A hygienic bench towel for covering an exercise bench before a user sits on the bench to protect the user from sweat, germs and contamination left by a previous user. The bench towel has a semi rigid handle which enables a user to move the towel form one bench to another without touching the contaminated side of the towel. Another advantage provided by the handle is that the user always knows which side of the towel should be placed against the workout bench The towel is provided with spaced apart tabs at that end of the towel which is draped over the back of the bench to allow the towel to conform to framework which may be present at the center of the back of the bench. The handle is located on the towel so that the tabs don't become contaminated when the towel is moved using the handle. When the user is finished with the towel, the user folds the towel using the uncontaminated tabs and places the towel in a bag for transport to laundry services. One embodiment of the bench towel contains ties for rigidly securing the towel to a bench.