Hard wood bench with no pad?

[neilc1]

sweat,
ooohhhh,

[JohnCuster]

Germs? From a clothed human back? The cleanest place on a human??? You cannot be serious.

These are the reactionary concerns of the mouth breathers that can neither apply basic logic or deeper critical thinking to anything they see...I’m not one of them, but I digress.

[Mark Rippetoe]

These people think contact with other human sweat causes AIDS or something? Why are they out of the house?

[JohnCuster]

These people think contact with other human sweat causes AIDS or something? Why are they out of the house?

Apparently...and not the Magic Johnson kind where you live forever, gain weight, and become a billionaire.

Given the heightened concern, it sounds like the full blown kind that also lurks around Smith Machines and kills you, fast.

[Adam Skillin]

Germs? From a clothed human back? The cleanest place on a human??? You cannot be serious.

They appear to be overlooking the fact that performing the bench press is not the same thing as cutting raw chicken with a sharp chef's knife.

[UberBabs]

When I was in law school in CT I went to a local gym and a gal there walked around with a bottle of Formula 409, spraying and wiping down every piece of equipment she used. She may have also sprayed and wiped her husband before using him.

[DeanT]

Is the wood finished, treated or simply sanded? How slippery is the surface compared to traditional vinyl?

[John Watson]

Many seem concerned w/how to prevent bacteria and germs from turning the bench into a Petrie Dish ...yet they don’t realize that most butcher block is naturally takes care of that through the properties of the wood.

It seems none of them own a Boos block or similar fine cutting boards...I’d imagine these are also the same type of folks that bathe themselves and their spawn in hand sanitizer then wonder why they have no natural immune defense to their environment.

Germs on a press bench vs. germs on a butcher block. What's the difference in usage between the two where germs are a consideration?

Do they think the problem with a stainless steel barbell is that it won't fit into an autoclave?

That the paint on cast iron plates may chip off into their food? Or that they corrode in the dishwasher?

[PizzaDad]

Taking the discussion in a totally different direction, having seen some sketchy gym members use the bar as a shin grater, I have, on more than one occasion, been a little creeped out about doing deadlifts at public gyms.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Is the wood finished, treated or simply sanded? How slippery is the surface compared to traditional vinyl?

It is sanded to about a 150 grit. It is less slippery than vinyl.

I heard that there was actually discussion on a Slack channel about splinters. Splinters from an oak butcher block. It is as though these people were hatched a couple of weeks ago, and have no experience with furniture.