If You Have Returned To The Gym...

hzs3fg

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How do you feel about that decision?

I'm so antsy, thinking about going tomorrow morning to my Planet Fitness.

I'm fully vaccinated with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, having received my shots in February and March. On the other hand, although generally healthy, I'm not young - I fall well within the danger zone (age wise) for serious outcome if I actually got sick (pre-vaccine, that is).
 
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Sailingbear

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I started back a month after I was vaccinated, now I add two days a week swimming laps at local aquatic center. With 95 to 98% immunity I feel safe. Still use mask, and with pool you reserve lane to swim 45 mins. Only 9 lap lanes in pool, makes it hard to get a swim time.
I go to O2 gym. They go overboard to keep us safe. In time I think I will be back in shape again.
 

CUBE

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I’ve been back for a few months and they had an outside gym which was great. It was the third story of a parking garage and all open air around it. Liked it far better than the regular gym. Sorry to see it go.

I’m vaccinated but wear the mask indoors because I believe very few people at my gym have been vaccinated. I think there is higher exposure with all the people breathing so hard. I don’t want to be an unknown carrier.

I sanitize my hands and touch nothing on me until I leave. Sanitize before leaving. I feel safe with my precautions.
 
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TheMeatyProfessor

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I go to the gym on my college campus. Many of the workout machines are in a separate hallway. Remaining equipment is spaced out with plenty of room to keep distance. My workout buddy and I are vaxxed, and students can't get in without being vaxxed either. It's all good.
 
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deleted5199391

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The age risk factor is a correlation. Usually age brings a worse general physical condition, and this couldn't be your case.
Full vaccine should protect you properly, so my 2cents are that you should be fine.

I've been out of the gym for 2 months only. We always kept masks when non training, and kept all the standards required by laws. None got ill, so I guess it worked.
I just had full vaccine and now I am coming back after a 4 days break.
 

Juanlw4444

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I'm happy to be back, but I dropped membership at two other gyms that I belonged to. They were either frequently over capacity limits or had poor adherence to cleaning and masking protocols.

I am immunocompromised, fully vaccinated and still wear a mask. I intend to always mask in public places for the next year at the least. Children under 12 are not vaccinated, and although 59% of the population is fully vaccinated, there are too many unvaccinated to prevent an outbreak and breakthrough infections.
 

hzs3fg

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I'm happy to be back, but I dropped membership at two other gyms that I belonged to. They were either frequently over capacity limits or had poor adherence to cleaning and masking protocols.

I am immunocompromised, fully vaccinated and still wear a mask. I intend to always mask in public places for the next year at the least. Children under 12 are not vaccinated, and although 59% of the population is fully vaccinated, there are too many unvaccinated to prevent an outbreak and breakthrough infections.

Thanks for your thoughts, Juan.

Nice pics, by the way. :)
 
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steel33

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I've been back since they opened in MN with mask wearing as the standard. As the protocols have been relaxed masks for vaxed are not needed.
I am vaxed and have had prior to getting vaxed even after following all protocols. I feel that I'm protected enough that it shouldn't be an issue. I try to wipe down benches after I use them, the bars with knurled grips not so much.
 

MarriedGuyinKY

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Went back last week. Have remained in shape with outdoor running but missed resistance training.

Fully vaccinated here and coming to the realization that we have to somewhat learn to live with it. We seem to be in a sweet spot fir the next few months before school starts back. Gonna enjoy it while I can before respiratory virus season in the fall/winter.
 

Frozen Heart

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Well, I returned exactly one week ago. At some point time we will have to return to our normal lives.

Unfortunately this disease will probably become as endemic as flu.
 
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Craig101

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I haven't returned yet, as our gyms are still not allowed to be open. About 80% of adults over 18 have had one dose, and 50% over 18 have had both. But they're being ultra cautious, which I can understand. I've had both shots, but a lot of people younger than myself, like in their 20's haven't had both yet.

When it does reopen, I'll likely opt to keep my cardio going outdoors running, biking and swimming for the summer at least, and into the fall.

I think it might be a while before the other facilities there like the sauna and steam room open. It will feel strange to be able to work and hang out in large groups again, but I'm looking forward to it!
 

51arledge

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I went back in April, 2 weeks after my 2nd Pfizer dose. At that time the gyms here were all still enforcing masks, but as of mid-June our area vaccination rate is well above 70%, so masks are no longer required for fully vaxxed clients.
Everyone seems to be wiping down equipment and benches to a degree never seen before the pandemic, and quite a few people are still wearing masks.
I'm old enough that it's a risk factor and I have a history of asthma and bronchitis, so I'm definitely being cautious!
 

WilliamG

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I started back 3 weeks ago. Here in Los Angeles (Fitness19) there are no restrictions now. The gym is not huge but it does have high ceilings and lots for fans. They were nice to put my membership on hold for the whole pandemic. And even after they reopened they offered a 60 freeze for those waiting for the shot (which I did). The staff is still wearing masks (policy). About half the members wear masks. Of those, half wear them as chin protectors... I wore mine for the first week. But the truth of it is, unless you have a good fitting N95, wearing your mask is only a benefit to others (which is not a bad thing). And I'm going on the thought that those that are there are fully vaccinated or don't care.

It felt pretty weird the first few visits. But for me the benefits of my workouts is taking over. Also, since I'm still not working I got late morning when it's pretty chill. Surprisingly I see a lot of folks younger than me during the day now.
 

AfterHours69

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Where do you live? I live in San Francisco, where there is high vaccination rates and people generally follow protocols. Gyms opened up about 3 mos ago with occupancy limitations and many other restrictions. I’ve been going the whole time.

Now, they are fully open. Some still wear masks, most don’t. I take one, and if it gets busy, I put it on. I usually like to go when it’s quiet and only a few people are there. Wipe equipment before and after. Don’t put your safety in someone else’s hands. People kept closing the windows/doors. They were required to be open, so I’d just reopen them or ask the staff.

Wash your hands. When I worked at a gym, I got sick more than I ever have in my life from touching all the equipment. Then, I’d wash my hands every half hour and had no problems. Now, I just wash them before and after my workout.
 

AfterHours69

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One other thing I want to emphasize (and I realize some places are better than others): Don’t be afraid to involve gym employees. As a former one, I’d feel perfectly fine if someone came to me with a concern. That’s what they are there for.
 
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hzs3fg

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@Sailingbear, @CUBE , @TheMeatyProfessor , @Daemon85 , @Juanlw4444 , @steel33 , @MarriedGuyinKY , @Frozen Heart , @Craig101 , @51arledge , @WilliamG , @AfterHours69 , @camiloramorim

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!

I stopped by my gym last Thursday morning to see how busy it looked and what procedures/precautions they had in place, Looked good to me. This is one of the larger Planet Fitness locations (in Connecticut) and there were only about 15 members there at the time of morning that I would normally attend. The location is fully open, including locker rooms and showers. Some of the cardio have been moved slightly to improve social distancing and they do recommend that users do not use adjacent machines if possible. Masks are optional; about one third of people were wearing one.

So, I went this morning for the first time in 503 days!

Such a pleasure to get up on a treadmill again and to work my arms and shoulders on the machines. Too bad there was nothing to see (and no one to chat with) in the locker room / showers. :)
 

camiloramorim

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@Sailingbear, @CUBE , @TheMeatyProfessor , @Daemon85 , @Juanlw4444 , @steel33 , @MarriedGuyinKY , @Frozen Heart , @Craig101 , @51arledge , @WilliamG , @AfterHours69 , @camiloramorim

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!

I stopped by my gym last Thursday morning to see how busy it looked and what procedures/precautions they had in place, Looked good to me. This is one of the larger Planet Fitness locations (in Connecticut) and there were only about 15 members there at the time of morning that I would normally attend. The location is fully open, including locker rooms and showers. Some of the cardio have been moved slightly to improve social distancing and they do recommend that users do not use adjacent machines if possible. Masks are optional; about one third of people were wearing one.

So, I went this morning for the first time in 503 days!

Such a pleasure to get up on a treadmill again and to work my arms and shoulders on the machines. Too bad there was nothing to see (and no one to chat with) in the locker room / showers. :)
Perfect baby
 
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ericbear

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I'm 60 years old, and have been back in the gym for about 2 months, weights 3 days a week, cardio the other 4. I have concluded the health risk of low activity and carrying lockdown fat exceeds that of exposure to new variants. And, at my age loosing weight and building more muscle becomes increasingly difficult, so I decided to get back at it. But I survived covid last June (actually, was misdiagnosed as not having it, until an antibody test months later showed otherwise) and am fully vaccinated since March. So maybe I am now less at risk than others. When my gym reopened, masks were mandatory (not nice during sweaty cardio) and lockerroom facilities very limited. But now masks are no longer required, and even the steamroom is open. On the other hand, California is now seeing our case counts and hospitalizations climbing, although it is hard to say how much is due to reopening and how much to delta variant. But, those in the hospital now tend to be younger and almost exclusively unvaccinated. So I'm continuing with the gym.
 

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I feel great about getting back and, if you are vaccinated, the risks are really low for becoming seriously ill.

I returned in mid-April after I had gotten both shots. Then there were capacity and time-limits, masks required of all, no locker room and no showers. Temperature checks at entry were required, as was washing hands before working out. And everyone was issued their own sanitizing spray and wipe-down towel, which were used by all. But hardly anyone was there (less than 10 while I was there for the first few weeks in slower mid-afternoons). I had missed my workouts too much and wanted to get back to the shape where I was pre-COVID. The masks certainly were not fun for some of my more strenuous workouts as it took too long for me to catch my breath. I had initially lost almost all of my core strength, and my workout weights were reduced by 30-40% compared to pre-COVID.

Fast forward to June, masks were only required for those who weren't vaccinated, and both the showers and locker room were open (the sauna has opened since then but not the whirlpool). Now, in mid-July, I'd say that the gym is almost 80% of its pre-COVID population, about 20% are wearing masks (Sonoma County has 70% of eligible adults vaccinated). Everyone is still being given and using their own sanitizing spray bottle and terry wipe to clean equipment. And we are very respectful of those still wearing masks.

I am really pleased to share that I am finally at, and in a few cases, above my pre-COVID weight lifting levels, and my core is back to 100% strength. It's been fun working out with so many of my gym acquaintances and friends as we all strove to re-build to where we were at pre-COVID. We're a tighter group now after months of mutual encouragement and support, and I have to say it's great getting compliments from guys half my age who say their goal is to look as cut and built as me!

So keep at it, hzs3fg!
 
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