Gyms . . . What's the problem?

[AllesAusLiebe]

Just discussing this with DH and neither of us can understand why gyms cannot operate from mid June, along with non essential shops.

Am I missing something?

I think it would be pretty easy to restrict numbers, place additional sanitisers, make wearing face masks compulsory and close changing rooms/showers etc.

It would be a big help for those who are struggling a little with mental health and also, many trainers at my gym are self-employed so I'd imagine that they're under great financial strain at the moment.

I understand the concerns about sweat flying around but if users are all wearing face masks, I'd imagine it would be difficult to do intense cardio work anyway. It would, however, be very possible to still do weight training.

People in the shops aren't next to me for more than a few seconds; they're not sweating and breathing heavily for 20, 30, 45 minutes on a cardio machine next to me, and gym fans aren't blowing their droplets all over me either.

A cursory clean won't be enough to keep machines and weights and mats clean in between users.

Trainers can take individual clientele outside to parks with handweights and other equipment and maintain space. Or do video work outs from home with people. Like many are doing successfully.

Swimming pools have already opened in Germany and some other countries, but with restrictions. You have to arrive in your costume, swim in lengths only and get straight in and out of the water as quickly as possible - no showers. I guess that would be OK if you see swimming purely as a form of exercise, but for me, it's also for relaxation and just the sensation of being in the water. A more regimented system wouldn't be worth it for me.

I’d say it’s pretty obvious what the differences are between a shop and a gym - much more touching of the exact same surfaces by literally every user, surfaces damper (so more likely bacteria/virus survive), heavy breathing etc. I think the big issue will be cleaning equipment after every single user: you’d need to keep such a close eye on everyone moving about and need so many cleaners it would be tough. Although one way to ensure users did a big chunk would be for gyms to massively fine and expel anyone caught not wiping down their equipment after use. But still, I think there’s clearly more of a risk than most shops.

On the other hand I’m not convinced by the evidence that it’s easy to get infected by surfaces (rather than airborne from being near an infected person) and also feel it’s up to individuals to assess their own risk threshold so I’d still support the opening of gyms despite the above.

And I prefer weight machines to hand weights. A lot.

And I miss swimming.

But it's not sensible right now.

If swimming pools are going to be strict like that I think I might get back into swimming!

Outdoor gyms should reopen, for sure. Ours are still taped off.

I can live with some risk so would like indoor gyms & swim pools to reopen, too.

The big gym chains are agreeing a way to reopen with UKActive at the moment which will require government sign off. They're tentatively hoping for the 4th July but obviously that's dependent on a huge amount of things. But hopefully it won't be too long of a wait OP!

www.ukactive.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Covid-19-A-framework-for-the-re-opening-of-the-gym-and-fitness-industry-V1.1-FINAL.pdf

I have been a regular gym goer for 20+ years and it was the first thing I stopped doing as it felt unsafe. I was on a spin bike sweating next to another sweaty stranger and decided it wasn’t a good option so stopped going weeks before they shut.

I have never been someone who exercised at home, abeit I run road bike a lot. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a gym. I have body pump weights which I do with Les mills on demand. I have my turbo trainer set up with Zwift and am enjoying exercising at home. I’m lucky I have a home gym so plenty of space. The only thing I will probably do is reformer Pilates but there are only 6 machines so it’s pretty spread out.

How could you possibly exercise in a face mask? That would be awful.

Thanks for sharing that Poppy😊

As much as I would like the gym to reopen for my physical and mental wellbeing, I'd rather they didn't open too soon or with so many restrictions in place that it's impossible to do a decent workout. Mine is tiny and classes are often fully booked with a waiting list. We only have one free weights area that holds 3 people if you're friendly and work around each other, and don't have a huge amount of cardio equipment to limit use to every other machine to keep people distanced from each other. They do have a big outdoor space so there might be potential for some things to be done outside. It's ok people saying to exercise at home but if you don't have a garden and/or garage it's not that easy! I haven't lifted a weight in weeks and certainly won't be getting an olympic standard squat rack in my 2bed flat!

@effingterrified I think you need to calm down
I really don't think the governments going to post on mumsnet to gage interest in gyms when it's already said they are in the next stage

I could not do any form of exercise with a mask on, even strength training, which is mostly what I did. I hate the feel of my breath on my face at the best of times! I really miss my local gym but it was independent and very small and would get very, very busy. I don't know how they would maintain social distancing, though they were vigilant in sanitising the equipment and weights. I really feel for them as it's a small father and son family run business.

You can get free yoga and fitness lessons on Youtube. I can't see too many people wanting to pay for them. Besides, I think people are sick of Zoom classes at this stage and will want to get back to the real thing.

I don't disagree Zoom is tiring and clunky to use. I can't wait to get back to the studio either. It's an interim measure. I, and other members of my studio, are paying because we want to support our studio and teachers specifically. I'm doing a fair bit of Zoom exercise at home and all with teachers I know from 'real life'; I'd imagine a lot of people feel the same and are OK about paying.

I think UK Active has done a great job in trying to find solutions and then applying for government approval. The government has so much to do and anyone who hangs around wringing their hands and waiting to be told what to do can't realistically expect to be dealt with fast.

I miss the gym. But I won’t be going back until it’s safe to use it pretty much like normal obviously some things will change but I want to be able to relax and enjoy my workout not always be on edge. I can’t see being back before September/ October realistically.

I am hoping PT sessions are allowed to start back up sooner because for them it is easier to control the amount of people and make sure things are properly sanitised

I miss my gym classes - it would be easy to attend classes with social distancing depending upon size of studio. Of course, even if my gym was open I wouldn’t be able to go as there’s no childcare - DC1 is year 2 and other child is preschool - they just can’t be arsed to open as it’s cheaper to keep the staff on furlough.,

There's research that suggests vigorous activity in humid/enclosed spaces is an increased transmission risk. Anything involving extra deep breathing e.g. choirs is also a risk. Arguably, lots of gyms combine deep breathing and vigorous activity in humid, enclosed spaces.

wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/8/20-0633_article

If the breathing/humidity thing is true then my favourite activity - hot yoga - is screwed then isn’t it 😪.

It’s not that they can’t be arsed. At the moment it isn’t allowed. It would still be a larger gathering than is currently permitted.

Like with PT sessions classes will probably be able to start up sooner depending on the class and venue but it’s a while off yet

People, you don't get coronavirus through sweat! It's a respiratory virus!

Because they are filled with germs, sharing equipment, sweat... it's pretty obvious.

@sirzy
PTs are allowed to work now, outside in public, one-2-one, with 2m distance. I've been back to one on one sessions for the last couple weeks, and it really has made all the difference. Online was a great stop gap, but in person is so much better.

Hopefully, they'll allow outdoor classes to resume very soon, even though numbers will be limited. My PT is already looking at how it will work and will probably do a mix of live and online, with rules about booking the classes.

I get the cleaning issues, but when non essential shops open, fact is that the exposure to the virus from touching doors, baskets etc will increase.

It's wildly different. You pump out a lot of moisture as you exercise, way more than normal movement.

If one person had Covid 19 it would be like they were coughing all over the place in a room with you for an hour. The CQC recon virus particles should have landed on sufaces by an hour later so dentists (a similar risk) are going to reopen when they can leave the surgery for an hour, then deep clean it between patients.

My 3 surgery dentist will reopen for 8 appointments a day with two surgeries used and the third as a decon room for staff- that's once it's refitted for screens and they can get the PPE.

Gyms would be far worse spreaders than schools, shops or anything else.