Back to the gym after a pandemic

A year and a pandemic later, what’s it like to go back to the Y? Let’s Move Quad Cities’ Boomer Blogger, Alan Sivell, shares his experience and prep tips for transitioning for home based lethargy to a public gym.

By Alan Sivell

With the vaccine kicking in and safety precautions being taken, I decided to restart my old fitness routine. But walking into the Davenport North Y after thirteen months was like walking onto the set of the Twilight Zone.

The check-in process was different (now done with an app on your phone and temperature check), the staff at the front desk had changed (new names to learn) and all the equipment had been socially distanced (some spread into the lobby, replacing the Ping-Pong table and coffee machine.)

If you, too, have been flirting with the idea of going back to your gym, it may take a trip or two before you remember every step of your routine. After all, it has been about 390 days between visits for most of us.

So, because it took me three trips this week before I got in the groove, I offer these tips:

• Pack your bag the night before. (It took me a half hour just to find my bag. Then I repacked it twice, and checked it 3 times.)
• Set the alarm for the appropriate time. (This will take some daily experimentation. Trust me.)
• Follow the plan. When the alarm goes off, slip into the gym clothes you laid out next to the bed the night before. Grab a cup of coffee. Start the car. Drive to the gym.
• Calm down. Once you get on your machine or lift the first weight, you’ll feel confident.
• Don’t overdo it. Even if you’ve been walking religiously or pounding a new piece of equipment in the basement, you’re not used to this. Work up to it and avoid the injuries.

The struggle is real.

News stories have shared that the past year was tough on a lot of waistlines. Even before the pandemic, only 22.9% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 meet the minimum exercise guidelines set by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those guidelines: muscular strength exercising twice a week AND either moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 150 minutes per week OR vigorous aerobic exercise for 75 minutes per week.

Delving into the government statistics, it appears that South Dakota exercises the least, with only 17.7 percent of the population hitting the U.S. guidelines, while Washington, D. C. works out the most with 40.3 per cent hitting the mark. Iowa and Illinois are around the national average.

And if you were thinking that the warmer states would be full of exercisers – as I did – you’d be wrong. It seems the colder states, such as Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Vermont and New Hampshire feature the largest populations meeting the activity requirements. I guess they have to move a lot to stay warm.

You don’t need to make time – you already have it.

Many make the modern excuse that there isn’t enough time in the day. (That’s what I always hear from students when I assign a reading.)

False! According to a study by the CDC and the Rand Corporation, we have about 5 hours of leisure time every day, with 3.5 hours of it spent watching a screen.

I get that. I spend a lot of time on a screen. But this doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. I always take either my phone or my Kindle to the Y and I watch or read or listen as I moderately exercise at least 125 minutes a week, so I can help keep Iowa’s stats up.

By Alan Sivell

With the vaccine kicking in and safety precautions being taken, I decided to restart my old fitness routine. But walking into the Davenport North Y after thirteen months was like walking onto the set of the Twilight Zone.

The check-in process was different (now done with an app on your phone and temperature check), the staff at the front desk had changed (new names to learn) and all the equipment had been socially distanced (some spread into the lobby, replacing the Ping-Pong table and coffee machine.)

If you, too, have been flirting with the idea of going back to your gym, it may take a trip or two before you remember every step of your routine. After all, it has been about 390 days between visits for most of us.

So, because it took me three trips this week before I got in the groove, I offer these tips:

• Pack your bag the night before. (It took me a half hour just to find my bag. Then I repacked it twice, and checked it 3 times.)
• Set the alarm for the appropriate time. (This will take some daily experimentation. Trust me.)
• Follow the plan. When the alarm goes off, slip into the gym clothes you laid out next to the bed the night before. Grab a cup of coffee. Start the car. Drive to the gym.
• Calm down. Once you get on your machine or lift the first weight, you’ll feel confident.
• Don’t overdo it. Even if you’ve been walking religiously or pounding a new piece of equipment in the basement, you’re not used to this. Work up to it and avoid the injuries.

The struggle is real.

News stories have shared that the past year was tough on a lot of waistlines. Even before the pandemic, only 22.9% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 meet the minimum exercise guidelines set by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those guidelines: muscular strength exercising twice a week AND either moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 150 minutes per week OR vigorous aerobic exercise for 75 minutes per week.

Delving into the government statistics, it appears that South Dakota exercises the least, with only 17.7 percent of the population hitting the U.S. guidelines, while Washington, D. C. works out the most with 40.3 per cent hitting the mark. Iowa and Illinois are around the national average.

And if you were thinking that the warmer states would be full of exercisers – as I did – you’d be wrong. It seems the colder states, such as Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Vermont and New Hampshire feature the largest populations meeting the activity requirements. I guess they have to move a lot to stay warm.

You don’t need to make time – you already have it.

Many make the modern excuse that there isn’t enough time in the day. (That’s what I always hear from students when I assign a reading.)

False! According to a study by the CDC and the Rand Corporation, we have about 5 hours of leisure time every day, with 3.5 hours of it spent watching a screen.

I get that. I spend a lot of time on a screen. But this doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. I always take either my phone or my Kindle to the Y and I watch or read or listen as I moderately exercise at least 125 minutes a week, so I can help keep Iowa’s stats up.