Board 8 > Has anyone else here gone to a gym recently?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My local gym (24 Hour Fitness) just reopened today, touting a host of measures for a presumably safer - and assuredly less convenient - experience. I'll go over the changes in dreaded GameFAQs bullet form:

• People can no longer freely walk in. An appointment must be made for a specific time of day. If reservation limits are reached, other members won't be allowed in.
• It's no longer open 24/7 (hence the name). Operating hours are from 5 a.m. - 9 p.m.
• The entire gym closes every hour for a 30-minute cleaning, so there are only ten one-hour gym sessions throughout the time above.
• You can only book one session each day, so you've got an hour to work out.
• About half the cardio machines are taped off for social distancing.
• Disinfectant spray bottles and paper towels are everywhere.

I booked a 5 a.m. session (earliest of the day), meaning I was probably one of the first people to use this gym in months. I wore a mask, as did more than half of the other members there. A part of me expected a madhouse even at that time of day, but it was a very light hour. And yep, at about 5:55, an employee walked by to politely say they'd be showing my ass the door in five minutes.

Overall, if it stays this sparsely populated in there, I won't consider it too risky an environment since I plan to stay masked up. That said... if it DOES stay that sparsely populated, I can't imagine it'll remain in business very long. =/

I'm not 100% sure if I'll stick with this, but I just had to get an early feel for 2020 gym life. So, anyone else gone to a re-opened gym lately? Observations/thoughts?

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ive been going for a while, but with cases spiking in my state ive stopped a bit. Its the only thing i do outside my apartment other than buying groceries once every other week, so my exposure is still pretty limited.

Ive been going at off peak times too, that might help little to none tho for all i know

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I've been going to EoS Fitness, which has similar measures, but not with the closing every half hour.

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stay the fuck home.

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Mine was open for just about 3 weeks in June.
Those were the only 3 weeks in the past like 4 months I actually had something to do and missed the opportunity.
Was frustrating.

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Is 2004 recently?

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Mine reopened last week with no real restrictions. They have sanitation wipes everywhere in addition to the usual paper towels-and-spray, and employees are going around wiping things down just in case fairly regularly. The place has been pretty empty the three times I've been in. Either people are scared of attending or they haven't yet gotten back into the swing of things. So from a social distancing perspective, it still seems perfectly safe. People wear masks if they choose to, but I'm glad I'm not forced because there's no way I'm wearing a mask while doing cardio.

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yes, 0 restrictions, its great

I go everyday. My area hasnt had too bad of an outbreak so i feel pretty safe. That weight is just sitting there and somebody has to lift it

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HotDogButts posted...

yes, 0 restrictions, its great

I can't believe you're going against the advice of red13n like that

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Gyms seem like the very worst idea right about now. All that sweating and heavy breathing

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Things have been perfectly fine in mine. Everyone wipes everything down and keeps their proper distance. Regular gym goers are healthier than the average person and typically have better habits in that department so i havent had too many concerns

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azuarc posted...

Mine reopened last week with no real restrictions. They have sanitation wipes everywhere in addition to the usual paper towels-and-spray, and employees are going around wiping things down just in case fairly regularly. The place has been pretty empty the three times I've been in. Either people are scared of attending or they haven't yet gotten back into the swing of things. So from a social distancing perspective, it still seems perfectly safe. People wear masks if they choose to, but I'm glad I'm not forced because there's no way I'm wearing a mask while doing cardio.

I stand corrected. I just drove over, and they had signs everywhere saying masks were required. I asked, they confirmed, and I walked back out the door.

I understand requiring masks in other settings. People who refuse to wear one in protest are ridiculous. However, at the gym, wearing a mask makes zero sense. I can barely breathe wearing those stupid masks to begin with. You expect me to exercise with one? And when the sweat is streaming down my face -- I sweat buckets from my forehead and cheeks -- and the mask gets soaked and sticks to my skin, then what? No, sorry. I don't think so.

I came home, called, and asked them to freeze my membership. They said it was state-mandated and they got in trouble last week for not following those rules. So I can't be mad at the gym. And it's hard to be mad at the state for trying to keep everyone safe. But damn if I'm not mad right now, because I really needed a good workout this morning.

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You'd wear the mask if the workout was that important to you, don't you think?

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if you primarily use your gym for cardio then yeah, the mask thing is a big deal

I can imagine lifting while wearing a mask just fine though.

but yeah, I don't go to the gym anymore. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where trails are ten-fifteen minutes away. I just find a trail and do the one punch man workout.

Peace___Frog posted...

You'd wear the mask if the workout was that important to you, don't you think?

There are some workout aspects where a mask is simply just not viable.

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Haven't been to one since February. Also can't go to one outside the base, per orders from my post's general.

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Yeah, it's in my basement
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Mine opened but I haven't gone back.

The restrictions aren't that major but it's not something I'd look forward to doing.

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Two days in and I'm trying to follow my usual routine, which is 30-35 minutes of cardio followed by a real quick lifting session (if I have the energy). Wearing a mask while on an elliptical isn't a comfortable experience, but I'm acclimating. It seems to be quite doable.

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i fucking wish. closed indefinitely here.
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Ours just opened about a week ago. Only been once, but it's mostly the same situation except they aren't requiring masks.

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Peace___Frog posted...

You'd wear the mask if the workout was that important to you, don't you think?

Anyone who claims they can work out in a mask is clearly not exerting themselves.

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iiaattgg posted...

Everyone wipes everything down and keeps their proper distance. Regular gym goers are healthier than the average person and typically have better habits in that department

This made me laugh a little. I haven't been to the gym in months, but people in my area were not amazing at this

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banananor posted...

This made me laugh a little. I haven't been to the gym in months, but people in my area were not amazing at this

You go to a bad gym

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iiaattgg posted...

You go to a bad gym

you go to a good gym

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The gym I go to is operating similarly to the one you go to.

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Oh, I'll also note that in two sessions, I've seen only one conversation (aside from couples who go and exercise together). The gym is maybe 10% as social as it was before the virus. Unsurprising, but just wanted to point it out.

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I think Nate Silver looked at the data and said that mask mandating states have around 15%~ reduction in transmission rates (or about as much as 20~ish F increase in heat) compared to note mask mandating states

soruce: https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1276240972062613505

Note that since it's correlational, it's more like "this passes the laugh test" levels of evidence rather than "this is confirmed science".

I *think* I remember some study of doctors, where they train super hard and definitely try to have a close to 100% adherence rate (replace masks every couple of hours as it gets harder to breathe, N95 masks fitted properly), you get around 30% transmission reduction.

So masks do help, using them properly does help a lot, but I think given what we know about super spreader events (i.e. in places where people sing, shout or talk in confined places) I do think that Gyms are substantially more risky than, say, running in a park, going to the beach or of course staying home.

Of course, and this is speculation on my part, viral load for many diseases reduces the severity (because it takes about a week for the immune system to ramp up to max after infection), even if you do catch COVID, the mask would probably at least halve, maybe 1/8th or 1/16th your viral load, which would make the symptoms much more likely to be mild (although note that even healthy people with little to no symptoms have damage in lungs, and some people who were like marathon athletes report being winded after climbing stairs months after the infection). So there probably are other positive effects from mask wearing that don't show up in raw case count statistics (we probably have to wait two or more weeks to see these even show up)

I would say that wiping down surfaces is probably security (pandemic? cleaniness?) theater, since if the virus persisted on surfaces we would probably see transmission rates much much much higher than we actually do. So seeing gyms do it doesn't mean that much. Although IIRC the virus lives on metal for a pretty long time, so ironically for weight lifting this is one of the few cases it might help.

If you do have harder trouble breathing, you might need to change your masks more often, as your breath causes the mask to "fill up" with your breath juice. Sweatbands might also help.

azuarc posted...

Anyone who claims they can work out in a mask is clearly not exerting themselves.

You are having panic attacks and not breathing properly as a result.

A proper mask will make you feel different because it does trap considerable heat, but oxygen passes through just fine.

Wear your fucking mask(Or, as you are free to choose, stay the fuck home).

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red13n posted...

You are having panic attacks and not breathing properly as a result.

A proper mask will make you feel different because it does trap considerable heat, but oxygen passes through just fine.

Wear your fucking mask(Or, as you are free to choose, stay the fuck home).

Yeah something tells me you havent tried heavy/high intensity deadlifts or squats with a face mask if you think its that simple

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iiaattgg posted...

Yeah something tells me you havent tried heavy/high intensity deadlifts or squats with a face mask if you think its that simple

something tells me you are ignoring science.

Probably the part about you ignoring the science.

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red13n posted...

You are having panic attacks and not breathing properly as a result.

A proper mask will make you feel different because it does trap considerable heat, but oxygen passes through just fine.

Wear your fucking mask(Or, as you are free to choose, stay the fuck home).

This is a wild post.

"You aren't having trouble breathing in a mask because you're breathing heavier into a constricting mask covering your nose and mouth, it's because you're having a panic attack."

Like the dude made the choice not to work out at the gym in a mask and just froze his account because he knows it will be more difficult for him to breathe in a mask and your stance is to be a dick and tell him he's wrong for not being able to breathe in a mask.

If it's that easy to breathe in a mask when you're working out of all things, then masks wouldn't be effective.

Why are you so angry at him for saying it's harder to breathe when working out in a mask?

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red13n posted...

something tells me you are ignoring science.

Probably the part about you ignoring the science.

"Stop ignoring science."

Edit: The fucking arrogance is WILD when I did not even a minute of research to find this.

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Because masks do not inhibit oxygen intake.

The idea that your breathing is impaired by one is a literal fabrication of your mind.

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LITERAL FABRICATION OF THE MIND.

I can't.

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That isn't actually the science on the subject.

Look at any study on oxygen intake with a mask on.

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it's also, yknow, pretty easy to get exercise/basic equipment for yourself and not have to go to the gym for the time being. I'm sure your egos will survive not getting the biggest gains during a pandemic.

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Also it references comfort, and yes sweat makes the mask sticky and uncomfortable(It will make it stick to your face).

There is an easy solution to this at a gym, bring an extra mask or two.

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Somewhat recently, I beat Whitney like a month ago

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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

LITERAL FABRICATION OF THE MIND.

I can't.

Also back to sarcastic tone, you can't comprehend science, yes, I know.

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and in response to the actual question, i'm not a real lifter. i'm fine doing body weight exercises/using small weights, but i miss the pull-up bar the most

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red13n posted...

Because masks do not inhibit oxygen intake.

The idea that your breathing is impaired by one is a literal fabrication of your mind.

People at gyms literally wear masks to inhibit oxygen intake to simulate breathing and working out in high altitudes.
These people are also crazy. Because it can cause hyperventilation and fainting (as well as other issues to those with underlying medical problems).

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The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, an ACTUAL SCIENCE ORGANIZATION, says that you shouldn't exercise in a mask and outright tells you that it can absolutely reduce your ability to breathe properly when exercising, gives reasons why, and says it's better to exercise with social distancing instead.

And this fucking guy is saying "LoOk At ThE sTuDiEs." Studies outright say that wearing a mask does restrict airflow, because obviously it does, but it doesn't restrict it enough to justify not wearing a mask or present any kind of danger without conditions.

And nobody is even having an ego about this except for the guy smugly telling people don't go to the gym and that you are having LITERAL FABRICATIONS OF THE MIND if you think it's harder to breathe when exercising with a mask on and ignoring WHO, who says exactly as much.

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LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

People at gyms literally wear masks to inhibit oxygen intake to simulate breathing and working out in high altitudes.
These people are also crazy. Because it can cause hyperventilation and fainting (as well as other issues to those with underlying medical problems).

Nah bro, they just wear a mask to TRICK THEIR MINDS into thinking it's harder to breathe with one on.

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Alright then get exercise through many other ways and basic equipment and don't go to the gym for the time being

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LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

People at gyms literally wear masks to inhibit oxygen intake to simulate breathing and working out in high altitudes.
These people are also crazy. Because it can cause hyperventilation and fainting (as well as other issues to those with underlying medical problems).

an oxygen inhibitor is not the same as your generic cloth face mask.

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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Alright then get exercise through many other ways and basic equipment and don't go to the gym for the time being

That's literally what people are doing. Like, it's not a problem to the guy who red was pouncing on for not accepting his made up science. Not one person here has had an issue with what gyms are doing. They are all being completely reasonable about it.

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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Studies outright say that wearing a mask does restrict airflow, because obviously it does, but it doesn't restrict it enough to justify not wearing a mask or present any kind of danger without conditions.

An N95 would reduce by something like maybe 5-20% at most.

A cloth mask would reduce oxygen intake by less than 1%.

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