It’s not the stinky locker room you need to worry about at the gym – it’s the indoor air pollution! University of Lisbon research shows the air in weight rooms and studio spaces can be teeming with illness-causing pollutants. In fact, researchers found that 82% of the fitness centers tested had high levels of volatile organic compounds – or V‑O‑Cs. Which are released from the rubber mats, medicine balls, plastic-coated barbells, yoga blocks, and foam pilates noodles. They’re compounds that can irritate your airways, and even cause cancer. And since most of us breathe heavily at the gym, we’re more likely to breathe IN those contaminants.