BYOE or Bring Your Own Equipment has been around a long time for some equipment like weight belts and workout gloves. Recently, we’ve noticed more and more people bringing other equipment to the gym. Maybe it was due to the pandemic or maybe we’ve just noticed it more lately. But, it definitely seems like more people are bringing their own equipment to gyms.

Now, we’re not talking about barbells, dumbbells, weight plates or even metal cable attachments. What we’re talking about are small, non-metal pieces of equipment. We’re talking about ankle straps, triceps ropes and cable loop handles. These items can be easily kept in a small gym bag that you can carry with you in the gym.

Most gyms, once they opened from the initial closing due to the pandemic, supplied disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray and paper towels placed throughout the gym. Most people use those before and/or after using a piece of equipment. Also, gym staff often walks around and cleans equipment. This is something we should probably have been doing years ago. It’s a shame it took a pandemic for gym equipment to be cleaner. Anyway, it works great for benches and metal bars (either barbells or dumbbells). But, for things like straps and ropes, it may not work as well.

Cleanliness may be one reason for an increase in BYOE. Another reason may be that it’s sometimes difficult to find the smaller pieces of equipment you are looking for. Gyms usually have an accessory rack or some location where smaller pieces of equipment are kept. But, that doesn’t mean the equipment will be there when you need it. We’ll look at each type of equipment separately.

First, let’s discuss ankle straps. Usually, you’ll find ankle straps on the accessory rack near a cable machine. In traveling to different gyms, we’ve noticed that not all gyms have ankle straps. Or, if they usually have them, they were missing or one was missing. Even after looking around the cable machines and at the people using the cable machines to see if someone was using them, they were often difficult to find. Also, if we did find them, they tended to be fairly worn. It’s not a big priority item for a gym, but the exercises you can do with them are great for your legs. There are many different ankle straps available — just check online. Basically, an ankle strap consists of a heavy nylon strap, thick padding, Velcro and D-rings. Some are wider than others, so choose an ankle strap that fits your ankle and is comfortable. If you do buy them online, just make sure you know if you are getting one ankle strap or a pair of ankle straps. They are sold both ways. You can get by with just one, but having a pair makes it more convenient. If you have two ankle straps, you won’t have to take the strap off one ankle and put it on the other in the middle of the set. Just get what works best for you.

Now, let’s discuss triceps ropes. You can typically find a triceps rope in most gyms, but not all. Ropes are not only good for triceps, but for biceps, shoulders and abs as well. Usually, you’ll find these ropes on the accessory rack near a cable machine or on or near the cable machine. They tend to get used often because there are a lot of great exercises you can do with them. Most gyms have ropes that are 26-27 inches long, which is fine. But, for some exercises, it’s more comfortable using a 36-inch rope. Basically, a triceps rope consists of a heavy-duty nylon rope, rubber end caps and a metal attachment to connect to the cable. If your gym has both rope sizes, try them and see which is more comfortable for you on different exercises. If your gym doesn’t have a rope, we’d suggest going with the longer rope. Whichever one you buy, just make sure you have at least a 30-day return or exchange policy so you can get the other size if needed. Also, the ropes in gyms tend to be solid black. If you are going to buy your own, consider a rope with two colors. You can usually find a black/red or black/blue rope online. It just makes it easier to tell the difference at the gym. People will know it’s your rope and you are not taking the rope from the gym. Just a suggestion.

The third piece of equipment we mentioned was cable loop handles. Any gym that has a cable machine usually has several sets of loop handles. Some may even be metal. Usually, you’ll find the loop handles on the accessory rack near a cable machine or on or near the cable machine. These also tend to get used often. The issue, sometimes, is finding a matching pair if you are doing an exercise that requires two of them. We’ve had to look around at times to find a matching pair. You don’t need to have an exact matching pair as long as the handles are relatively the same size and length. But, it just makes it more comfortable if they are the same. Basically, cable loop handles consist of a heavy nylon strap, ABS plastic core, neoprene or rubber grip and a solid metal D-ring. Like the other equipment we’ve talked about, there are a lot of different cable loop handles available. If you are going to purchase a set and get your own, we’d recommend the heavy nylon strap loop handles. If you prefer the metal handles, just use the gym’s handles. Also, like the ropes, the nylon cable loop handles in gyms tend to be solid black. If you are going to buy your own, consider a set of handles with a different colored plastic piece. You can usually find cable loop handles with the plastic piece that is red, blue or yellow. Again, it just makes it easier to tell the difference at the gym. People will know they are your loop handles and you are not taking the loop handles from the gym. Again, just a suggestion.

We’ve discussed some of the equipment we’ve been noticing for BYOE. Here are some other things you may want to bring. A clean hand towel. Some gyms provide those and some do not. It’s nice to have a towel to put on a bench when you are working out or to wipe off some sweat. It can also serve as a placeholder to let others know you are using that bench while you are getting some dumbbells, for instance. Just don’t use it for a placeholder for an extended period of time. You may also want to bring your own water bottle. It’s important to stay hydrated while you’re working out. If you have your own water bottle, you will not have to keep making trips back and forth to the water fountain, which also saves you time. Finally, we’ve also seen people bringing their own individual flat knee pads to kneel on for kneeling exercises. With your own pads, you will not have to go grab a mat and bring it to where you are doing your exercise. Mats tend to be in a separate cardio area so this also saves you time.

As we mentioned in the beginning, all the above items can easily be kept in a small gym bag that you can carry with you in the gym. If you do bring any or all of these items to the gym, we recommend putting your name, initials or some other mark on your equipment. This way, you and others, including the gym staff, will know that the equipment is yours and not the gym’s or someone else’s. Do this even if the color of your equipment is different from the equipment the gym provides. This could help avoid any uncomfortable discussions about your equipment.

One final note about BYOE. Whether you’re thinking about bringing your own equipment to the gym for cleanliness, convenience or some other reason, check with the gym staff first to make sure they are OK with that. Just because we’ve noticed more and more people bringing their own equipment to the gym, doesn’t mean that every gym or your gym lets people do that. We also recommend checking with the gym staff before you go out and buy a piece of equipment you want to use at the gym.