Anyone going to the gym?

[GymQ123]

I stopped going to the gym last year due to lockdown, and even though I am double jabbed now, and young and healthy, I am still a little hesitant to re-join. My fitness has suffered, as I find it hard to summon the motivation to work out at home. Anyone else in the same position? Anyone re-joined and happy? I am based in London and my local gym can get pretty busy.

[emmathedilemma]

I’m going for sanity as much as my fitness! And also my membership is paid for up front so I might as well use it. Mine is pretty small and sessions are all pre-booked and rarely full. That said, it’s probably the highest risk place I go!

[Skinnytailedsquirrel]

Sadly I've stopped going. I was using a Nuffield gym and cancelled my membership. I heard that it's full of young men now who don't care about sticking to the marked out areas in the gym and who don't clean the equipment/don't care at all.
I usually do classes and I got a phone call from a sales guy asking if I was going back. I asked him about the fresh air exchange in the room and he hadn't a clue. We all know by now that fresh air is the most important thing to avoid COVID...apart from Nuffield. So, sadly I'm not going back.

[DrunkenKoala]

I use the swimming pool rather than the gym. All sessions are pre booked and numbers are limited so it’s never busy. The changing rooms and lockers are allocated and they’re cleaned before/after each session. In the gym there are cleaning products at each apparatus and people have to clean before/after they use it.

AFAIK there hasn’t been any outbreaks at any of the leisure centres in my area. I always sanitise my hands as I enter/leave the building.

[fiorentina]

I do. Every other machine is taped off, markers on the floor in the weights area, loads of spray and tissue paper to clean equipment which most people seem to be using and I spray mats etc before and after use. I feel it’s fine. I wanted to get back for my mental health and to feel better although have done lots of other exercise the last year. No point going if you’d feel uncomfortable though. Could you ask to visit?

[Torvean]

I got a second hand cross trainer/bike. I can use it whenever. Wearing whatever clothes that I want.With noone else watching.

I'm not tempted to pay gym fees on top.

[AuntieMarys]

Yes I go...everything is very organised. I'd go mad if I didn't go 3-4 times a week

[OldTinHat]

Yep.

[PinkBuffalo]

@AuntieMarys

Yes I go...everything is very organised. I'd go mad if I didn't go 3-4 times a week

Same! I been back a couple of weeks or so now and loving it! Love the classes there etc
My fitness really suffered in lockdown and back in 2019 I was super fit so it was disappointing but I working my way back up now and loving it 🙂

[Skinnytailedsquirrel]

So...all under 40s replying I imagine and not worried about covid really or they would be very concerned about the fresh air situation. This is why it's so worrying. We need to take responsibility but lots of people are "oooh it's okay lah"

[CausingChaos2]

I haven’t been vaccinated and have felt comfortable to be at the gym. There’s signs up asking us to sanitise the equipment before and after use, and the whole place is sprayed down by staff once an hour. Fitness and mental health are important too, we can’t live in fear of this virus forever.

[Lakeshore6]

The Nuffield I go to I’ve never felt safer. Their ventilation is grand but I can’t tell you if all their buildings are built the same . However if you feel their ventilation is not up to scratch they can be reported - guidance for sports facilities requires them to ensure fresh air exchange. It may be that the sales guy just didn’t have a clue so I’d ask to speak to the manager first.

[Echobelly]

No - I've been enjoying a morning routine instead, alternating yoga and high intensity type exercise.

I've not got my second jab yet, and my gym is trying to woo me back with 'Look how clean everything is', which just isn't the issue. It's pretty well known by now that surface trasmission is really not an issue - what is an issue (moany old person alert) is that the main clientele is insta-loving 20 somethings, ie exactly the people who will take the least precautions and will be rushing into one another's arms and parties ASAP (and to be fair, I don't really blame them). And they'll be in the gym breathing everywhere, so, no, not going until things are much more under control.

[Defender90]

I stopped going to my PT sessions at the start of lockdown, I've since seen a new chiropractor and I don't think I'll go back, I love the PT, I loved our sessions but I'm not in a position where I can walk a distance again, and I don't want to commit to being there on my day off at 8am for my session. Maybe go back in the future and grateful for what he taught me.

[notacooldad]

I've been going and also during the window that we had between lockdowns.
Classes have started back so I've been to Grit and Body pump and HIIT.
I've not been swimming yet though.

[UpTheJunktion]

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

So...all under 40s replying I imagine and not worried about covid really or they would be very concerned about the fresh air situation. This is why it's so worrying. We need to take responsibility but lots of people are "oooh it's okay lah"

I am not under 40, LOL, long past!

I have been going to the gym when it has been allowed to be open.

Gyms have to have a certain level of air exchanged as part of their premises licence.

They have cut down the numbers, all sessions have to be booked , screens installed between the machines, many are taped off to create distance.

It’s not fair to guilt trip people for not taking responsibility when engaging in an ‘allowed’ activity that has been subject to risk assessment, lots of extra measures etc.

[HarebrightCedarmoon]

After joining a gym in October 2019 and getting one nasty cold after another, my gym days are behind me, they are absolutely filthy germ boxes and I just don't need all that equipment to exercise any more. I'm much fitter, srronger, more flexible, healthier and lighter now for exercising outdoors/at home/local classes outdoors/in Village hall, doing exercise that is enjoyable and fits into my daily life.

[anon12345678901]

Yep, back since the first lockdown days. The transmission rate from gyms is extremely low, they have put in many restrictive measures. I have home gym equipment but prefer the gym for the variety.
@Skinnytailedsquirrel Why would I feel guilty for going? It keeps me mentally and physically fit, remember obesity is one of the bigger risk factors for being seriously ill from Covid-19. It's safe and it's clean.

[WeAreTheHeroes]

I'm a regular gym goer and definitely over forty. They have covid safety measures in place and everyone cleans everything down after use. It's as safe as anywhere else.

[lavenderandwisteria]

I think as with all things covid, it isn’t ‘is this safe or unsafe’ but a balance of risks and benefits.

I have started going to the gym, making use of the crèche for 6 month old ds, and while there is of course a covid risk, there are also huge benefits of regular exercise to both physical and mental health. So I’m quite happy to continue going on that basis.

[WouldBeGood]

Yes, well over forty and been back at PT and classes and the gym. Perfectly safe. And it’s a Nuffield.

There has been negligible evidence of any transmission in gyms. There was a huge study done across Europe last year, pre vaccines too.

The benefits of getting back to proper exercise far outweigh any risk. I struggle to push myself when exercising alone and I feel a million times better for getting back to it. Doing a class or PT every weekday.

Go for it @GymQ123!

[garlictwist]

I cancelled my membership. Didn't really miss it over lockdown and now you have to book in advance and I can't be arsed with that. I prefer to just go when the fancy takes me.

[NotJustACigar]

We have cancelled our memberships and use an oculus quest for fitness - which is far more fun, also.

[MorganSeventh]

I find the gym more pleasant now than pre-Covid... There's pre-booked sessions which link to the swipe entry system, so it's not possible to unless you have a booked session, which means it's never busy. Half of the equipment has been moved into a separate sports hall, so there's two gyms available with the same amount of equipment overall but more spread out. Everyone has a cloth and spray to wipe down the equipment after use (which should have been done anyway but people are more conscientious about it now.) There's ten minutes between each session where the staff clean. And there's a one way system around the facilities and the gym itself.

Of everywhere, it's the place where i see social distancing most observed. Not least, because where you stand is dictated by where the equipment is placed. It's not like a restaurant where you can move seats around, or a supermarket where people cluster at particular points.

I struggle with motivation for home exercise at the best of times, and especially now working from home and spending a lot of time in the house anyway. Going back to the gym a couple of times a week had definitely improved my mood. And also my fitness levels but the mood feels like the biggest benefit. So I think if you want to go it's definitely worth trying.

[ShanghaiDiva]

I’m happy to be back:
Limited numbers, equipment spaced out and increased cleaning routines.

[MrsJBaptiste]

I've been back in the gym since the day they re-opened. I could not wait to get back and have been there nearly every day since.

I have to say that our gym isn't socially distanced at all though, the machines haven't been moved apart and the weights area is busier than ever with extra machines squashed in. You do have to wipe down all the machines after each use and there is hand sanitiser everywhere but other than that, it's back to normal.

It's a mix of ages in there too and I'm over 40 unfortunately!