Consistent concealed carriers know that leaving a firearm behind when going into a public setting is not ideal. But can you carry concealed at the gym?
The first consideration when deciding to take your concealed firearm to the gym is the rules of your facility. Going for a run outdoors rather than on a treadmill may be a better option, depending on your route. Be sure that taking a gun to the gym or fitness center doesn’t violate the center’s rules as well as state or federal laws.
How to Carry Concealed at the Gym
Once you’ve determined it is legal to carry at the gym, you’ll need to decide the safest and most comfortable method. Some quick tips for concealed carry at the gym:
- Choose a gym-specific holster that allows for your typical range of movement
- For safety, consider upping to a holster with Level II or III retention
- Downsize the firearm you typically carry for gym days
- Wear looser clothing to avoid printing
Belly Bands
There are a few methods of concealed carry that might suit taking a gun to the gym. Belly bands are a popular option for some active concealed carriers. It may be difficult to choose the right belly band for you at a gun shop, but don’t settle for the first one you try on at home. After finding a good fit, practice drawing from concealment. This method of carry could result in a slower draw speed. A downside to belly band carry is the additional sweat the band may cause, especially while working out.
Fanny Packs
Fanny packs are making their way back into fashion, so utilizing this method of carry won’t look out of place at the gym. Carrying your gun in a fanny back may be best suited to static workouts or lifting. Too much movement could cause the gun to bounce up and down uncomfortably and unsafely. Again, be sure to test out this method of carry to match your movements before taking it to a public setting.
Concealed Carry Clothing
A newer method of concealed carry for working out is concealed carry specific clothing. Several companies have come up with active lines for men and women to securely carry their guns while running, lifting weights or otherwise keeping up with their active lifestyles.
Off-Body Carry
Then there’s always the option to carry off body. You may be inclined to leave your gun in your car at the gym. That’s risky should an incident occur while you’re inside. You could carry a backpack or duffel bag around with you in the gym that contains your holstered firearm. But remember, you cannot leave that bag unattended or out of sight while it contains a live gun.
So do you carry at the gym? And what’s your preferred method? Let us know in the comments below.
Transcript
Do you carry while you’re working out at the gym? Because I never have, and I’m curious as to what the general consensus is on the subject.
All right. Do you carry at the gym? Typically, I don’t carry at the gym because I’m here at the studio. I can see my gym right over there. So I’m behind a locked door and nobody else is here, and I’m doing that all by myself. I don’t have to worry too much about that.
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But if I were heading out to the gym — I’m carrying my gun with me when I go — then I have to follow the rules at the gym and determine what is it that I’m going to do with my gun when I get there.
One: Follow all the rules. The local gym here is attached to the school, so I can’t really carry my gun when I go into the school. Even with my police identification, I don’t want to cause any extra problems there at the gym when I’m working out. Doing road work — walking around — I have, I’m going to admit it, a fanny pack. And I carry that fanny pack with me with a small pistol in the fanny pack and two bottles of water with it. I can have a gun with me when I’m doing, I’ll call it long distance but it’s only a 5-mile loop. If I’m going to walk that loop or try to run that loop or something like that, I’ll carry that gun with me on a fanny pack.
So that’s what I do. Let’s read some of the answers from folks who were chiming in on this topic over on Reddit.
Do You Concealed Carry at the Gym?
Here’s one: “I don’t carry at the gym. It gets locked in the car safe while I’m in there. I work from home, and I get the luxury of being able to go to the gym in the middle of the day when there’s only a few others there. I’m just trying to be more aware of my surroundings. And then leaving my car and walking four to five spaces back over to get to it.”
“When I used to go to the gym,” this is another response here, “I would carry there. Always lock it up and then re-arm after I was done. I wasn’t interested in working out with my gun on me every day. Now I have a home gym and there’s one nearby while I work out, but it’s not on my person.”
So I guess there’s one gun nearby. We lost a little bit of context in there. Here’s another response:
“Did you just carry it in a gym bag. I would think it would be awkward to take it out where people could see it while getting dressed or undressed.”
Another response is, “I don’t carry at the gym. I don’t even bring my firearm in. I trust my car to be more secure. I know it’s not a great practice, but it’s the only time I don’t carry the gun.”
Keeping Your Gun in the Car
Now folks, it can be effective to lock your gun in the car. But I think the question going on here is, do people think they’re going to need their gun in the gym on the bench press or something like that. Do you need your gun right there next to you inside the gym area while you’re working out? I don’t know how safe and secure your gym is. Again, I work out right here. There’s a gym in the studio, so I can keep the door locked. And I don’t have to worry about anybody else coming in there.
But if you’re truly concerned about what might happen at the gym and if the gym allows it, off-body carry might be an option. Certainly, the gun will be closer to you if something happens in the gym rather than it being locked out in your car and you have to try to figure out how to get from the gym. Or the bad thing’s happening [on the way] out to the car, or are you going to get attacked walking from the gym to your car. You might want to keep that gun close by.
Keeping Your Gun in a Bag
Here’s another answer: “I keep mine in my gym bag.” Good thinking. “Which is always next to me when I’m working out.
If your gym allows members to carry their bag around, you should consider doing that. You can carry your gun in your gym bag, but remember the rule about off-body carry: You can’t leave that bag anywhere. You can’t leave it unattended. You can’t lose sight of it. There’s a live gun in the bag. So if you carry off-body — you put your gun in your gym bag — you better make sure that nobody else is going to walk away with your gym bag or that you’re not going to get busy talking to somebody, doing something else and walk away from your gym bag. You got to keep direct control of that firearm.
If you have any suggestions on how you carry at the gym, I’d love to hear them.
