With Maryland’s coronavirus numbers slowly decreasing, most of the state has fully moved into the second tier of the reopening plan. This means that fitness centers and gyms are allowed to reopen at a limited capacity. Our gym has been closed since March and fees have been frozen since April, so this means we would be able to start going to the gym this month and would pay our monthly fee again July 1st.
We are still in the middle of a pandemic, so they have made some changes. Members must wear a face mask upon entering and exiting the club. Members are encouraged to wear face coverings while exercising “if able to do so safely” or should increase the distance between themselves and others. Staff members will wear face coverings. They encourage members to wipe down their machines and weights before they use them. They are limiting the number of people who do group fitness classes so that the rooms are less full.
But here’s the thing; those small changes… yeah, they are not enough for me.
I just can’t imagine feeling comfortable going to the gym and hopping on a machine near/around some stranger who is huffing and puffing and sweating their potential virus germs all over the place.
And sure, maybe I can go to a machine without many people around. But what about when I’m in the middle of my workout and someone comes and starts working out near me. Huffing. Puffing. Sweating. We all deal with this normally, but with the coronavirus still out there killing people… NOPE.
We have been on a Stay at Home order for months now. We are STILL in the middle of a pandemic. States who have rushed their reopening plan are currently reporting record high numbers of coronavirus.
I DO NOT feel comfortable going to a gym right now.
However, when I look at the gym’s Facebook page the comments are full of people saying how they can’t wait to come back. There is person after person commenting about how happy they are that the gym is FINALLY open again.
And now I want to hear from you… are you comfortable with going back to the gym?
No way! I agree with you 100%. My county in CA is the most conservative with reopening. That means we still don’t have gyms, indoor dining, hair and nail salons, and churches, and there is no opening date for the foreseeable future. As much as I desperately need a haircut, I am willing to wait. Things are going so badly for everyone who has opened and I think we need to take a step back.
Agreed. Maryland has opened indoor restaurants, but I’m sticking to take out and eating outdoors for quite a while longer!
We have cancelled our gym membership. We’ve figured out that we actually prefer working out at home right now. We’ve picked up some weights and use the peloton app. With two kids (ages 4 & 7) it’s a big time saver not to mention much safer in the current pandemic! Even if we buy more equipment (let’s be honest, I want a treadmill for the winter), we’ll still come out ahead cost-wise over time and won’t be at risk for breathing in germs inside a huge gym.
YES that’s the other part of it. Even if I would risk myself going to the gym, putting my kid in the KidZone right now is NOT happening. I’ve brushed the dust off some fitness DVDs and I’m planning to check out some at the thrift store next time I go. I also found Sweating to the Oldies is on YouTube and that is super fun!
It’s so nice to know I am not alone in my thinking, that it is too early to go back to what we were doing!
We walk in the park a few times a week, but not if the park is busy. If it looks like the parking lot is empty, or not many cars, we will go in. I do exercizes on the floor and couch, and that’s about it. I was just going to join a gym, when all of this happened. Glad I was slow about it!
Staying home hasn’t been too bad. I stay busy, so I guess that helps the body, too. Stay in, stay healthy.
Nope, it’s too scary right now. I’ve been taking walks in the evening, that has to do for now. (I live in Idaho, our numbers are starting to go up again).
I’m choosing not to live in fear. I go out with my 4 kids within reason. We practice good hygiene and hand washing.
I think many of us are living in fear. Both myself and my son are considered high risk, so we have adjusted our going out accordingly.