Just went to the gym for the first time since March 2020!

[Guest]

It felt so weird! It was my first time in the WeHo 24Hour Fitness. What was so routine seemed new and strange. The Runyon Canyon Park is closed from July 2 to 4 due to fears people will set off fireworks, so I decided to take the plunge and head on in. What would my new gym be like (having moved to the area in January)? It wasn't that crowded, but was surprised to see that there weren't that many buffed gym bunnies there. My beau "Chris" tells me that the young WeHo crowd goes to Crunch Fitness, which is actually quite a bit closer to me, but I pay $12/mo at 24HR, so I suppose I'll keep going there. Only one man was wearing a mask. 

I don't know if I'll make it as much of a routine as it was when I was going from work to home. The park's right here, and it's a bit of a schlep to drive to the gym. There were a couple of really hot dudes, but I was surprised not as many as at my old place. Maybe 24Hour Fitness is too dumpy? Many machines out of order, but not a lot of people there. At dinner, I was treated to a nice sunset at home:

[Luv2play]

My gym is still closed. May open in 3 weeks. We'll see. I go for the pool, which gives me a good work out. It's been closed since Easter. Only old ladies and me lol.

[Cruiser7]

It’s the small things we missed, I think. 
 

I'm so glad we’re all getting back to at least a semblance of normalcy. 
 

[dbar123]

I really look forward to getting back to the gym....haven't lifted since March 2020, too.  To make up for it I try to bike for 90 minutes every day. My legs look great....the rest could use some help.

I plan to get back after the summer when I get home.

[+ Charlie]

Our small gym in the community building of our retirement community closed in March 2020, so my partner has been unable to work out there since then. The gym is important for his health, because he is 85 and has Alzheimer's, and all he has been able to do for the past 16 months is take vigorous walks when weather conditions allowed. When the gym re-opened this week, with no masking or capacity limits, we returned to find it spruced up with a better layout and some new equipment. Of course, he had forgotten how to do many of the things he used to do, so I had to coach him on what he should and shouldn't do (don't start with the same weights you use to use, spend more time on aerobic machines than upper body machines, forget about the free weights, etc.), and monitor him to make sure he was doing things correctly. Yesterday he went on his own for the first time, and I was hugely relieved to see the great improvement in his general sense of well-being just from being able to do a normal workout again.

[+ honcho]

When I moved to the 'burbs from San Francisco, I wound up 3 blocks away from a 24 hour fitness with a pool that is 25 yards x 3 lanes.

My boyfriend finally persuaded me that I should start working out again after a hiatus of 18 years, and I've been on the bandwagon for 10 weeks now.  He pays $8/month, but my riding as a family-or-friend of his costs me  $45/month.  Nonetheless, on a yearly basis, that would be about the same as joining the rec club at the major public university I used to work for, and a lot more convenient.

About half the folks in this gym wear still wear masks while working out even though the requirement was dropped when california "reopened", and the population is really diverse - all ages, both men and women, all levels of fitness, and quite a bit of ethnic diversity as well.  Only a couple of truly droolsome and stellarly fit role models at any particular moment.

[+ Pensant]

Fortunately I have access to a well-equipped private gym (well, one is in a large garage and the other in a barn) in the two places I live. I was never forced to cease my workouts since the pandemic. I’m lucky and know it. 

[markman]

My gym opened in mid March with limited hours and no locker room/shower facilities.  I have noticed it has gotten a little busier in the last 3 weeks.  Hoping they open fully soon.  It has been great to return after a long absence. 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by markman

[Luv2play]

2 hours ago, Pensant said:

Fortunately I have access to a well-equipped private gym (well, one is in a large garage and the other in a barn) in the two places I live. I was never forced to cease my workouts since the pandemic. I’m lucky and know it. 

When you say private, do you mean your own gyms or gyms that have other users from yourself? Here in Ontario Canada all private gyms of the latter category had to close and in fact are still closed.

Over the course of the pandemic, the periods of lockdown now exceed the times they were open on a very restrictive basis. In my gym only 4 were able to use it at the same time for an hour. I'm looking forward to when it reopens maybe in 2 weeks but expect similar restrictions.

[lonely_john]

On 7/3/2021 at 6:55 PM, Unicorn said:

the young WeHo crowd goes to Crunch Fitness

It's the same in every city. Here in Toronto the gay hub is Good-Life Fitness and I avoid it. I go to a low-cost gym because after all I do very little, and I can watch more of the straight (working class) beefcake. 😍

[+ Pensant]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

When you say private, do you mean your own gyms or gyms that have other users from yourself? Here in Ontario Canada all private gyms of the latter category had to close and in fact are still closed.

Over the course of the pandemic, the periods of lockdown now exceed the times they were open on a very restrictive basis. In my gym only 4 were able to use it at the same time for an hour. I'm looking forward to when it reopens maybe in 2 weeks but expect similar restrictions.

One is the garage of a friend who owns a x-fit studio and the other is a small gym that I have had 24/7 access to for two years. At the latter, last summer, there were at most 2 other people there, following all the prescribed social distancing and antiseptic protocols.

[Luv2play]

1 minute ago, Pensant said:

One is the garage of a friend who owns a x-fit studio and the other is a small gym that I have had 24/7 access to for two years. At the latter, last summer, there were at most 2 other people there, following all the prescribed social distancing and antiseptic protocols.

Lucky you.

[+ Pensant]

I also have my own equipment here, including a pull up bar, kettle bells, jungle gym and a sturdy box for box jumps. I’m awaiting a pair of parallets from Rogue Fitness this week!

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Texas has had open gyms for awhile. 

Showers and steam have been re-open for about 2 months now.