Going to the gym! Are you crazy! Our local Coastal Fitness gym is one place that I thought I’d never return to during this global pandemic. Too much sweat, too many heavy breathers, too many spiraling viral air currents, all in close quarters. How could they protect us?
But our friend Mandy, a thoughtfully cautious sort, had returned to working out there. But the more she talked about going to the gym, we thought, “It’s summertime; we’ve got the country roads, the beaches, and the outdoor pickleball courts. Why take a chance?”
And then it rained last Monday!
So we decided to give Coastal Fitness a look to see what they have done to welcome us back in this Time of Corona?
Upon entering through the front doors, Hannah and I in masks each have our temperatures taken by the attendant wearing a mask herself, pointing a thermometer gun at our foreheads. Though the bathrooms are open, no longer are showers available.
Hannahs atreadmilling
Passing through, we are struck by the heavy clear plastic sheets that hang from the ceiling on three sides of all the exercise equipment: the recumbents, the ellipticals, and the treadmills. To top it off, only every other piece of equipment is available.
Since there may be five people in the large area this early morning, I take my mask off and return to my favorite elliptical in the back that I haven’t seen since mid-March. In no time, I catch a rhythm and am channel surfing through ESPN, ESPN2, and the Weather Channel. Soon finding cable fare repetitive, I plug in my iPhone to listen to my morning podcast of choice, The Daily from the New York Times.
Carefully wiping everything with disinfectant that I touched on the elliptical, I move on to the recumbent. Thirty minutes of high octane exercise-induced bliss. I am home, athletically-speaking.
Enclosed in plastic on three sides, I’m pumping away
As an annual dues paying member, I see no need for Coastal Fitness to credit us for the three months they were closed due to the virus. They have taken a financial hit in the shorts and we don’t want to add to their woes. Fortunate to have a gym, we want them to stay in business!
Following the arrows out of the back of the building, I am riding high having had the aerobic workout that I just don’t get in my short sprints on the pickleball court or while biking like a 72-year-old on our country roads.
I bet we are safer here than in any local restaurant, hardware, or grocery store. Yeah, we’ll be back tomorrow; you see, the forecast is for more showers.
over60hiker 