My gym is reopening. Is it safe to go?

Whether your gym just reopened and closed again (Santa Clara County) or remains reopened with strict social distancing guidelines (San Mateo County), this question is on many people’s minds.  Exercise is certainly good for both mental and physical health.  And while we know exercise outdoors is safest during the COVID-19 pandemic, some people really miss their indoor gym work-outs. Overall, we’re pretty hesitant to say a return to indoor gym work-outs is a good idea at this point. But, if you and those at home are low-risk and you really want to go, a few things you can do to lower your risk include:

• Check into your gym’s safety measures – are they taking temperatures of everyone before allowing them in? Are you seeing staff regularly cleaning equipment? Are they enforcing mask-wearing rules?

• Stay far apart. At least 6 feet from other people, and ideally 12 feet if people are breathing heavily. Avoid group classes where it’s hard to maintain this kind of distance.

• Make sure there’s good air flow – exercise by an open window, if you can.

• Wear a mask and make sure those around you are, too.

(Jennifer Abrams, MD, July 13, 2020)