Trials and Tribulations of Gyms in the COVID-era

It's almost reprehensible to think that in less than three months we have witnessed the forced downfall of many sectors of our lives. For myself here in Arizona, I have been one of the many that have been forced to close due to the government mandates and overall public fear. Although I have seen a tremendous loss, I see some of my peers lose droves of clients they took years cultivating, to say this is heartbreaking would be an understatement. I don't just talk for the sake of talking on this subject as I have waited a few months to gather these thoughts. Regardless of your views on the situation as it pertains to the virus or its implications in the political sphere the ramifications of it all will be felt for years to come. I'd like to just address the physical/mental health issues that can and will be seen.

In March of 2020 we saw the start of a virus that was highly infectious, possibly lethal (to an extent at the time unknown) and at the time not well understood. Understandably the government took action, at a level that was undeniably beyond the bounds of their authority. With this action came panic and with that panic came fear; fear of our fellow humans, fear of further government overreach, and fear of what we did not understand. This culminated in a mass closure for what was supposed to be two weeks. As expected, closures continued and sadly some industries were pointed out as being a possible hotbed for infection spreading.

May and June blend as we continue closures and pump fiat currency to the masses in the hope of "helping" the citizens of this country struggling to keep food on the table. I will admit that I was a recipient of such assistance from our good friends at the Federal Reserve. $1200, to pay for food, rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, etc. No word on why gyms are being targeted, but some become the face of wrongdoing as they fight to keep their doors open not just to make enough money to survive but to maintain the health of their communities, the focus of this post.

July creeps up and gyms are outright fighting to stay alive. Big box gyms like Mountainside Fitness, Orange Theory, and Vasa to name a few continually push to keep their doors open. Small businesses such as myself are left with little to no options, stay closed, or get loans at 8-12% and bleed slowly if the business doesn't pick up. More and more people look for any solace they can find whether it's a small training studio with locked doors (fight club rules) or ordering equipment for a makeshift garage gym… What are you going to do not lift?

Here we are in August and on the cusp of September. Now, you may wonder why I gave you a history lesson on the events of the last few months; the purpose was to paint both depressing and anxiety-ridden pictures that we have all been witness to. It has been rough and for those of us that use fitness, training, working out, or whatever we want to call it as an oasis from daily life have been stripped of what has helped us cope with whatever it is we go through. Insert unwarranted comments such as:

"Just workout at home"

And

"We're all in this together"

Now, I don't want to get into the efficacy of face masks, physical distancing, or anything for that matter but I would like to address the overall impact of some decisions made for those of us in the "gym community".

Physically, working out is a release that is unrivaled to almost anything else. Asking people to workout from home for months on end shows a severe lack of understanding to both the person as an individual and the physiology of humans in general. The only science-based information I will touch is the basis that resistance training triggers an immune response in the body, as it damages the body in a way that requires repair. The difference is that this is a requirement for growth (anabolism) and not detrimental to bodily function. Those that resistance train have a greater immune response.

Mentally, this is in a way the more important side of the argument. Going to a gym is more than just working out, it's social in many ways, whether you're close to someone and talking or just being in the vicinity of others. We, humans, are social creatures by nature and removing us from that is dangerous. An extreme example would be prisoners in solitary confinement, but given that we are told to stay home don't you feel sort of like a prisoner in a sense?

Sadly we have witnessed big corporations like Walmart keep their doors open as well as many fast-food chains while places people use to better themselves are closed and their owners fined or jailed. It is disheartening and it raises many questions. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We must preserver.

My experience in all of this… Aside from this being my job training is part of my life. I personally need to put myself through the physical pain and exhaustion of training. I have long been battling depression and this has been my main outlet for years to combat the existential dread I feel from residing in this plane of objective reality. I don't talk about it often but it's a truth I'm not afraid to admit.

This makes me think of all the others that share these feelings, as I know I am not alone. The decisions made to shut down this industry have an effect that these governors don't or refuse to understand. We should be able to choose to take these risks because we believe in the freedom to do so and that the alternative is a grim walk with the darker side of our consciousness that takes every opportunity to gain more ground.

Edit: As of the writing of this blog gyms like EoS were granted opening privileges while most small training studios have not. These gyms openly advertise that they have been working “behind the scenes” to get their doors open. While I am happy that people will have a place to work out it is disheartening to see the selectivity at which gyms are allowed to open. Guess I can’t have my cake and eat it too.

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