After 6 long
months I was finally back in the fitness center. This was the longest gap between weight room visits
for me since I started working out as a teenager. It had felt like an eternity.
Would I even remember what do anymore? I never thought that the Coronavirus
pandemic would have caused such a state of lock down. However, as we now
know, a lockdown and quarantine not seen with the past few generations was
imposed by our governing bodies.
The fitness center
limited the number of visitors to 30 at a time. The staff were constantly cleaning and
disinfecting all of the equipment. The club policy encouraged the wearing
of masks but did not object if someone slid the mask down to the chin while
they were exerting themselves at an exercise station. Social distancing was
encouraged. Fortunately. there were no rebellious yahoos blatantly
disregarding the rules.
Constant cleaning by staff was a comforting sight.
I had attempted to
keep up an exercise regime during the lockdown. Some of the components were
basic:
1.
Mountain
bike rides for cardio and legs. (I had a hip flexor strain, so I curtailed other leg workouts for now)
2.
Push-ups
for chest
3.
Bench
dips for triceps
4.
Horizontal
pullups for back and rear shoulders on scaffolding at a locked down
construction site. (Yes,
there was a hole in the fence)
5.
Reverse
horizontal pullups for biceps emphasis.
6.
I
did only one of the resistance exercises on alternate days using 200
repetitions times 5 sets.
7.
I
was chomping at the bit to get back to some heavier lifting.
I also went once a
week to the Sue Holloway outdoor training park in Ottawa. Sue was a Canadian Olympian in
Rowing and Cross- Country Skiing. The park had chin- up and dip bars and other assorted body weight
apparatus. There was also a climbing rope that went about 10 feet upwards, I
used to be able to climb to the roof of the gym without using my legs - about 40
feet or more. Now, I could barely get to 10 feet even using my legs. Aging
and rotator cuff issues can have that effect.
However, by the end of the summer I was up to 4 climbs per session. By
next year, my goal is once again to be using no legs all the way to the top!
Mask wearing was strongly encouraged.
As for my return
to the fitness center, there were changes that forced me to adapt.
1.
Access
to an upstairs section with an extra stretching area, additional
cardio machines, lighter dumbbells and
stability balls was locked down.
2.
That
locked down section was my traditional place for warm up, postural exercises
and functional training prep work.
3.
Staff
had taken away the cardio rowing machines to create more space for social
distancing. I used them for both warm up
and cool down.
4.
My
favorite cable machines had also been removed to enhance social distancing. I
was able to adapt using the cable push down machine.
The Schwinn rowing machines were gone. The fear is that the paddle fan would spread air droplets.
5.
There
were no stability balls. Was this due to sanitizing issues?
6.
Foam
rollers were also no where in sight.
7.
Hours
of operation were significantly reduced.
8.
Members
were supposed to book training sessions online. I was unable to navigate their
system. Fortunately, they allowed walk-ins if the gym was at less than
capacity.
9. Person Fitness Trainers were missing in action. If one on one training is considered a risk, what does the future hold for them?
I used fewer
repetitions and increased the intensity for my first session back. It felt good
to be back using weight training accessories. They felt like brand new
Christmas presents. The next day I had some minor soreness that sometimes comes
after a hard workout. Little Bobby Strong was back in business!
On a related
topic, the Ottawa Athletic Club closed its doors for good on
September11. The owners blamed the COVID 19 pandemic for the lockdown that
paralyzed the club financially. The OAC catered to the more affluent
fitness clientele since 1976. It was also an elite training center for Modern
Pentathlon, Olympic Weightlifting, Tennis, Racquetball, and Squash. This
pandemic has been a world changing crisis in many ways!
News Flash! As of the end the day of October 9, 2020 all fitness centers and gyms are to close for 28 days. The provincial government of Ontario, Canada has deemed this necessary to curtail a second wave of the COVI-19 crisis.
It may mean another visit to Sue Holloway park to climb the hangman's rope. Gadzooks!
Until Next Time -Keep Pumping Up
Little Bobby Strong
Links
