Oh, gym how I missed thee
Oh, gym how I missed thee. Let me count the ways…
All kidding aside, I really did miss the gym during covid. For me the gym was always more than just a place to workout it was part of my social scene. I met people there for classes, talked to friends in the hallway or just waved and smiled at acquaintances. I’ve met some of my dearest friends there. I use the local community center for my gym and found that It truly was part of my community and when it was missing I felt the loss.
I have been a fitness instructor for more than 18 years, as well as what I like to call a fitness enthusiastic (other people likely have other names!). A big part of why I like teaching is the people and feeling like I am helping them realize they can reach their goals. During covid, I missed the energy of teaching cycling classes. I missed the people who took my classes regularly. I missed the people who walked by and waved at me.
I found many ways to fill the gap while we were home. I stuck to a strict workout schedule throughout covid, both for fitness but also my sanity. My boys and I did HIIT aerobic workouts every Friday together. We discovered Sydney Cummings on YouTube – if you haven’t taken her classes her enthusiasm is contagious. Her fitness business really took off during covid. We loved our mornings with Sydney.
For Christmas of 2021, I gifted the family a Peloton bike and all that goes with the world of Peloton. I was riding the fitness bike in our workout room prior to Peloton, but there is no comparison. We love our Peloton and quickly got on a workout routine. For those of us who are competitive in our fitness (hand raised) Peloton is particularly attractive. It tracks everything for me! Plus, there is the added leaderboard competition and the instant comparison with how I rode the last time. All of this greatly appeals to my competitive side. And I don’t just stick to the rides (though I love me some Cody), I love the strength, bike bootcamp and shadowboxing classes. But I still missed the community of the actual gym.
We went back to teaching gradually in 2020 and I got back in the cycling studio, but anyone who has taken cycling knows it’s very hard cardio vascularly and adding masks made it that much more difficult. Think Darth Vader breathing. The first time I taught cycling with a mask on, I thought I was going to suffocate because the wet mask was going in my mouth and nose every time I took a breath, and in cycling you take A LOT of breaths. Not just totally gross, but so hard to breathe. Then I learned about those handy plastic turtle shells that you wear inside the mask-a lifesaver and to think someone probably made a bundle inventing them. I joked to my very small classes that people paid to work out at altitude and lower oxygen in Colorado but we were getting the equivalent for free. People started to trickle back to classes, but no where near the number of people were coming to the gym. I still loved seeing people I hadn’t seen in some time, but I missed seeing their smiles.
Covid was hard on people in so many ways, but one you hear the most about is the impact of the social isolation. We really are social creatures and forced isolation or a major decrease in interactions with others has a dramatic effect on how we feel every day. My place was the gym. Yours might have been trivia night or bowling league or book club or wherever else you found your people, whatever it was we all felt the loss of human interaction.
I know everyone has responded to these changes in the past 2 years differently. I knew I still needed structure so I found structure in my daily workouts. I know some people weren’t able to figure out what they needed and are still suffering. My heart goes out to them; mental health is just as important as physical health and fitness. For me the two are inexorably entwined.
As covid has started to recede, I’ve been able to start returning to group fitness classes. We were wearing masks for a while and now recently they became optional. It’s good for the soul to see people’s faces again. First, I was just going to the cycling and yoga classes I was teaching, but then I started back to classes just for myself. I love Bodycombat (a kickboxing-type class) and returning to it boosted my spirits. There is something about being in a room with other men and women punching, kicking and running that feeds the comradery I crave. Plus, it’s an excellent way to punch out your aggression after a rough day – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes visualize punching certain people! Try it sometime, I promise it’s very cathartic.
Last night was the first night I returned to the general fitness room where all the cardio machines and weights are kept. As I was on the elliptical trainer doing an MMA workout, I looked around the room and smiled through my sweat. I felt a feeling of community as I waved to people I knew and nodded to those I didn’t. And I thought to myself, “Gym, it’s good to be back”.
*Beginning lines are a take on: “How do I love thee?” (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
**Want to try Sydney’s classes? You can find her under Royal Change fitness on YouTube (not a paid sponsor!)
***Ride with me on Peloton? My tag is Hottmama72