Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the gym and working out for the first time since March 2020. In NY, gyms were closed up until the last week in August 2020, and then slowly started opening up in September 2020. I haven’t gone to the gym since March, and partly because I was scared of being in a closed environment along with so many people working out, breathing hard, sweating, etc. I kept up with my workout routine at home, utilizing workouts I would make up myself, walking outdoors, using the peloton app for a variety of exercises as well as trainer directed exercise programs provided by Erica Fit Love.
One of my gym buddies joined a gym, which is a little farther away than us – it is the next town over, but when you are used to driving 3 minutes to your gym, it feels “far”. She has invited me countless times to go, and I have been hesitant, to be honest. I was hesitant because I will be in the vicinity of others while working out. Breathing, sweating, working out – together. She finally asked me again Sunday night to accompany her and I said yes. I said yes because I wanted to see what it was like to workout in the gym again, after working out solo for basically 10 months, with the exception of riding SoulCycle outside in late fall.
So I FINALLY went to the gym, y’all! I met my friend at around 6:45 – which is usually primetime for gym activity. After I checked in as a guest with my friend, she gave me a quick tour of the facility, as I have never been inside of this gym before. It was very spacious, and clean, as far as a gym is concerned. Initially I was concerned when I parked my car because there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. Once inside, my concern went away. The facility is large and spread out nicely. The cardio equipment was on a different floor, the weights section is spread out, and there are multiple sanitizing stations with paper towels and signage encouraging the cleaning of any equipment both before and after use. I felt comfortable here. I completed my cardio training upstairs using the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes. I did workout with my mask on; it is required to put on and keep on your mask for the duration of your stay at the gym. Every other machine was available; the ones not in use had a sign stating that it was “rest day”. In total upstairs there were maybe 5 people using the machines (there were at least 50/60 different cardio machines on this level). I went downstairs to complete my upper body weight training. There was ample space around the machines as well as the weights. There are about three different sections where you can complete your exercises, and I did not feel crowded at all. Everyone was respectful of spacing, and was doing a great job of cleaning the machines.
Overall, I spent a little over an hour at the facility and I feel comfortable going there again with my friend. I am not yet at the point where I want to commit to joining the gym at this point, because I feel good with my workout routine I have set up at home, but I am glad I faced my fear of working out indoors and went to the gym. Would you go back to working out at the gym? How do you feel the environment is at the gym that you go to? I would love to hear your thoughts.
sweat. lift. eat. 