Should You Go to the Gym During the Pandemic?

You probably miss it now. You miss the adrenaline rush you feel on your way to your favorite place as if you are about to save the world. You miss the pain and weirdly satisfying sensation you feel while you’re doing your favorite hobby. You miss the surge of natural chemicals you get immediately after completing your routines as if you’ve discovered a cure for cancer. Yes, you miss going to the gym.

But there’s a global pandemic. And everyone’s advised to stay indoors and practice social distancing. Sure, most establishments have opened up for business, including the gym you frequent, but whether you go or not is a matter of personal choice.

Now before you make that choice, better to consult the facts first.

Exercise is vital

There’s no contesting that we all need exercise. Especially you, who’s taken on the noble project of sculpting your body to its optimum shape to benefit avid oglers of the male physique. But the point of exercising is not just to look good enough to get a license to post thirst traps on Instagram. The body requires exercise to keep functioning at its best and prevent lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity.

In the midst of a global pandemic, exercise proves even more crucial. Regularly getting those sweats out means you’re shedding enough toxins from your body. Exercise also improves blood and oxygen circulation, which are essential to the health of your vital organs such as the heart and lungs.

Your lungs specifically need to be at their best during this pandemic. It’s the main target of COVID-19, after all. A pair of healthy lungs should spare you from severe symptoms should you contract the virus.

Exercise keeps the mind healthy too. After working out, you feel happy, don’t you? That’s because the routines you’ve powered through triggered your brain to produce a sufficient supply of feel-good chemicals, including endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. The new normal can be quite depressing. Now more than ever, you need a steady supply of these neurotransmitters to keep you feeling good and sane.

To gym or not to gym

The air conditioning in enclosed spaces has been found out to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19. While the virus is not airborne, places without sufficient ventilation and with air conditioning could spread the aerosol released by those infected.

As you very well know, gyms are enclosed spaces. And because it’s a place of high-strain activities, they are air-conditioned to keep gym-goers feeling literally and figuratively cool while running on those treadmills listening to Post Malone. That’s the number one reason why gyms are not safe.

The number two reason is the fact that people doing exercise are panting and breathing hard. That makes them release more aerosol into the air. If a gym-goer happens to be infected but asymptomatic, the virus gets to spread and live another day like James Bond.

You do not want to be the recipient of that infected aerosol. So stay away from the gym if you could.

Now, what can you do instead? What if it’s time to give your muscles a break? Maybe instead of high-strain activities, you can treat your body to something relaxing. For example, you can use your gym membership budget for a top-of-the-line hot tub. You can pop up a custom spa in your backyard. Spend some lazy hours in there and let your muscles be soothed by jets oozing pressurized water at just the right temperature. Surely, your entire body will appreciate such an act of kindness.

Or, if you really can’t help exercising, the World Health Organization advocates staying healthy at home. Yes, you do not need to go to the gym to keep your muscles happy. There are exercise routines you could follow within the safety of your own home. You could use your own body weight to provide strain to specific muscles. For instance, planking does wonders to your abdominal area, legs, and back, and all you need to pull it off is your elbows and a flat surface. Of course, they won’t be the same as lying down under a bench press, but they will do for now. 

You can also check out YouTube video tutorials. YouTube health influencers are a dime a dozen, and they are all currently offering pandemic-era exercise routines that you could follow to your hamstring’s content. Whichever influencer you pick, make sure to choose the masked one. That’s how you know they’re in the know and responsible. 

Meta Title: Why Going to the Gym Under the Pandemic Is Risky

Meta Description: Exercise is crucial to our well-being. But under the pandemic, going to the gym to exercise might be risky. Here’s why.

Tags: