New Gym Etiquette and Common Sense...

At the end of the day it is up to each one of us to use our common sense to protect ourselves and those around us.

As gyms are opening back up and people are anxious to get back to working out again, just remember a few basic rules and hopefully, we will all be able to safely work out while minimizing risking more COVID infection spread.

Common Sense Rules:

1. Assume the person who used the machine before you did has Covid-19 and didn’t wipe it down. That means you wipe every piece of equipment down before you use it, whether it be a dumbbell or an elliptical then again after you use it. Do not assume the staff did it even if the gym mentions that their employees are regularly cleaning equipment. Do not put your health and safety in someone else’s hands. Both gym staff and members with the best of intentions can forget to clean a machine or miss a crucial spot.
2. The six-foot social distancing rule is a minimum of ten while working out indoors. It depends on the person and the space that person is in. If I see someone who is hardly working up a sweat, ten feet is likely fine. If they are working hard and running hard hills or intervals, ten feet is a bare minimum. More like 15 feet as a minimum. If moisture droplets from breathing or talking shoot out nearing 6 feet when people aren’t exercising can you imagine how far they travel when someone is working out hard and breathing heavily? If there are two or three people working out hard in one area and it is a confined area, 15 feet may not be enough.
3. The gym should supply EPA registered antibacterial wipes. Not spray bottles with reusable rags.
4. Check out the gym before you work out. Look around. How many people are in the gym? Are they at least ten to fifteen feet apart while working out? Does the gym have the appropriate cleaning procedures or supplies available? How many people total are in the gym at a time? And how big is that area relative to how many people they are allowing in that area?

At the end of the day, it is up to each one of us to use our common sense to protect ourselves and those around us. Do not leave this up to “What the experts say” then do the minimum required. The minimum required can put you and or your family members in the hospital.

Masks are great in public areas where there are a lot of people. Not in the gym! Don’t wear a mask while working out. That can put extra stress on your heart and might trigger a heart attack. Wearing a mask while exercising is like hyperventilating into a paper bag and breathing back in only your expired air. You could faint and hit your head on the way down. In which case COVID may be the least of your problems.

If you aren’t comfortable working out in the gym without a mask because there are too many people in the facility, then even if the gym is open, it isn’t ready for you. Be safe and use common sense.

If the gym is open, but there are too many people in the gym or the staff aren’t enforcing the common sense cleanliness and distancing rules, it simply isn’t ready for you. Never mind what the minimums are. This is no time to do the minimum that people are recommending. This is the time to put your health and safety and common sense before minimum recommendations.

Until next time keep…

Fit ‘N’ Well.