August 01, 2008

Germs and Giveaways


I have to confess I've always tended to be somewhat of a slacker in the "kill all the nasty germs" department.

For example, I practice my own customized version of "the five second rule." And when they show those shocking reports on tv about all the nasty bacteria and viruses that swarm all over your phone or desk or hotel room bedspread or toothbrush or steering wheel? Others may gasp and shudder, but I tend to say: "whatever."

I figure I've been wandering around this earth for quite a few decades, and have touched all these germ-infested surfaces and nothing bad has ever happened to me. Normal hand-washing seems to do the trick--and it's not like I even run off to wash my hands every time I touch a doorknob or pet a dog or pick up a quarter off the sidewalk or anything.

Perhaps I should be dead by now, but I'm not.

So one might think Cranky Fitness would be an odd place to giveaway several bottles of a product called GymSoap, which is a tea-tree oil and triclosan based liquid soap that kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi. You take it to the gym to avoid picking up any unwelcome microscopic hitchhikers.

But there are four reasons why it's actually a very good idea to offer up some Gymsoap!

1. MizFit thinks it's great product.

2. There are a number of Cranky Fitness commenters who are Very Serious about fighting germs.

3. The very nice GymSoap folks offered us 3 bottles for free and,

4. A few months ago I read an article like this one on the rise of drug-resistant staph infections that people are getting from their gyms. Risking athlete's foot is one thing, but this MSRA stuff is creeeeepy. (The GymSoap folks have some icky pictures on their home page (scroll down), if you want to freak yourself out.) I am starting to rethink my "live and let live" approach to germ exposure, at least when I'm at the gym.

So anyway, about the soap: it's apparently gentle, yet also heavy duty enough to kick some serious bacterial, viral, and fungal ass. And if you go by the testimonials, it looks like it can also turn you into a muscular tanned award winning body builder or athlete if you wash your hands often enough.



(She uses GymSoap a LOT).


So wanna try some? You don't have to use it the gym, they also market it for home use too. Alas, it is again for U.S. residents only (unless you want to have it sent to a U.S. address). Sorry Bag Lady and all our other beloved international readers!

Two bottles will be given away based on a random drawing. The third will be won by the person who writes the most compelling and/or amusing comment as to why they would really like some free GymSoap.

Contest deadline is Midnight Tuesday night, August 5th; winners announced the next morning; email us by Thursday night the 7th to claim your prize!

54 comments:

  1. Well I am the first commenter, which means it is just too early for me to say anything amusing and stuff.
    I do have admit I am no germophobe, but the gym showers just... eeek... I don't know. Maybe that soap would make it so I don't drive back home to shower each time.

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  2. okay so I got the old staph 2 years ago nothing funny nor amusing about it becuz em = me almost died. Often refer to meself as em. No I'm not phyciotic nor do I have split personalities. LOL anyway I'm almost died and if it wasn't for the best sister in the world I would had. She came in and found me and rush me to the hospitial. I had just had a little girl a few month before this so I was out for I don't know how long before sister found me. My sister being the person she is automatically done what needed to be done and even took care of my little girl. I'm eternally grateful to her. Since then I've gotten so picky on germs. I know I have to..... That's what almost killed me.

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  3. If you've been to England you know how appalling hygiene can be over here. Dude, have you seen their teeth?!

    Please to give me a bottle (I *heart* MizFit) so that I don't go native.

    Thanks muchly.

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  4. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger and all.
    I'm happy with soap and water and I avoid touching public stuff as much as possible.

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  5. I would love to win some soap-I will share it with my husband!

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  6. Well, damn! And you know how I feel about germs and such.....but the part that pisses me off the most about the contest not being open to Canadians? The Bag Lady would pour the entire bottle over her head (or even down her throat!) if it would make her look like the woman in the photo!!!!! Sigh.
    Guess I'm stuck looking like the Bag Lady.

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  7. Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. No, no, no, you are definitely not one of the "culprits," there were only just a few and they were ones I had visited quite a few times and commented so you would have known. I haven't peaked around yet but already love your blog, the name, the concept. I am going to look around more today.

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  8. Sheesh... and here I thought you loved us Canadians... (just kidding, I know why some contests are US only).

    Listen, my dear crabbsy, I know you don't do this but I have a warning for people who have multiple links on their blogs. It seems that the links I have, the ones with news stories that people come to my blog to read - was considered spam and my blog has been locked. Can't get in.

    I was thinking about moving it anyway, was just too lazy before. Anyway, be warned! Watch those links.

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  9. Sounds like some great soap to have!

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  10. We're having baby #4 soon and we'll spend time in a nasty hospital. Plus the baby will need daddy to have clean hands.

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  11. Those pictures make me want to bathe in an entire tub full of the soap. Yuck! By the looks of some of the shifty characters in my gym, it's no wonder folks are getting infections. They should make personal gym wipes to use to wipe down the machines before and after use instead of the spray bottle (probably filled with just water) and paper towel.

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  12. I need gym soap because our gym is plagued my naked old women who think nothing of planting their bare tushie on every available surface in the gym.

    I'm usually pretty laissez faire about germs myself you can only witness so much naked-bench sitting before you start to wonder about what's going on on the yoga mats... ;)

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  13. I'd love to win this! I'm like you, and tend to skip the showers in the gym and opt for my at-home showers. perhaps if I had this in my gym bag, I'd shower there more often. ;)

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  14. I would like a bottle of free antibacterial soap because the other night when I went swimming at my local rec center, I got out of the pool to find that my sandals with "Kahlua" emblazoned across the top were missing!

    I spent about 10 minutes looking for them, then finally went to the lifeguard (distracting him from any lifesaving he should have been doing for my very important inquiry) and asked if he had seen anyone take my sandals.

    He mentioned that a bunch of kids had been hanging out near my stuff, and maybe they took them.

    So I had to walk through the locker room/showers BAREFOOT. How disgusting is that?!?!

    I filed a police report for my sandals (even though they came free with a bottle of kahlua - it's the principle of the thing) and suggested to the police that if they see anyone wearing bright yellow kahlua sandals that they should just mace them on the spot. Unfortunately, they thought it was a huge joke and two days later I got a postcard in the mail saying they closed my report.

    So long story short, I would like a bottle of GymSoap so I can be prepared next time some punk steals my sandals. Or so if I see some punk wearing my sandals I can squirt them in the face with it.

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  15. If I win, I promise to donate it to the stinky guy who ALWAYS runs on treadmill #3 at my gym. He is so nasty that, not only will no one EVER get on treadmill #2 or #4 when he's around, but no one but him EVER uses #3, even when he's not physically in the gym. Now that I think about it, maybe he does it on purpose...hmmmm

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  16. Tea tree oil! Accck! Gedditoffame!

    I have other priorities. A few years ago, at an outdoor dog show, a fellow training club member who I know is a nurse asked me why I was washing my hands outside the porta potty with only water. I told her I preferred the fairly low risk of germs to the almost certain chance that I would react to the soap.
    Along with the no-time factor, one of the reasons I quit using the gym was that I was getting more and more allergic to the disinfectant, to the point where I couldn't use a machine that somebody else had just wiped down, much less wipe anything down myself.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  17. I, too, am generally not afraid to get dirty, but I just went to their Web site and I AM afraid of those pictures. And One Bloggers Life comment. Damn. So, yes, I want some. Pick me!

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  18. I'm the same way when I see those restaurant exposes on television-- I always shrug and think "Hey, my kitchen is WAY filthier than that!"

    So... enjoyed the post, but I'll pass on the gym soap!

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  19. I'm with Mary Anne about the disinfectant soap. My hands suffer. I'm also with Crabby about the "whatever" attitude, up to a point. I grew up on a farm, and we got plenty dirty. BTW I read somewhere that farm denizens (human ones) have greater resistance to disease because they build up so many antibodies from all the manure particles in the air. :-P

    I know there are killer bugs out there though--probably because of all the anti-bacterial soaps and stuff.

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  20. My approach to germs is basically that if I kill them all, then my body won't keep up it's immunity, then something nasty like MRSA comes along, and I already have less immunity. That's entirely unscientific, but whatever. I wash my hands, but if I touch something like a subway handle, it doesn't phase me.

    That said, my gym is nasty. There's hair and nastiness and throughout the showers, and the bathrooms are not nice either. I don't even think about what's on the equipment in the group ex room. I don't want to know.

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  21. I am not that germ-o-phobic, and I know that for the most part those germ-fighting soaps are encouraging the maddest, strongest germs to survive.

    But last year staph RAN through the gym. Trainers and members both were stricken.
    And I'm klutzy... with frequent open cuts, etc. So anything to cut down the chance of this happening to me?

    Does is say if it protects me from from the lost strands of weaves always floating around the gym shower floor?? Cause those things freak me out.

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  22. Aw...Canadians have germs too.

    After being itn the lab, some "clean" training I was given always sticks with me. Standard soap will kill 99.5% of your germs if it's used right. The length of time it takes to thoroughly wash your hands is to (while cleaning between your fingers) lather and sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself. When the song is done, you're good to go.
    People are really slacking off as far as germs go...I'm just glad I don't lkive in a huge urban centre like Hong Kong or Dubhai...I'd go all Howard Hughes...

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  23. Not creative enough to think of a story so just randomly choose me please! Thanks!

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  24. It kills germs...but does it smell good?

    I shower at the university gym, so who knows what sort of germs lurk in there. Of course (like you Crabby), I'm pretty lackadaisical about germs (and use the 5-second rule constantly), so maybe I do need some Gym Soap.

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  25. We drench ourselves in antibacterial soap....a strange breed on my end!

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  26. eh, i love me some germs.

    not really, but i figure (like someone said) all the anti-bacterial/anti-microbial stuff just makes super bugs. i rarely get sick and have the family curse of never-ending mucus, so i figure i'm good.

    that being said, of course, i always wear sandals at the gym/in locker rooms. ick.

    oh, and in terms of food and the five second rule (indoors), the only time i don't obey it is a gym locker room (not that i eat in there anyway) and a hockey locker room. eeewwwww.

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  27. Haha, bacterial ass kicking is always fun. I am a huge germ-o-phobe. I use a bottle of Germ-X like its nothing. I have my boyfriend trained now when I pull it out to put his hand out ;)

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  28. I feel that water and dilution is really the best defense against germs. That said, I saw a man in our locker room the other week on the bench au natural that, I'm afraid would give Charlotte's gym butts an unfortunate run :-(

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  29. Well, this is not the gym, but it is a fairly desperate plight. I moved into a new apartment yesterday, and the guy who was moving out was reeaaaalllllyyyy slow. As in, I waited for 6 hours for him to get his stuff OUT. Then he said he needed another hour or so to clean, and I told him I could clean it and not to worry. And... I can, it's fine, most of the apartment is totally fine, if dusty. But the shower? YUCK! And he left his shower curtains, so I can see he has been showering surrounded by mildew and who KNOWS what else. Obviously, this is a high-priority task for me and my conventional cleaning supplies, but I would feel better with a little extra something. Like taking whatever vitamin it is you take when you might be exposed to radiation.

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  30. I'm a germ slacker too. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that!

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  31. I spent three days in the hospital last Labor Day weekend will salmonella poisoning -- complete with CAT scan and colonoscopy. Joy!

    Let's just say I'm now fairly fanatical about germ fighting.

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  32. Intellectually, I realize that using triclosan contributes to the proliferation of MRSA and other "superbugs" by clearing the field of benign bacteria and as such is probably detrimental to the public health.

    That said, I work out in a boxing gym where it's not uncommon to realize in the middle of a set of push-ups that your hands are planted smack dab in a huge blood smear.

    Dunno if triclosan kills hepatitis C, but I can totally sympathize with you germophobes sometimes. Shudder.

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  33. Im out I want more
    how selfish I know
    but when I work out I SWEAT
    I GLISTEN I GLOW.

    and others do too
    the gym? filled with yuck.
    so make me the winner!
    now THAT wouldnt suck.

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  34. I'd like some soap. I'd also like some creativity to come up with a good reason for it, but it's Friday.

    Thinks... nope, I've got nothing. Maybe some soap would make me more creative?

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  35. oooo, i want some! not feeling creative today, so just sign me up for the random drawing.

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  36. I don't mind normal germs, but I actually transferred from a gym that was dirty and MOLDY to a cleaner branch of the smae outfit, even though i could walk to the dirty one and have to drive to the clean one.

    So, yeah, I get it about the soap and wouldn't mind winning some.

    BTW, Marijke says she knows why some contests are U.S. only. Well, I live in the U.S. but I don't know why. Crabby, when you get a minute from all your exercise and fixing healthy meals and whatnot could you tell us. 'Cause if you did, I either missed it or, more likely, forgot.

    Terrie

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  37. my fiance plays hockey and it does make me nervous that he will get MRSA. It smells so bad! We have got his equipment cleaned professionally a few times but this soap would be great!

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  38. I can't believe I've never heard of this product. Clearly, I should resign myself to the fact that I've been a very dirty gym goer.

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  39. Thanks for the links ;) That will keep me busy for awhile. I am not a gym-go-er yet but have sooooooooooo many germs in my home. I am a little OCD anyway, so I am constantly washing, scrubbing, sanitizing. Want to know the worst part? I have 22 month old identical twins girls in diapers still but i am trying to potty train my little "angels" because their new trick is to take off their diaper when full and leave it anywhere they can scare mommy! I think they have double-teamed me. What's germier than toddler poop?

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  40. Ooo, I want some. I'm going to be taking a lot more at-gym showers soon, and I want to be cool with some fancy soap!

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  41. Oh, dear...she is very...shiny.

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  42. I would love to win some soap! Thanks :)

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  43. I need gym soap because I work/live in a hospital. The staph is everywhere even on the staff. Just kidding about the staff they are very clean. But residents need soap.

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  44. I am a total germaphobe, like the kind that will prolly eventually turn into the little old lady with plastic covered couches. But I use reg soap at home as to not kill the "good" ones with the "bad" ones in the septic tank.

    The gym: nothing worse than going to the locker room and get a glimpse of a woman, NAKED, sitting on the bench, WITH NO TOWEL DOWN putting her clothes on. Can I get an "ewwww"?

    I was at the airport over the last two days (a huge amount of germs lurking in the shadows there). I was so grossed by having to take off my shoes and walk barefooted where everyone else was walking barefooted. Ick.

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  45. I don't like germs, I'm lacking in the bulk muscle department, and I'm very fair skinned.

    I am willing to volunteer to use this soap with great frequency for research purposes to see if I turn into a buff, bronzed (and clean) award winning body builder. ;)

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  46. Oooooo ooooo ooooo! Me me me!!

    I wasn't a germophope until I picked up a bacterial sinus infection on the plane back from Baghdad and spent a full week flat on my arse. Turns out, I'm not invincible! Hrrrruuummpphhh!

    So my new gym is packed with college kids from God Knows Where...and you know any school setting is a festering petri dish. I'd love a bottle of the cool soap...I can rub some of it on my hands before showing off my 5 pullups. I could have mothered any other gym goer there...but showing off isn't so great if you end up with a staph infection for your trouble.

    *OH* and this gym? Their version of the omnipresent spray-bottle-of-antiseptic smells just like water and instead of paper towels? It's a filty wash cloth. HELP!!

    (I love this gym anyway...it's close to my house and all the equipment is top-notch and brand-spankin' new.)

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  47. Yeah, I probably won't be buying that soap any time soon (despite the fact that I'll be in the gym twice a week at least for my college Yoga class).
    I do know how dangerous staph infections can be, but isn't that what "shower sandals" are for? Or am I incorrect in my thinking?
    I admit that I wash my hands after using the restroom, touching/cleaning something "dirty," or putting my hands in something I'd rather not (mixing my cat's dry/wet mix catfood right now, as we're trying to transition to wet). I'm not that obsessive. Maybe someday, when I get knocked up and have kids I'll worry and fret - but while it's just me and Kyle, we're all right enough.

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  48. I would love that soap. When I wear my stilettos to the gym to workout, much as I imagine the hot chic in the pic does, I find that my feet get extra sweaty. It's my piggy toes getting squashed into the ends of those cockroach killers that really does it, especially when I'm on the elliptical. And I almost pulled a hammy that one time.

    My gym is pretty clean, cuz we clean off equipment - most of us anyway - after using. Except the free weights....shudder~~~~

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  49. I'd love to try this

    luckydolls123[at]verizon[dot]net

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  50. G-Gotta love it
    Y-Yikes! 4 kids, I need a lot of soap!
    M-Mealtime isn't the same without it.

    S-Singing "Happy Birthday" while I lather.
    O-Once a day in the shower.
    A-Again after doing my "business."
    P-PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE: I NEED SOAP!!

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  51. Teatree oil is amazing!

    Antiseptic/ Bacterial Properties:
    A general disinfectant that fights bacteria in all kinds of wounds and infections.
    Anti-Fungal Properties:
    Treats fungal diseases affecting humans and animals.
    Anti-Viral Properties:
    Fights may common infectious diseases.
    Anti-Inflammatory Properties:
    Good skin penetration capabilities.
    Antimicrobial Properties:
    Extremely low potential for skin irritation or sensitisation.
    Immuno-Stimulant:
    Helps the body to fight off all kinds of infections. This is especially important if the body is weakened already.
    Cleans Wounds:
    Tea tree oil dissolves pus and cleans the surface of wounds without damage to the tissue.
    Repairs Skin:
    Tea tree oil helps skin to heal by by encouraging the formation of new scar tissue.

    :)

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  52. My daughter dances ballet around seven hours a week. Her feet are nasty. I would try anything to kill her athlete's foot fungus before it spreads to the rest of us. Ew.

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  53. Long a believer of what-doesn't-kill-all-the-germs-makes-the -undead-germs-even-stronger, I usually take pride in not carrying around a hand sanitizer key chain or lysoling every keyboard I touch.

    Someone is trying to teach me a lesson because shortly after reading this post on Friday I noticed a tickle in my throat. By Friday night I woke up every hour to suck on a Fisherman's Friend lozenge and now, on Monday, I'm mouth breathing and blowing my nose every 3 minutes....

    Where could I've gotten this nastiness? I'm firmly convinced it was the gym and I blame a combination of the lack of spray bottles and the overabundance of people not wearing enough clothing for a night out, let alone running on a treadmill.

    Please send me the gym soap and I will never laugh at sanitizer key chains again!

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  54. Oh good, I made it in time!! I don't have anything witty to say, so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that I'm one of the two randomly generated winners!

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