It is hard to believe in a world without fear as we approach the three-year anniversary of the start of the Pandemic. Life is getting back to normal for most people despite the continuing risk from variant and reinfections. For a lot of people, that includes a return to indoor activities. Some people are content to exercise in the comfort of their homes.
Mike Hamann said Play it Again Sports had lines out the door when the gyms were shut.
He said people wanted more weights. In 2020 there was a record year for outdoor equipment, like snowshoes and downhill and cross-country skis.
People are getting rid of a lot of their equipment. He said he passed on elliptical machines in one week. He said that the store still accepts used steel weights.
What did the people of Evanston do for exercise without access to group fitness and gyms? What are they doing at the moment?
‘Long walks really kept me sane’
Spenga is a combination of spinning, strength training and yoga, which are the three activities that I love the most, according to Patty. Spenga had to suspend their memberships because of the Pandemic hit.
As the horror of the Pandemic unfolded, she watched Dr. Fauci and the ticker on CNN. Three of her sons were home. They also had a dog.
“I don’t think anyone of us knew what to do,” he said. I ate and drank my way through COVID. She said that going on long, sometimes 8-mile walks during the winter saved her mental and physical health.
I remember when all of us wore masks when walking alone outdoors. She said that people would see you coming and that you had to carve a path to stay away from them. I tried to meditate when I listened to the podcasts. It was a scary time, but the long walks kept me sane.
She said it was a great place to be after all those miles walking alone or with a friend. She set a personal goal of doing 200 rides in a year and achieved it.
She said that she had friends who could do workout classes online, but that never worked for her. I need to be around other people that motivate me.
‘Boxing was the perfect exercise’
When the Pandemic hit, Chuck invested in additional at- home exercise equipment, because he hadn’t belonged to a gym. The sport of boxing was something he picked up on.
I bought a heavy bag, boxing gloves, jump ropes and hand weights for shadow boxing and did lots of high intensity Interval training in my basement. Boxing is a great sport with limited space and time, and it gets you in great shape. The pundits rate boxers as the world’s best athletes. When you can’t get out to a gym, boxing was a great exercise.
Teeter, a marketing consultant for a law firm, said he wants to join a gym to get back into the pool.
He said that exercise was particularly important to him as a stress release. I may have been in the best shape of my life despite the limitations of the Pandemic. The double bonus is that exercising increases your immunity. If you combine that with a healthy diet, you are less likely to get Covid, and it will be less serious. It’s a win-win.
Back at the Y, wearing a mask
Parth was a frequent visitor to the McGaw YMCA to use the fitness center and the indoor track when it was too cold to run outside. Joshi invested in home workout equipment, including a pull-up bar and dip bars.
The human body is capable of so much more than your brain allows for, but we forget that we can do pull ups. It took me the better part of a year to get the grip strength and back/ shoulder strength I needed to do them effectively.
He is wearing a mask at the gym after returning to the Y. He says the Y provides PPE and is good about spacing people out.
When his schedule gets busy or the gym isn’t an option, Joshi won’t get rid of his weights.
He said that there are advantages and privileges everywhere. You have a body, if you don’t have a gym membership. If you don’t own a treadmill, you have a neighborhood. You should take advantage of the gifts.
Kim DeRaedt, Member Experience Director at the McGaw YMCA, said that the Y is seeing more members feel comfortable in indoor group classes as the PAIN ENDS.
She said that with smaller capacities for classes to best uphold safety and comfort, the group fitness programming provides the perfect blend of group motivation and energy while still maintaining a cautious nature with COVID.
She said that most members are very accepting of each other’s mask preferences and that roughly half of them have kept wearing masks.
It varies by setting. A higher percentage of members mask in group fitness classes as opposed to fitness center settings where social distance is easier to maintain.
Inspired by others at the gym
Michael Deas used to split his time between the gym at Governor’s State University and his home gym in Evanston. In the first summer after the Pandemic eliminated those options, he did at- home exercises such as push-ups, plank, weightlifting, and golf balls.
Deas said that while he was shut in, he reached 205 pounds, which isn’t a lot for his 6-foot-2 frame. I felt like I was running on my knees whenever I ran. I have developed a gut. Within three months, I lost 40 pounds and dropped three waist sizes, as a result of changing my diet and increasing my workouts.
Deas, an associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism, wanted to return to the gym because he said the older and younger guys help inspire him. When things opened back up, he switched to a gym close to his home.
He said that the guys are in better shape than he is, and that he doesn’t consider himself a slouch. People who are in their early to late 60s compete in basketball tournaments, swim, weight lift and other activities.
Deas said it wasn’t just the guys who are impressive.
He said that he forgot to remove 50 pounds from the machine. I apologized and promised to remove the weights.
She said, ‘Thanks, that’s okay. She added additional plates after she said she was good.