All very good basic gym etiquette but if your hands are clean should be unnecessary for preventing the spread of the virus (through touching)

Easy. No-one is there!

Well yes but that then assumes you haven't:

1. Picked up your water bottle which could have had germs all over it unless you've disinfected it completely before every gym visit

2. Haven't wiped all your sweat on a towel which you then had in your hands and carried around between machines or wiped your hand on your forehead or through your hair to get the sweat out of your eyes

Or a whole number of other small incidental things which could have left your sweat and gunk all over the place in a similar manner. So i'll keep wiping and do what I can to at least minimise it.

Thank-you for doing this! Sadly you are only part of the very few...especially at my gym.

Because we are not allowed to chop down some logs to use them as weights.

During the last lockdown, I bought some nice equipment to use at home - sure it isn't as extensive as what I have at the gym, but it keeps me in shape.

I went to the gym last evening. Of course, I was thinking about the rationality of this rule of wearing a mask in the entrance and the locker room. I was positively surprised at how logical it was.....please keep reading

The first I saw when I arrived were 3 middle-aged gentlemen having a nice chat in lounge sofas near the entrance, thankfully they were wearing a masks. By the looks, it seems they trained, had a shower and were just socializing. I went to the locker to change and warmed up 15min on the thread mill and they were still there......I am starting to think I'm the crazy one that only goes to the gym to train and not having a nice and long chat with friends in the only damned sofa you can find in the gym.

I trained, returned to the locker room and found a nude masked guy focused on his phone. I took a shower, went 10min to the sauna (found the mask is comfortable in the 80°C one). The guy checking his phone was still there. I have not thought about this before, but what better place to check whatsapp, read the news or watch funny videos while you ventilate your genitals.

I thought the mask wearing rule in the entrance area and the locker room was a but ridicule but there's certain logic behind it. Just observe people's behavior next time.

Ideally, machines should be adequately spread out or taped off so people can maintain a physical distance of at least six feet. I think that if you pay attention to safety and do not forget to wipe the surfaces with an antiseptic, then nothing terrible will happen.

This is not, however, the case with group fitness classes.

On the plus side, in my spot people are now wiping things down including dumbbells.

On the negative is that it seems mask wearing is about 70%, the other 30% include a mix of noses out and pretending it's a chin strap.

But how do you disinfect a rope? They'd need to be soaked or something with all the strands in them.

I see them all training with masks too.

I still go 3 times a week to the gym. I think most of people wear a mask according to the rules. Albeit, it's open to discussion if the rules make sense.

Last week I Tried to do my 15 min cardio warm up with the mask and I only got a headache. In contrast, the mask makes breathing in the 80°C sauna more comfortable.

I go after work between 19h00 and 21h00. A lot of the young that work are there at the same time. I still don't get why the population at risk decides to train at the hours the gym is more crowded. Retired guys could go in the morning while all others are working but they choose to be there to breathe the same air as the young Protect the vulnerable gets complicate when the vulnerable don't care, even a little.

One of the places where you really don't need to wear a mask is in the sauna. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7361064/

Above 65°C almost complete inactivation of the virus within 3 minutes. Conservatively, 3 minutes about 75°C. The hotter the sauna the better! But it could be a good way to sterilise the mask. Although sweat will make it ineffective.

I did it for science =)



Same as running 15 min with the mask, just for curiosity, not for germaphobia.

I did the bike for 35! Definitely a job for a disposable mask!

Yep disposable mask every time at the gym and bin on the way out.

It's not particularly comfortable but I don't find exercising that bad in it - definitely makes your face hotter for sure doing cardio but I haven't had a headache or similar due to it. I generally do 20 mins x-trainer, weights and then 15-20 mins on the bike to finish.

Weirdly this week has been a LOT busier in the gym than the last few weeks - I wonder ironically if its now the compulsory mask wearing which is doing it. So far I've only seen one without a mask and that was early Sunday AM at about 7:30AM when there were only about 3 of us in there and no staff (which is the only reason he could get away with it).

Wear a mask - it's going to make the exercise marginally tougher. But isn't that a good thing?

How do you lot manage running, or on a bike, on hills?

"Oooh, I'm not going to do that hill as I may have to breath a bit harder?"

First world problems...

Please share your experience, how does it work?

I did.


How does what work? How do mammals breathe? How does blood get oxygenated?

I've noticed in my last 2 gym visits that the compliance with the mask rules appears to be slipping. I've seen staff wearing them down past their noses as well as many of the gym goers having them as chin straps. I'd say it's 50/50 now for mask wearers vs token "mask somewhere on face".

Evil stares appear to do little, especially as I've no glasses on and end up half squinting all the time int he gym. I'd prefer to see the staff a little more proactive in the hope that it allows the gyms to stay open.

At the Aikido club I attend, masks are worn in all parts of the dojo except under the shower and on the mat. Before stepping on the mat, you put the mask in an envelope next to your zoris (flip-flops).

Attendance is limited to 10 - including instructor - and the mat is divided into masking-tape-marked sections - one section per person.

According to BAG rules, contact is not allowed so the sessions are warm-ups, stretches, breakfall practice, kata with weapons.

I go as it gets me out of the house, plus Aikido has a strong tradition of etiquette and caring about others - meaning the other attendees I feel I can trust to stick to the rules elsewhere and do their best not to take risks with mask wearing, distancing etc.

I’ve not been to a gym for years, but as one in the high-risk category ( over 50 and underlying health issues ) I would think twice about going unless the management were ensuring 100% compliance with BAG rules.

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