Study: Gym free Weights Flush with more Germs than Public Toilets ….

Your gym is not exactly a health haven, not with all those germs on the dumbbells, stationary bikes and treadmills.

 A new study by FitRated.com will make you plop some disinfectant wipes into your workout bag.

 It offered this gut-wrenching statistic: Free weights are crawling with 362 times more bacteria than public toilets.

 “Every time you pick up a weight or grab an exercise bike handle, you could be putting yourself at risk for an illness or infection,” warns the report from the fitness equipment news site.

 EmLab P&K swiped bacteria samples at three unidentified fitness chains to determine how many nasty microbes are festering on the equipment. The results will make gym rats sweat.

  

 More than 70% of bacteria swabbed by the study are potentially harmful to humans, including gram-positive cocci, which causes skin infections, pneumonia and septicemia.

The free weights were the dirtiest, likely because strength trainers don’t wipe down the dumbbells as often as people wipe down the cardio machines.

 “I hate to say this, but people are gross, especially at the gym,” FitRated rep Cristina Lachowyn told the Daily News.

 Testing also revealed that the average bike carries 39 times more bacteria than a reusable public cafeteria tray, posing a risk of Bacillus, which can cause eye, ear and respiratory infections.

 The average treadmill holds 74 times more bacteria than a typical public bathroom faucet. Put another way, each piece of equipment teemed with more than a million bacteria per square inch.

 A study from the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine showed that 63% of tested gym machines harbored traces of rhinovirus, which causes the common cold.

And a University of California-Irvine study found that staphylococcus bacteria — spread easily through cuts and infections, can survive on hard surfaces like gym equipment and benches.

 Ready to hit the showers yet?

 Gym goers can protect themselves by disinfecting machines and weights, washing their hands and changing out of gym clothes as soon as the workout is done.

 “We decided to do this kind of study to make people aware of their habits, and make you work out a lot cleaner and safer,” said Lachowyn. “The last thing you need is to get sick when you’re trying to get fit.”