Is the gym safe ?

[marilenagrace]

I really want to start going again. I went last summer a few times before being vaccinated and kept my distance from everyone. I made sure I was 4 metres plus away from anyone. Since then there has been more about aerosol transmission etc. I've had the first dose of the vaccine and will be due my second not long from now.. but I really want to start going. Thoughts ?

Been to my local gym 3 times this week, felt perfectly safe, not that I ever felt unsafe even when numbers here went through the roof.

Limited numbers, large amount of floor space, everyone cleaning equipment after use (including the people that were skanky beyond belief pre-covid), plenty of space between equipment.

Loved being back and only sorry I'm currently training for an ultra and have promised my trainer I'll only go 3x a week

I wouldn't go if it was like that @1moreglassplease and I'd be sending a sternly worded email to the manager. If it's the budget chain I'm suspecting I don't think I've ever seen anyone wipe down equipment!

Emma - I intend to complain if I see it again and yes, you're right about the wiping down generally. Unfortunately it's the only gym that's in a convenient spot and I normally have no problems there (just the odd plonker).

When I went on Monday everyone was behaving well - what a difference a week makes. I feel really sorry for the staff there who've gone to a lot of trouble to make everyone feel safe and put things in place.

Will people be expelling air at force by breathing hard, shouting or singing?

Will you be there longer than a few minutes?

How many people will be in there with you?

Are you always really well spaced out or are there bottlenecks where you have to pass considerably closer to others?

Can you smell other people at the distance you'll be from them? ( if particles of Lynx Africa or last nights garlic can get up your nose then so can covid)

Will there be lots of open windows at all times?

Im all for performative covid safety making skanky gyms cleaner, but covid-wise the air that recently came out of other people's lungs is the main hazard.

I think gyms are fine, they are being sanitised and fogged all the time, and numbers are limited.

Can you smell other people at the distance you'll be from them? ( if particles of Lynx Africa or last nights garlic can get up your nose then so can covid

Yes, this. So remember, if someone farts near you, that means you can catch covid too! And if I can smell cow fart, I can catch bovine TB from them.

(for the avoidance of doubt I am being ironic and hope the previous poster was too)

No it's not safe because the virus spreads in the air like smoke. Nowhere indoors is safe. However, cases are low and if you've been vaccinated, it might be well be with the risk for you.

@paralysedbyinertia not everyone. At my gym there are about 5 people (for example) who are visually impaired/disabled who can’t just go for a run or bike ride. And they’re just the ones I know about. They can only exercise in the gym. Not everyone has the facilities to work out at home (no space, equipment, too many people etc) and not everyone has access to decent outdoor space. For many, many people, it’s their only way of getting decent exercise.

@poppycat10

Can you smell other people at the distance you'll be from them? ( if particles of Lynx Africa or last nights garlic can get up your nose then so can covid

Yes, this. So remember, if someone farts near you, that means you can catch covid too! And if I can smell cow fart, I can catch bovine TB from them.

(for the avoidance of doubt I am being ironic and hope the previous poster was too)

I dropped an awful fart in the supermarket recently. Permeated right through a thick washable pad, pants and thermal leggings. In good news it was fantastic for social distancing and killing any airborne pathogens

Exercise is important for good health. Not all exercise can be replicated at home or outside.
Virus rates are very low across much of the country. There's a very useful map on the government's Covid dashboard showing localised data as of 5 days ago.
People are less likely to turn up to a gym if they feel off-colour, so less likely to be near a pre or mildly symptomatic person than somewhere like the supermarket.
Ventilation tends to be better than most public buildings.

For the vast majority of people in the vast majority of the country, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

(Plus running outside you could fall under a bus in a dramatic alternative to the good old being thrown under a bus )

How long do we have to have endless “is it safe” threads? If you want to go to the gym then go don’t ask a bunch of strangers what they think! Nothing in life is safe but the mental and physical health benefits of going to the gym are very good for you. Covid isn’t going away and I really don’t think it’s healthy to risk assess every activity you do forever more! I have been 3 times this week, it’s nice to be back around other human beings and not having to endure online work outs!

Of you live in my neck of the woods then NO. At 6pm last night there must of been 75 cars parked in the car park (nothing else open) it has capacity for 100 people pre Covid.

I know not every Gym the same but that alone would put me off.

How long do we have to have endless “is it safe” threads?

Have you seen the film "Marathon Man"?

Guys, I'm ashamed to say that I went and lasted only 15 minutes before leaving again. I cycled with my mask on and then had a quick walk with mask off.

There were just so many people. I kept imagining the virus just suspended in the air- awaiting me.. so I got scared. Is that actually now a proven thing that it spreads this way ? I thought it was via droplets, but in recent months have heard a lot about aerosol transmission. Does anyone have any actual links to scientific papers stating that it hangs around in the air and can infect you ?

In any case, I feel pretty defeated. I was so excited to go back. I'll try tomorrow very early. Maybe it will be quieter.

I found a good article to answer my own questions if anyone is interested www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n913

I thought it was via droplets, but in recent months have heard a lot about aerosol transmission.

Aerosol is droplets. Like paint from an aerosol spray can.

@changi

I thought it was via droplets, but in recent months have heard a lot about aerosol transmission.

Aerosol is droplets. Like paint from an aerosol spray can.

Well kind of yes, kind of no.

When people like Whitty were talking about spread via droplets early 2020, they meant large droplets as dispersed by coughing/sneezing which were believed to travel no further than 2m before falling to the floor.

Aerosols on the other hand are droplets so small, they don't fall to the floor and can travel long distances.

There's a full explanation of the the terms here:
first10em.com/aerosols-droplets-and-airborne-spread/

@bookworm1632 yes this is what I meant. The big ones that fall on stuff could land on your face if you're speaking to someone at less than 2 metres distance.

[quote marilenagrace]@bookworm1632 yes this is what I meant. The big ones that fall on stuff could land on your face if you're speaking to someone at less than 2 metres distance.[/quote]
Well it's not quite that simple - and I must admit that until 5 minutes ago I'd have said that having someone cough in my face was a higher risk than simply standing in front of someone talking to them... but this article suggests otherwise. (Note it's a mathematical model, so not definitive).

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132320302183
Indeed, one common supporting argument for large droplet transmission is that large droplets contain most of the infectious viruses, whilst fine droplets do not. This was recently found to be untrue: instead, studies have shown that smaller droplets have higher virus concentrations than larger droplets

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132320302183

Jump to the Discussion - part 4 - it's quite interesting.

@ChocOrange1

No the gym is not safe. You could fall off a treadmill and break your leg, you could twist your ankle on the spin bike or drown in the swimming pool. You could drop a weight and break your toe, or get your hand trapped between weights on the machines and break your hand.

Nothing in life is safe.

This!

Incidentally as far as risk level goes

I note that up to the 10th April, my area was showing 77 cases per 100,000
When I attend the gym there's usually about 40-50 people present. The chance of any of them being one of those cases works out at 3.8%.

The risk of an infected person in an office transmitting the virus to a co-worker was measured at about 1.4% - that was pre Kent variant so let's double that risk now to 2.8%

While people in a gym are breathing harder due to exercise, they're NOT talking which is deemed a high risk factor for aerosol emission. They're also only there for short periods as to opposed to an office colleague who is there all day, so it's reasonable to keep the risk at the same %.

It therefore means my risk of infection from a single visit is about 2.8% x 3.8% which is 0.1%.

TBH I suspect it's far lower as there's never anyone within 2m of me

UK Active researched how many cases of Covid were even possibly linked to use of a gym during the times they were allowed to open before. I forget the figures but they were vanishingly small.

Thank you. I'm sitting here worrying that I've picked it up

Nothing in life is 100% safe though and I think we’re forgotten that. The gym allows you to keep fit. Being fit reduces your risk of Covid. I’m as likely to catch it in the gym as I am at work so why not. I’ve had one dose of the vaccine so far but was going to the gym when they opened last time before being vaccinated. I’m into weightlifting so it’s not something I can do at home. The effect on my mental health has been amazing. So yes, for me the gym is safe.