[Closed] Are you going back to the gym?

Same, wasn't really getting use of it before lockdown due to having a 13 month old in the house but kept it up as an aspirational thing 😁
Not convinced it's possible to control that many people and their exhaust in confined space. Surprised at email had from them saying pool and wet spa areas going to reopen too.
Thanks for the reminder, must email today about cancelling.

Probably not...
I have some battle ropes in the garden, and half an hour with them whenever I remember has been far more effective than a couple of hours down the gym twice a week. Throw in the shit loud music and young'uns lounging around texting their mates...
I don't miss it at all!

I was a very regular gym goer but have cancelled my membership.

Not gonna be in town anyway, but wouldn't wanna go now even if I was.

I do need to pull my finger out on the home workout regime though, just been riding much more and doing the odd set of press ups

Only reason I went somewhere before was for a game of squash and seeing as there's only one other player I'm keen to get back to it having found a partner after many years trying! If anything I do more than before as I do a 20-30 minutes workout with some weights at home each morning.

I'm still on the fence, my Gym is really small. Only about 50 members, it's all instructor lead and classes of 8 or less. You get your own stuff at the start (kettle bells etc) which you clean so as far as gyms go, it's pretty safe.

I'm thinking I'll wait till the clocks go back, and use my evenings for riding.

My PT, who has been training everyone via Zoom for the last few months, asked all his clients what they wanted to do; as the gym he uses will reopen. 80% are sticking with Zoom for the time being. So he's going to reschedule everyone so he only has to go into the gym one day a week. He's not particularly comfortable going back either.

His main concern, is that most of the other PTs are quite young and gung-ho and don't really take CV-19 seriously.

We'll continue training at home, see him over Zoom once a week - but then we have a full gym in the workshop, so bit of an unusal case.

I would love to but the only classes I do are spin and circuits. It's also a council owned gym so I doubt it'll open anyway.
Spin is a tiny room fully of heavy breathing, sweaty people. Can't see that happening any time soon.
Circuits is shared kit, going round to different stations, lying in the sweat of the fella who has just left that station. It felt a bit dirty pre-Covid so it's not happening post.

I miss the steam room and pool, but I can live without the rest.

I will be going and will take it from their.need to keep my body shape .although cycling has been good for my body I miss the weights.its a council gym and we've been given an extra month membership on top of our renewed membership after lockdown where it was halted.

Don't know, I do miss the gym and have put weight on since lockdown and working from home. Going to see how they go about re-opening and how many people they allow in.

I'll miss it more in winter than in summer but won't rush back.

Think I will be going back, armed with anti-bac spray and wipes. Trouble is you can't guarantee that everyone else will be so cautious, before lock-down I saw a couple of guys not wiping equipment down.

I will be going back as I only use the weights and dont do any classes. Usually I am in mid afternoon when its quite so low risk.

I only go to a gym for a PT-led class on strength and conditioning for cyclists. Can't see myself going back anytime soon.

Been doing HIIT type workouts via YouTube (for free!) and will probably continue with those.

I really want to, but the gym was close to the office and I'm not going back into the office at the moment.

I really miss deadlifts and decent weights AND the climbing wall. I reckon the gym would be fine as the free weights area was always sparsely used, the wall is impossible to clean after each use and I'd probably avoid that for a few months yet.

Having been on furlough for 2 months with another 1.5 to go, I can't wait for the climbing centres to open and give me something to do with my day. Probably even going to take out a membership for the first time

Don't use a gym anyway but I will definitely go back to yoga class as soon as it restarts properly. The instructor has attempted to carry on with online classes but it's really not the same and numbers had been gradually dropping off.

My gym is putting 'measures' in place, for example limiting the number of people in at any one time, spreading the equipment out into the classes studio, and making all instructor led classes zoom sessions.
I'll try it once before making a decision, I really hope it's OK because the weights I do in the gym make me happier on the bike.

I’m not. I miss the barbell but otherwise we’ve cobbled together enough bits and pieces to make me ache at home. Times on the bike etc suggest it isn’t all a disaster. I gave up going a couple of weeks before lockdown - it stressed me out back then.

Would love to go back to the climbing wall, but at the moment that also doesn’t appeal.

Nope. I was using the gym a bit but since lockdown I got really into home HIIT workouts and I've been doing 2-3 of those a week and found it quite easy to stick with and my fitness has improved. I've never really enjoyed hanging about gyms anyway, and find the wallopers fannying about on phones annoying.

I can see how the gym is really important for others as a way to get out and socialise a bit. Or at least be out of the house with others. So for some people it will be a huge loss so no doubt they will get back to it slowly.

Yes, back to the climbing centre. I miss the fear, and have put on enough weight to notice so I'll take the risk so long as the precautions seem to work.

No chance. At least not until everybody has been vaccinated. I'd imagine that city centre gyms are a business model that no longer works, possibly indefinitely if many of us continue to work from home.

Definitely.

I really miss lifting heavy weights.

Since lockdown I had been good at doing bodyweight exercises to try and maintain some muscle, but I have lost a lot of motivation to do that.

Gyms up here in Scotland won't be opening on July 25th. The roadmap said that it would be around the same time as the schools go back. I heard a rumour that it was going to be August 17th, what a ball ache!

I want to. I need to. But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna...

Sorry, got lost in a Meatloaf loop there.

I haven’t been to a gym for about 4 years but the new, lighter me wants to get back into it as soon as it’s safe to do so.

It'll end-up being use it or lose it as it's owned by the school and run by the council, was using it 3 times a week to supplement running for my referee fitness, and then to rehabilitate my broken leg. It only costs me £22 a month for unlimited use - although that will have to chamge. Not sure about it to be honest, as with all gyms there are those folks who never bring a towel/ wipe down kit, sit there on their phones between heavy sets and hog some kit. So who knows, certainly won't be opening weekend as we're away. But we did buy some weights at the start of lockdown, plyo box and a SkiErg, couple that to running and openwater swimming and I'm not sure I need to.

My gym (PureGym) looks to be implementing some really sensible and cautious protocols, and I really want to support them (especially for the PT's who must be having a hard time), but... it really feels too early for group exercise - especially circuits & spin which I mainly like to do.

So for the time being I think I will freeze my membership and keep on with the Peloton app and Nordic trak spin bike in the "Garage of Pain".

Yes, I live next door to it so go at lunch times. Also miss the heavy weights workout.

Nope, not for now. It's near the office which is in another town and we won't be back in there apparently until September-ish.
I'm also setup to do HIIT workouts with some weights, rings, stall bars and a spin bike in the garage and I've never had a problem in motivating myself to get out there.

Also taking a quick look at the gyms plans for limiting numbers etc. I'm not even sure I'd be able to get in at a lunchtime so I ain't paying for a gym I might not be able to get into and use when I want to.

It’s also a council owned gym so I doubt it’ll open anyway.

Our council gyms are taking bookings for classes already. Seen today a local climbing wall is putting in quite strict precautions, comments on FB page seem positive.

Can see a lot of gyms failing, especially the city centre chain ones. I guess the people who had membership but never went have seen the light, a lot of people have discovered training at home is just as effective and convenient. Tough times in the sector

Can see a lot of gyms failing,

I don't know, I suspect a lot of the younger members aren't that bothered about CV-19 and would happily go back regardless of any changes in protocols.

Nope but I only used running machines for the winter months. Living near a beach again so wooly hat and headtorch.

The hotel I’m staying in in Gran Can has access to a gym just down the road so I thought I’d check it out. It’s a meatheads gym, so only a couple each of bikes, treadmills and cyclic trainers with most of the space dedicated to free weights. Masks must be worn at all times and there’s gel dispensers dotted around the place.
The two trainers on duty spend their time going round cleaning all the equipment with anti-bac cleaner and there’s several available for use by the customers.
I’ve done two sessions now, one midday ish and one at 8am and there was only a couple of people in each time.
I’m doing the StrongLifts 5x5 program so can do my complete workout at one station, limiting my exposure while I’m there.

I gave up the gym about a year or so ago and won't be going back anytime soon.

I've managed to increase my fitness using a combination of basic calisthenics and running outdoors.

I tend to do ~15 mins of calisthenics a day (3-4 times a week) and run 4-8km (2-3 times a week) i.e. nothing too serious. But combined with eating better since lockdown i've lost weight and gained strength.

The only kit i've bought is some gymnastic rings and some wooden parallettes (to protect my child like wrists when doing pushups).

What i've learned is you don't need a lot of fancy gym gear to make gains/improve, just consistency.

For me, cycling and running is for fitness and the gym is for strength, and boy have I lost a lot of strength since I last went...

At my peak I was repping 165KG deadlift, 60 was a struggle today! I’ll get back there eventually, I’ll just have to keep at it.

I was getting a bit sick of the gym before lockdown. As others have mentioned - what is it with these weapons-grade roasters hanging around the equipment taking photos of themselves? Do they work out before they arrive? Cos they don't seem to be working out.

Went back to the gym last night over here in Ireland for the first time and really enjoyed it. It’s a small gym so max 5 people and booking 1 hour slots. Great to be back to some kind of normality and I was sick of the turbo in the garage.

I won't be going back for a number of reasons. Prior to lockdown, I was going three times a week in the mornings before going to work. It was simply a part of my commute. However, my employer announced in early May that it was not going to renew the lease on the office space at the end of the month and we'd all be working remotely until at least October. At that point, I cancelled my membership and there's no point having it if it means paying to commute into London just to go to the gym.

I could, of course, join my local council-run gym but for the next four months I'm on a 20% reduced salary, a direct result of the business taking a hit from the virus, and I can justify the expense.

I'll just keep on getting out on the bike early every morning before I start my working from home day.

Probably not, I was going to cancel anyway so this just gave me a few months to think about it. Mine was only a £18.99/month puregym anyway.

OH is going to suspend hers as it's a £90/month healthclub/spa and doesn't sound like you'd get much time to relax and use the facilities with timed slots etc.

I'll use the excuse to buy a few more gadgets and install a pull up bar and eyebolt for the suspension trainer on the back of the house. Always fancied a "squat shed", a concrete pad, squat rack and a 1m3 bit of roof to keep the rain off it!

I’ll use the excuse to buy a few more gadgets

When my CF gym folded, I just spent the monthly fee buying bits of kit (ok a bit more than the monthly fee), but over several years I have acquired pretty much a full gym's worth of kit. Eg Full Dumbbell set, just bought one pair at a time....

Our letters arrived saying the direct debits will start again from next month, will give it a month and see what they have put in place, but as others have said I think I'm enjoying not going, might change my mind come winter though when lake swimming and freezing cold runs are in order.

A decent squat rack is more than several years worth of gym subs if you’re going to a PureGym/TheGym kind of place and you’d still have to buy the bars and plates. If you’re paying for a fancy pants health club spa it’ll only take a few months to pay off the rack.

My gym is at work and was closed just before the Pandemic hit the UK properly.

Can't see it reopening anytime soon to be honest.  I have spent some time and invested in a garage gym set up.  Squat rack, barbell and plates to go with the band an KBs i had anyway.  It means my sons can start training when they want too.

A decent squat rack is more than several years worth of gym subs if you’re going to a PureGym/TheGym kind of place and you’d still have to buy the bars and plates

I just went for squat stands and built a platform out of Ply sheets which can take bars being dropped on it. Squat stand was probably just over £100. Cheap Olympic bar £100 ish (prob 30mm not 28mm at the budget end). Cheap set of bumber plates was a few £100. Have upgraded bits over time eg some bumper plates died (from being dropped), bought better quality Oly bar. Just sold the old stuff on FB market place as I replaced it. Closing down gyms is a good source of cheap quality kit, even before CV-19 there was a good turn over in gym businesses, always someone closing down selling everything off.

I used to go to a couple of indoor climbing walls, if that counts. I'll be going back, but not as often, when they open.
More driven by a change of career over lockdown than any hygiene consideration.
I think I would be more wary of using weights and the like in a communal gym nowadays, if that was my thing.