Do You Feel Safe From COVID Exercising In Your Gym Right Now?

Hardworking exercisers are expelling an alarming amount of spittle.

Photo by Inspired Horizons Digital Marketing on Unsplash

Two years ago, many gyms closed temporarily when Covid spread and became a pandemic.

The gym I regularly attended stayed open but instituted several changes they believed made it safer for members.

They separated the equipment by putting several feet between them. An employee was assigned the task of wiping down all equipment continually.

The classes were limited to the number of participants so that at least six feet were between each exerciser. To get into the class, one had to register online. It was a battle to get a spot — first come, first served.

I decided not to go at all. Six feet with a dozen other sweating, panting people didn't feel safe.

Some gyms opted to move the equipment outdoors if there was space. This worked well until the temperatures rose in the summer months.

My choice was to lift weights at home, hike the trails, walk through the neighborhoods and play pickleball outdoors.

Now that the rules have been relaxed and most Americans have received vaccines, gyms are open, and most are operating at full capacity.

I know my gym is back to pre-Covid day rules. Classes are full, no longer requiring six feet, and the equipment is lined up closely.

I'm not participating in any of it.

I'm still maintaining my exercise routine as it was during the high time of Covid, with one exception. When the temperature is sizzling — playing pickleball at an indoor court with three others I know well.

Still, I got Covid. I haven't any idea where or from whom. That said, we can't be too careful.

Omicron is spreading like crazy; infections are up, but, fortunately, symptoms are mild.

Is it safe to return to the gym?

A small study about respiration and exercise published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides frightening answers.

According to the New York Times, the study checked the number of aerosol particles 16 people exhaled at rest and during workouts.

These tiny bits of airborne matter — measuring barely a few hundred micrometers in diameter, or about the width of a strand of hair, and suspended in mist from our lungs — can transmit coronavirus if someone is infected, ferrying the virus lightly through the air from one pair of lungs to another.

The study found that, at rest, the men and women breathed out about 500 particles per minute., But when they exercised, that total soared 132-fold, topping out above 76,000 particles per minute, on average, during the most strenuous exertion.

People are working out to have a trim, muscular and healthy body. Instead, they are inhaling and sharing with their fellow exercisers over 3,800,000 bits of possible Omicron laded aerosol particles per a typical 50-minute class— per person.

There have been several reports of classes where Covid was spread by an infected instructor.

In South Korea, following a Zumba class, 54 attendees developed Covid and then passed it on to their families. All ten members of a spin class in Hawaii became infected by their instructor, as did another 11 who came in contact with one of the infected class members, who taught kickboxing and is a personal trainer.

There have been extensive super-spreader events at gyms since 2020.

Scientists speculate that the exercisers' high respiration rates and inadequate ventilation contributed to this crazily rapid spread of Covid.

"Good ventilation and air exchange are a great way to reduce transmission risk. Open windows, especially with fans, can often be as effective as active ventilation systems," said Dr. Chris Cappa, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Davis.

Installing in-room air filters in each workout area is ideal. Dr. Cappa adds, "These can be really effective in reducing transmission risk by removing the virus from the air."

Meanwhile, I'll continue with my outdoor exercise routine until it's safe to go back to the gym.