During the pandemic, take refuge at your local gym

                     We have your back when it comes to safety protocols

(Updated 12/19/20)

The deadly coronavirus, at this writing, has claimed more than 314,000 lives in the United States, with Americans over the age of 65 accounting for about 73 percent of deaths from complications of Covid-19.  It's staggering in any context -- but maybe more sobering for seniors who consider health and fitness a priority.

Gyms, studios and health clubs have been under more scrutiny than a lot of businesses -- and perhaps unfairly identified as high-risk -- at a time when exercise helps relieve anxiety and stress. In Montgomery County, gyms, studios and health clubs have taken safe practices seriously in the hope that members will not only maintain their affiliation, but return for work outs and classes. 

Montgomery County just reinstated restrictions to try and get the 2020 winter surge of coronavirus infections under control as vaccines are being rolled out and slowly distributed. Restaurants and retail businesses have been further restricted in capacity; there is no indoor dining allowed at this time.  In his updated Executive Order, County Executive Marc Elrich said that gyms and health clubs, along with yoga and Pilates studios, can remain open as capacity is no more than 25 percent, masks are worn at all times indoors and physical distancing is strictly enforced.  Those of us in the fitness industry are grateful that we can stay in business -- but members of gyms and health clubs are even more grateful that they can still work out in person rather than at home.  I've heard Rock Creek Sports Club (RCSC) members use terms like, "life saver" or "..my lifeline" in expressing how much it means to them to be able to visit their gym.

A December 11th press conference held by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo illustrates the point that gyms and health clubs are not a main source of infections.  Consider that New York has been a hot spot for the virus all along, but was also one of the first places to flatten the curve due to Cuomo's leadership and early restrictions.  Tracking data from New York showed that gyms were at 0.06 percent as a source of exposure to the virus, while private households accounted for 74 percent of the spread. Based on this data, you might be safer at your gym than gathering with family or friends at home.  

When gyms and health clubs shut down for four months this year in the metropolitan D.C. area, many of us waded through live streamed or recorded workouts.  In my case, I taught classes online in my dark basement. Staring at a screen - with no input or interaction with others - is not at all what I signed up for when I trained to become a yoga and Pilates instructor.  Add to that the fact that I'm an extreme extrovert; online classes were a slow form of social torture. Believe me, I understood the need for the shutdown and the caution to avoid an increase in community infection rates. But when the day came for gyms and health clubs to reopen, I rejoiced, along with a lot of other fitness instructors.  

Now that we're almost six months into re-opening, facilities are operating under pandemic precautions. And there is good news in our immediate community. I teach at five different locations. Each gym and studio is practicing extreme measures to keep members and staff safe. It's working. There have been no citations, fines or shut downs of any gyms, studios or health clubs due to noncompliance in Montgomery, as Dale Tibbitts, special assistant to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, confirmed recently. 

Out of all 20 YMCAs in the metro Washington, D.C. area, there have been no outbreaks. According to Pamela Curran, Chief Operating Officer of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, one or two members reported to the Y that they had tested positive but there was no link to contracting the virus at YMCA locations.  Each member spent an hour at facilities. She said the YMCA immediately sectioned off the areas used and conducted intense sanitizing. So far, there have been no outbreaks caused by community transmission at any of the 20 area YMCAs.  

"We re-opened later than we could have so we could make sure we had 100 percent of the foundation we needed for safety protocols," Curran said.  "The science and prevention technology is changing all the time, so we're constantly working to keep everybody safe." 

She said the YMCA had invested over $300,000 this spring on infrared cleaning equipment alone.  That is in addition to large quantities of disinfectant, signage throughout the facilities, thermometers and sanitizing wipes.  The YMCA is currently looking at additional equipment to purchase for air filtration once classes are moved from an outdoor format, at most of the facilities, to small indoor classes this fall.   

At RCSC (one of my employers), there have also been no infections or outbreaks traced to the gym.  Like the YMCAs, RCSC has invested heavily in new air-cleaning equipment and pandemic safety protocols.  In addition to signage, mask-wearing, deep cleaning and spacing of equipment, RCSC purchased machines that filter pathogens from the air around workout spaces.  And twice a day, the club goes through a top-to-bottom sanitization.  The club closes for an hour at 1 pm each day for intense cleaning, and then the facility is cleaned again at closing. In between, all equipment is constantly wiped down with sanitizers. For members who are wary of coming to the club physically, RCSC is still offering a variety of virtual classes.  

Members at all locations where I teach have cheerfully complied with the new measures.  We were told at YMCA staff training that there is a zero-tolerance policy for failure to follow the protocols. If a member refuses to wear a mask, or wear it properly, they must leave.  Or if a member's temperature is 100.4 or higher, they are not allowed to enter the facility.  Instructors are required to have their temperature taken at the door, after taking their temperature at home and submitting an online screening questionnaire before each shift. At all five venues where I teach, these businesses and organizations are going above and beyond the Montgomery County requirements for safe operation of Phase II of re-opening. 

Precautions and encouraging gym members to return are happening at the national scale as well.  A few gyms have learned a painful lesson. There were 17 cases linked to two gyms in Oahu, Hawaii last July. That same month, a gym in San Diego County, California was shut down after an outbreak when the gym had been operating in defiance of county health orders. 

There is a lot at stake in terms of human health and the economy if gyms and health clubs are noncompliant.  Since the pandemic upended our lives, there have been countless cancellations and suspensions of memberships. The U.S. fitness clubs lost $13.9 billion in revenue through September 1, 2020.  It is anticipated that many businesses will have to close permanently before the pandemic is over.  In my area alone, three yoga studios have closed since the summer. 

Members who have maintained their memberships have eased back into an onsite fitness routine, relieved to take in-person classes again or work out in a less-crowded gym.  Privately owned companies like the RCSC have had to work hard to gain the confidence of their members. To assure members, those who work out at RCSC can look on the club website any time and see a counter in the middle of the home page.  It shows how many people are in the gym, compared to what the stated maximum capacity is.  So it's easy to identify a slow and quiet time to go in and work out. 

Before the pandemic, there were 20,000 members of the YMCAs; a number of members have suspended their memberships or have decided to wait until there is a vaccine to return to the facilities.  It's understandable.  However a large number of people have ventured back in to swim, work out or take group classes.  

In a Facebook post, RCSC personal trainer and operations manager Sharon Sellers encouraged fitness buffs to hold on to their gym memberships.  

"Please consider continuing your membership," she wrote. "If you're waiting around for that vaccine before venturing in, you won't be back until next summer. The landlord of your gym is not going to wait that long, and the landlords/mortgages of the employees will also not wait."

As one of many instructors who clean equipment, and even spray floors and all touchable surfaces with a strong disinfectant after each class, I realize that I am putting myself at a bit of a risk by teaching in-person again. For me, the psychological benefits of seeing beloved members again (from a distance) is worth any possible risk.  And from my perspective, I feel confident that gyms and health clubs where I work are doing all the right things to keep members safe. 

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At left and top: Equipment is spaced out at Rock Creek Sports Club in Silver Spring to provide the recommended distance.