."
Despite this, going to the gym still beats not going.
It is worth choosing a gym that has good ventilation and doesn't smell of chemicals.
Ramos, who still goes to her gym to exercise, also suggests asking gym staff about the type of cleaning products they use and whether they mop the floors, which is more effective than sweeping for removing dust.
Marks points out that swimming pools tend to present more of a problem in terms of the chemicals people breathe in, than gyms.
"The advice is that it's a good idea to have good ventilation."
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