To think that we need to Reopen Gyms

[Coconut1978]

With the weather this time of year it’s so horrible to exercise outside and the parks are packed making it difficult to run.

It’s really hurting my mental and physical health not being able to adequately exercise.

I’m at a low risk of covid if I was infected and have already had the virus and recovered.

We know that obese nations like the US, UK and Mexico have done worse with the virus than nations like Japan and the Netherlands who are healthier.

I think as long as numbers are managed you should be able to book to use the gym and social distance and clean in there.

There are so few cases linked to gyms and they are a really low infection risk but are so beneficial to many of our mental and physical health.

Aibu to think gyms should be included in our daily exercise given our climate and poor health.

Can't measure someone's misery, remember a year ago when people were prattling on about being kind? I don't drink and I don't smoke, routine and structure is how I take care of my mental health and issues. I'll advocate all day long for people doing what they need to take care of themselves 👍🏾

I've never been to the gym when I've been overweight and unfit.
I was a gym member after I had lost weight and exercised at home.
Looking around the gym it was extremely rare to see someone who was there to lose significant weight, most people there were lean and had great fitness levels.

Some right sanctimonious people on here. Not everyone wants to adapt to home workouts

Na neither do I but my livelihood depends on it. I’m sure everyone’s had to adapt in the last year to something.

I like lifting heavy weights and power lifting. this is something that's not replicable at home

Ermmm

Yohoheaveho

The cult of ‘training’, unless you actually are an athlete, is a modern fad. It is definitely not a necessity to be prioritised in tough times
Oh god yeah, these people who think they're 'athletes'... who do they think they are with their 'training'
a brisk walk was good enough for my grandparents and it should be good enough for everyone!!!

Get you with your brisk walk, you do realise that life was totally different for your grandparents don't you? A lot of very manual work on a daily basis be it in the house, garden, allotment, to and at work. Completely different lifestyle.

How is it a bad thing in any world to try and keep yourself fit and heaven help Save the NHS

Yanbu. The fact obesity and poor physical health is a risk factor for covid is reason enough.

Running outdoors is no good for those with injuries or health conditions that need to be exercised in certain ways.

Running outside in the dark is risky and frightening for many women.

Gyms were operating in a very safe way, bookings only with disinfectant being used between sessions in addition to gym users needing to clean the equipment before and after use.

YABU I’ve been running for 18 months and I only bought a treadmill when I separated from my husband so I can run in the evenings when the kids are asleep. I still prefer to run outside. You can still do so in January. When it’s cold I layer up. After 10 minutes you don’t feel the cold anyway

CausingChaos2

Gyms were not operating in a safe way- there is often poor ventilation and people don't wear masks meaning COVID spreads easily in the humid, sweaty air. Several outbreaks have been linked to gyms.

Running isn't the only non-gym fitness and obese people rarely use gyms anyway.

Sanitising and cleaning will not stop an airborne virus.

Yes, some stuff you need a gym for - powerlifting is one. I used to love that. I now lift my own bodyweight, which is quite substantial too....I am focussing on the stuff I can do. Decline push ups and triceps dips off a bench are building strength too......

Yes. Miss the gym but I just adapted. Walking, cycling, online stuff. It’s easy to adapt.

No. This is a terrible idea.

I think it’s a ridiculous idea. I can’t honestly believe you are suggesting it. No @Coconut1978 I don’t think you need the gyms to reopen. It sounds like you could do with helping someone else and focusing outside your own rather silly complaints.

Yanbu and the swim baths too! Least active January ever. I don't want to run on slippy slushy pavement. Am fed up of churned up waterlogged parks. I like the park usually but its overrun.

It's terrible idea and massive YABU as there is plenty of activities that can be done outside and at home.
I understand that there are some thing that are difficult to replicate as you have mentioned heavy lifting etc but this is time to adapt to something similar but in diffrent settings.

@CausingChaos2

Yanbu. The fact obesity and poor physical health is a risk factor for covid is reason enough.

Running outdoors is no good for those with injuries or health conditions that need to be exercised in certain ways.

Running outside in the dark is risky and frightening for many women.

Gyms were operating in a very safe way, bookings only with disinfectant being used between sessions in addition to gym users needing to clean the equipment before and after use.

How is disinfecting equipment going to work.against an airborne virus in a room full of people breathing heavily?

In Australia they named an entire outbreak after the gym that started it. Doesn't matter if you're swabbing equipment, it's through the air.

How is disinfecting equipment going to work.against an airborne virus in a room full of people breathing heavily?

In my gym all the windows are open. Bloomin' cold but helps.

I agree op, people seem to think that a gym is just somewhere you do cardio, when the reality is far from that.

I lift pretty heavy and my 5kg dumbbells I bought when I was 18 are certainly not good enough now. I could afford the kit I need to train and a YouTube class does not have the same effect as when we could all exercise together not that long ago.

The weather is shocking, my garage is an ice pit, I need my gym open desperately. It was the only thing keeping me sane and stopping the feeling as absolute isolation

I mean I couldn't afford the kit, (typo there) a set of 20kg dumbbells is in the hundreds, squat rack, Olympic bar, cable machines...

Does my head in that they gym is for a bloody run.... running isn't the be all and end all of fitness!

@alltheadrenalin

Please google powerlifting, I can't fit a bench, squat rack and Olympic size bars in my house.

I know what powerlifting is 🙄

Quite frankly unless you are planning on competing in the olympics it won’t do you any harm to miss a few months of it. You can adapt workouts to do at home to maintain fitness and strength, more reps with lighter weights, resistance bands instead of cables, callisthenics etc. We are all having to make sacrifices at the moment. Kids are missing their education, people haven’t seen relatives in months, people have lost jobs and you know people are dying! Whinging because you can’t go to the gym and lift heavy weights is quite frankly, pathetic, entitled and selfish. Get a grip.

And as for those who say gyms were clean and safe, for the umpteenth time no they are not. I saw so many people not following the rules at mine. The staff can only do so much, one gym near me even took to shaming rule breaker on social media but it didn’t help.

We are all having to make sacrifices at the moment. Kids are missing their education, people haven’t seen relatives in months, people have lost jobs and you know people are dying! Whinging because you can’t go to the gym and lift heavy weights is quite frankly, pathetic, entitled and selfish. Get a grip.

^^ yes I've been living under a rock for the last year.....toxic attitudes like yours are far more harmful then people venting their struggles online.

Well I think if all you’ve got to worry about at the moment is the gym being closed then you must have a pretty charmed life..

People have posted lots of stuff telling you how can adapt and workout at home but you don’t seem to be taking any of it on board. It’s not toxic to point out this is a first world problem either.

Gyms were not operating in a safe way- there is often poor ventilation and people don't wear masks meaning COVID spreads easily in the humid, sweaty air. Several outbreaks have been linked to gyms

Evidence? When gyms closed again that was categorically not the case so where's your information coming from?

And of course people don't wear masks in gyms!

I can't comment for every gym in the country but my local swimming pool was very well run when it was allowed to open.

I don't use gyms, and do have some equipment at home but I would much rather be able to see my PT face to face than online.

you have no idea what I'm struggling with. Neither does anyone else for that matter.

@megletthesecond

They should open the open air pools and tennis courts before gyms. Our outdoor gym equipment is taped off . That's overkill.

I agree.

Completely agree. Proper muscle training has so many health benefits including prevention of osteopoenia/porosis that walking or running can’t match.

Buying some weights does not cost thousands or even hundreds though.

Granted it's hard to get them at the minute, but I checked on Amazon and it's still possible to buy weight sets for under £100. Granted they won't be as good quality as the gym ones, and the exercises using the machines will need to be adapted, but it's certainly not impossible. Plus - presumably- gym membership fees will be frozen so that money can go towards it.

I'd rather be going to my classes and the gym myself, but I just can't agree that it should be a priority when there are workarounds, apart from say swimming pools which are important for mobility.