Would you go to an outdoor gym?

[Eckhart]

No equipment, small group, highlighting the need to respect social distancing. In a park or open space.

@pluiedeprintemps What an unpleasant post. Exercise is vital to everybody and a huge part of maintaining mental health to many. Assuming that exercising is simply to maintain a beach body displays selfishness and naivety on your part. Perhaps you wish you had a beach body.

@Eckhart
You can exercise alone at home.

And no I won't accept that I'm either selfish or naïve - I really hope I am - and that I am wrong, and that people will stop dying.

People are dying.

People will continue dying until people understand how important social distancing is.

Time and the data will tell.

And I understand that exercise is vital for mental health - I really do. You can exercise at home. you do not need to join a group to exercise.

And my beachbody is fine - thankyou - and I am not endangering the vulnerable.

But you carry on - your last statement says a lot more about you and how you judge people than it does me.

People are dying.

@pluiedeprintemps

Your post implied that the only reason anybody would exercise was to maintain a beach body. I responded to the unpleasantness of that.

Other than that, I concur with much of what you say.

I think that it's different having a social group than having this sort of group, because in a social group, you don't stay metres apart, and the point of the group is to communicate. People like the routine of attending a class. They like having a specific place and time where exercise is the point of showing up. It's motivating. I think people are more likely to exercise in this way than they are if they are in their own living room.

I don't see how it breaks the rules if people are enough distance apart to maintain social distancing. We're not on lockdown.

The guidance says to avoid large and small gatherings in public places. In what way is a small group of people meeting up in a park not a small gathering in a public place? As you say, we're not on lockdown. Nobody is forcing you to follow the guidance but I think it's pretty clear that groups of any size meeting up in public places is advised against.

Thank you for making your point again, Tigger.

What about when my across-the-road neighbours and I talk from our balconies, which we now do early most evenings now that we're barely going out? Is that a social gathering? We're socialising, but figured it was OK as we're within the social guidance rules. Should we stop because we fit the definition of 'a small group, socialising'?

If you're on balconies i.e. there is a physical barrier between you, stopping any accidental closing of the gap, then fine.

That's not the same as a group of people, you don't know (so don't know what they're like in terms of following rules) in open space, exercising and moving around. And you know it.

Also, your balcony is not 'a public space'.

When all of this is finally over, we will all be left to reflect on how we acted. On if we prioritized ourselves and our need for fresh air or interaction over the risks of people dying, not only of Covid but of other things because the health services were overwhelmed. In 20, 30, 40 years, when the numbers are known, I do not want to be telling my children that I went out when it wasn't absolutely necessary, against the advice of the WHO and many prominent health experts and scientists, because I deemed my need for fresh air for my mental or physical health more important than doing all I can ( and all you are being asked to do is stay inside.) to protect myself, others, the health service, and the economy by respecting rules as much as possible and doing my infinite part to make sure this all ends as soon as possible.
But if you can't follow simple recommendations and need the government to put you in shut down to protect others. If you can't take heed of all the evidence, if you don't have the resources in you to find a youtube tutorial on keeping fit indoors - If you can't listen to the WHO - well you're probably not going to listen to anyone on a forum.

We're not even being asked to stay indoors. You can go outside to the park/an open space and exercise. You just can't do it with other people.

There's plenty of free workouts, including live ones, online. Please don't go to a group session

It says in the literature about the group that everyone has a station and stays at it. It makes sense that people can work each way. How much closer to someone do you get whilst doing a burpee or 3? I think they tape off the stations, like how some queues are being managed.

I could reach to kiss my neighbours next door, although I wouldn't. So should we stop talking? I don't really quiz them about their contacts during the day, but know we've all been to the supermarket since social distancing was put in place, so we're all as risky as a stranger.

I know I'm asking questions you don't feel comfortable with, but it's because I think there's a grey area and you don't, so you're 'and you know it' was incorrect.

I'd be interested in seeing if the gym mentioned above gets a slapped wrist for the outdoor group a pp mentioned.

*can work out that way

This is non essential social contact.
This is meeting in a group.

This is bloody selfish.

@pluiedeprintemps I think it's an interesting discussion and I think there's a grey area where you don't. This group highlights it.

Your continued assertions that I'm a sandwich short of a picnic are superfluous to the discussion, but if it feeds your ego, keep having a go.

I'm not uncomfortable with the questions. I just don't believe that an adult of normal intelligence doesn't know the difference between a gym class and talking to someone on a balcony! You know the difference, you do.

Re. the neighbours, yes it does sound like you're too close. There should be 6ft distance, so if they're close enough to kiss you are too close! You can still talk, but one end of the balconies to the other, maintain the distance.

And this is why we will end up on total lockdown soon
Making life hideously more difficult for people who were willing to use their brains and behave decently

And there are definitely grey areas, but not ones it's fun to dissect and pick apart and feel all clever because we found a loophole!

Just ones that you need to use your common sense with.

People only tend to want to exploit grey areas at times like this when it will somehow make their life nicer and sod the consequences
For a bit try and live in a black and white world
Grey areas are not for times like this

PurpleDaisies do you mean the balcony chatting or the gym group?

And what's the difference?

Absolutely not as it goes against two of the government guidelines.

Absolutely

I think you’re being deliberately obtuse eckhart.

Yeah of course she is! She's bored and on the wind-up. The tragedy is we're bored enough to engage with it!!!

@NuffSaidSam We could kiss, ie there's no physical barrier to stop us having too close contact. But we DONT, and that's my point. Given that the only thing that's stopping (some of) my neighbours and I getting too close is our respect for social distancing, what's the difference between that small group and the exercise group. Stop telling me I know, and explain it to me, because I don't know.