Fitness, Health

Here Are My Problems with Going Back to the Gym

They can drown that place in disinfectant. But is it safe?

I miss my gym.

I miss the classes—I was a regular at BodyPump, Piyo, and yoga, and I even took cycling once in a while.

I miss Nicky, the instructor who knows I need to work my abs. She always fit core exercises into the class when she saw me there.

I miss my gym friend Heidi, and I wonder if her son was able to get married this year.

I miss the structure of having someplace to be four or five times a week.

I miss seeing my triceps.

On March 16, nearly everything in Pennsylvania except grocery stores and pharmacies shut down. The staff at my gym canceled classes that night and locked the doors at 8 p.m.

Those doors stayed locked for more than three months, until June 26, when my county transitioned to “green” and gyms could open with safeguards in place.

With the reopening, I can see that the people running my gym are being cautious:

• They’ve sanitized the whole place
• They’re requiring masks for staff and recommending them for members, and requiring 14 feet of distance between people if they aren’t wearing masks
• They’re checking temperatures
• They’re blocking off every other cardio machine, every third locker, and all the water fountains

Still, how can I know whether it’s safe to go back?

I reached out to a couple of experts to get their thoughts on what makes it safer to return to the gym.

Jeff Halevy, founder of HealthLuxe, a gym design, management, and maintenance firm in New York City, who is consulting with national fitness chains on reopening, says, “No one really knows what to do. That’s what the fundamental problem is.”

Richard Pan, MD, a California state senator who has a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University, points out that it’s easier for Covid-19 to spread:

• In indoor spaces where people cannot distance at least six feet apart
• Where people are not wearing masks or face coverings
• Where people are intermingling with people outside their own household

All of those factors could be issues in a gym setting.

How can we breathe safely in a gym?

Halevy worries most about airborne virus particles: “Look at the virus itself. There’s consensus on how the virus spreads — primarily through prolonged aerosol exposure. We don’t have to worry as much about contact elements as we do about inhaling each others’ air.”

“If you’re exercising hard you’re dispersing aerosols. They fly out of your mouth unless something stops them like a mask or a physical barrier,” Halevy says.

He points out that a gym’s cardio area typically poses the greatest danger of inhaling aerosols. that’s where:

• People are breathing out a lot of air
• Gyms get crowded

“There needs to be a barrier around the cardio equipment. If there was one thing I could change in every single gym with a snap of my fingers, I would magically put barriers around cardio equipment. That’s ground zero for a health club,” he says.

Halevy developed a clear enclosure called the CardioQube that health clubs can use to physically isolate people who are using cardio exercise equipment. He says, though, that anything that creates a barrier would be effective: “Shower curtains would be ugly, but cheap.”

“If you’re exercising hard you’re dispersing aerosols. They fly out of your mouth unless something stops them like a mask or a physical barrier,” Halevy says.

Don’t rule out masks

Wearing a mask can up the intensity of your workout, Pan says: “Wearing a mask will increase the work of your lungs, diaphragm, and chest muscles.”

He says that wearing a mask won’t cause a buildup of carbon dioxide. It could reduce the amount of oxygen you take in, though.

“If you feel dizzy, lightheaded, numbness, tingling or short of breath, you are not getting enough oxygen, and you need to stop exercising to allow your lungs to catch up,” he says. “If these symptoms persist, take off your mask until the symptoms subside.”

You’ll need to drop your intensity when you exercise with a mask on, but the extra effort means you’ll increase your caloric expenditure, Pan says. So you are still getting a good workout.

“Over time, your breathing muscles will strengthen and you may be able to increase your effort, but pay attention to your body. Do not push through if you have symptoms of lack of oxygen. Stop until the symptoms resolve, then take it easier when you resume exercising,” Pan says.

You may struggle a bit if you wear a mask during a cardio workout, but if you’re lifting weights it shouldn’t be an issue.

Halevy says he would like to see gyms mandate masks for people who aren’t doing cardio workouts. He tested out what it was like lifting weights with a mask.

“I wanted to see for myself if it really was that bad,” he says. “It was fine. It got a little moist in there so I peeled it away for a second then put it right back on. I think that’s the way to do this. Maybe we all suffer a little but we benefit exponentially.”

He’s not buying the argument that your oxygen level is going to drop significantly if you lift weights with a mask on.

“You cannot go hypoxic. And if you’re that worried about it, take a pulse oximeter to the gym so you can see your oxygen level,” he says.

Cardio classes? Probably not a great idea

And what about the workout classes I love? Halevy is okay with socially distanced, masked yoga classes. And he thinks outdoor exercise classes with people spread out would probably be okay, but he thinks indoor exercise classes would be a major problem.

“Classes are a horrible idea,” Halevy says.

He points to the example of the Seattle-area choir practice that led to 32 out of 61 people contracting Covid-19. “You had a lot of people [breathing] heavily in a room. That’s exactly what an exercise class is,” he says. “Anything where you’re huffing and puffing in a smaller room is an environment we know causes infection. That just sounds like a ridiculous idea.”

Keeping surfaces clean can cut risk

Even though contracting the virus by touch seems to be lower risk than via air, the risk isn’t zero. In a gym, where lots of people are touching the same surfaces, hand sanitizer and handwashing stations are important. Sanitizing your hands before and after touching gym equipment can help keep risk to a minimum.

“Gyms should be increasing sanitation, including cleaning equipment after each user and having soap and water or hand sanitizer readily available for everybody at the gym,” Pan says.

Halevy doesn’t worry much about the showers, though: “One of the sillier things is that certain clubs are keeping showers off limits — that’s not where the problem is at all.”

Does checking temperatures help?

Halevy doesn’t think temperature checks add much benefit. “They can create a false sense of security. There is asymptomatic spread, and [temperature checks] might embolden those who feel like masks should not be required. If everyone has had their temperature checked, that tells us nothing — there’s a lot of viral shedding that occurs presymptomatically.”

Don’t risk infection just to get in a workout

“If you’re in a high-risk group you should probably not be in a gym, period. I don’t think it’s a good idea for high-risk groups,” Halevy says.

And even if you’re not at risk, you still want to minimize your potential exposure.

“Ending up in the hospital on a ventilator will definitely ruin any results you hoped to gain from going to the gym,” Pan says.

You work out so you can stay healthy, Pan points out: “You go to the gym to improve your health and fitness, so protect yourself and others.”

“Ending up in the hospital on a ventilator will definitely ruin any results you hoped to gain from going to the gym,” Pan says.

As much as I miss my gym, it’s the classes and the people I miss most. And it doesn’t sound like classes are a smart idea just yet. I’m going to hold off until I feel safer.