Covid-19 has changed our lives completely. It’s been more than 6 months that we’ve not gone out of our homes. During the lockdown, we’ve eaten a lot without doing any physical activity, which has lead to extreme weight gain. This period has turned many of us from fit to fat. In order to get back to fitness, it’s become essential to join the gym. After all, not all of us have the discipline of a San Antonio personal trainer. As the unlock situation has begun in our nation, the gyms are now open. You might be wondering whether it’s safe to go back to the gym, right? Well, if you follow social distancing guidelines and take all the essential precautions, then you will reduce the risk of Coronavirus transmission.
As you know, to fight against Coronavirus, you should have a strong immune system. In order to get strong immunity, you need to eat healthily and be physically active. It’s natural for someone who has been a regular at a gym for years to feel frustrated for not joining the gym regularly due to lockdown. Moreover, after six months of restricted living, you can rush to the gym and focus on your fitness. The transmission risk has not gone, so you have to take some precautionary measures before rushing to the gym. Here in this blog, we are going to share a list of these precautionary measures so that you can attain the fitness instead of sickness.
1. Know your gym’s rules and safety protocols
Some facilities conduct temperature checks when entering the gym or mandating a limited number of people in the gym to do exercise. Many of the gyms have got their locker rooms, bathrooms, sinks, saunas or common areas locked, which is good because you need to avoid heavy traffic environments in order to reduce your chances of Coronavirus exposure. Make sure you know the rules and safety protocols of the gym. Before going to the gym, check what are the protective measures followed by the gym staff.
2. Cover yourself up
The most important thing is to cover your mouth and nose with a face cover mask. Wearing an anti-pollution face mask is very important while going to the gym . You should also wear full-body clothes in order to avoid direct contact of your body with gym equipment. Keep a clean towel with you to wipe your face. Avoid touching your face directly with your hands. You can also wear fabric gloves when you are at the gym, as touching gym equipment directly with your bare hands can be very dangerous. Remember that you need to avoid touching your face. Do whatever you can do to avoid touching your face.
3. Practise social distancing
The key fact to keep in your mind while going to the gym during this pandemic is to keep six feet distance from your fellow gym-goers. You need to be mindful of how close you are exercising to others when you are at the gym. There should be a limit of people entering into the gym. This helps maintain proper social distancing within the gym. To minimize your exposure to the virus, you need to wear face masks, but we understand that while exercising it’s tough to wear mask and breath properly, so practise social distancing. Do not shake hands with your fellow gym-goers because it will increase your risk of getting in contact with coronavirus.
4. Disinfect everything
When you are exercising and using the gym equipment, make sure to sanitize your hands before using them. Disinfect the equipment before using them. After you’re done using each piece of equipment, make sure to disinfect it. This will help you and anyone else who uses the equipment after you. Make sure the staff of the gym is taking essential steps to protect its visitors by thoroughly cleaning the equipment and taking all the protective measures against Coronavirus. Avoid going to the gyms that are not taking precautionary measures against Coronavirus.
5. Bring your own own supplies
Drinking water from the gym’s facilities and using their common towel will be hazardous for you. Make sure to bring your water bottle with you, and it’s enough water that lasts for your entire workout. If you have a habit of wiping your face constantly, then do not forget to bring your own clean towel with yourself. We won’t recommend you to use anything from the gym facilities apart from equipment. Take a bag and fill it with all the essential stuff before going to the gym including tower, gloves, water bottle, shaker, etc.
6. Exercise using your body weight
The best way to avoid exposure to coronavirus is to use your own body weight by doing exercises like Burpees, Squats, Lunges, Pushups, Plank, etc. These are the effective non-equipment gym exercises that effectively help you maintain strength and aerobic health. If you will not use equipment in the gym, you will be at less risk of getting in contact with coronavirus. While doing bodyweight exercises, you should gradually increase frequency, intensity, and duration.
7. Minimize your time in the gym
Before Coronavirus it was okay to spend extra time in the gym, but at this moment you will need to minimize your time in the gym to reduce your exposure to Coronavirus. Get into the gym, do your workout and go back to your home. Go into the gym with a proper workout plan. This way, you’ll be able to do all the exercises in a short span of time.
8. Stay home, if you have any symptoms
If you have throat pain, cough, upset stomach, fever and runny nose, then avoid going to the gym and stay home. You can put the lives of other people at risk. We all need to stop the spread of coronavirus in order to get back to normal life. So, get yourself tested when you experience any coronavirus symptom and if you find yourself positive, then take rest, proper medications and recover fully.
Disclaimer
It’s our duty to keep ourselves and our community safe from Coronavirus. So, practise social distancing, avoid handshake, adhere to proper hygiene, wear the mask and follow all other precautionary measures while going to the gym. If anyone in your family is coronavirus positive, then avoid going to the gym.