One notable change about the past few weeks is that more and more cities are already transitioning back to their programming from before the health crisis hit. In fact, fitness facilities are already back in operation or are planning to open their doors again. In some areas, chains like Planet Fitness and Gold’s Gym are already welcoming members to their facilities.
If your local government allows such activities, does it mean that it’s safe to workout in gyms now? Experts say that the safest way to exercise nowadays is still in outdoor settings. However, as doing so may not be possible for everyone, everywhere, gyms might just make do. Most of these places have good ventilation anyway and are implementing safety measures, so the risks are somehow reduced.
However, this does not mean that you should be complacent. Gym environments make the spread of the virus rather easy since you’ll be in an enclosed space and you’ll be touching the same surfaces with lots of other people. So if you want to protect yourself and others from the illness, here are a few things that you should do when you visit the gym.
How to Stay Safe at the Gym
Wipe (or wash) your hands before and after touching gym equipment. Wiping down the surfaces of the equipment you’ll touch before and after you use it is ideal.
The coronavirus can be transferred on surfaces by a carrier. This is why it’s ideal to sanitize your hands and the surfaces you’ll touch before and after you get in contact with them. This can be a tedious chore but it’s one of the best ways to ensure that you won’t pick up the virus while you workout.
Sure, gyms promise to sanitize the equipment and surfaces every now and then, anyway. But let’s be real: they won’t be able to keep wiping down everything in between users. That requires too much work for their staff. It will also significantly slow down your workout if you have to keep waiting for the staff to finish wiping down equipment before you can use them so it’s just best to do it yourself, in our opinion.
Avoid touching your face at all costs.
Even if you keep disinfecting your hands after touching stuff in the gym, you should still avoid touching your face, especially your mouth, nose, and eyes. Doing so might deliver the virus directly to your bloodstream which can then cause you to get infected.
Bring your own towel, water, and disinfecting stuff.
To ensure that you won’t be using anything that other people already touched, bring your own towel, water, and disinfecting materials at the gym. This will help you further minimize contact with others.
Observe physical distancing.
This is one of the most basic safety measures you should always do when going out nowadays and it’s very important to do at the gym.
Wear masks in common areas and when talking to others.
Not all gyms will require you to wear a mask while working out. However, they will still make sure to follow the health department’s safety protocols by requiring wearing masks in all common areas. It would also be very courteous and ideal to wear a mask when talking to others.
Be very careful when joining classes or just skip them entirely in the meantime.
Fitness classes will most likely put you in close proximity to other people while sweating and breathing heavily. All of these heightens the risk of the spread of the virus. So if you’re interested in joining such classes, be careful. Check the safety measures the gym will implement for such programs. If you’re not too happy with them, it might be better to exercise on your own in the meantime.
Follow the gym’s safety protocols.
Last but definitely not least, make sure to stick with the gym’s safety protocols. They’re there for a reason so don’t just ignore them. Besides, doing so might get you kicked out of the premises. So if you want to workout at your gym, it’s just best to cooperate to keep yourself and everyone else safe.