Fitness Catch-All

I'd expect a pivot from gym owners. Have to offer services that go above/beyond merely a bank of ellipticals. There will be upper middle class types that can easily afford (and have the space) a home gym tricked out by thousands of dollars of equipment from Rogue and Concept. What they won't have access to is the sense of community that their gym or Crossfit box provides. That could be a difference maker to entice folks back in.

And there will be poorer customers who may just give up altogether.

My worry is that this pandemic will further stratify things and that the wealthy will be able to afford the more expensive home options as well as the more expensive (and more service-oriented) boutique gyms. Thus, compounding the health epidemic in wealthy countries.

As I intimated in an early post, I'm not sure that there is a deep sense of community in regular gyms. Users of these gyms have very different motivations, goals and training routines.

That's not to say there is no 'community'. More that its a community of place-and-time.

The weekday morning shift is very different to the lunchtime shift, and so on. Also, city centre gyms are very transitory places. People lose/move jobs, and therefore switch to a more convenient gym. They move through different stages of life, and therefore quit or change their training schedules. Etc. Etc.

In my 15 years at a certain Fitness First gym, there are only 3 people have been there since I started using it (1 personal trainer, and 2 other members). The membership and staff (at least, on the morning shift) seems to refresh itself complete every 3 or 4 years.

I think that suburban gyms do the same, only more slowly.

Where I think community probably does exist is in gyms like CrossFit boxes. My impression as an outsider is that motivation, goals and training preferences are much more closely aligned. So they become more communities of shared interest, and place and time.

But I digress... I do agree with you, Top_Shelf, that the hollowing out of the cheaper full-service gyms and the low cost gyms could have longer term health consequences.

A bit of an update:

Gyms in England can open from Saturday 25th July.

My gym - Fitness First - will implement capacity limits, but will not require pre-booking in order to use the gym floor (they already require members to book classes).

Similarly, there is no time limit on sessions, though they ask that members limit themselves to 1 hour if the gym is busy.

If a gym reaches capacity, then members will have to queue. However, they say that - having analysed usage pre-lockdown - they don't expect this to happen.

I want to see for myself if this will work in practice, so I will delay quitting until I've tried it for a week.

Filthy skimmer here. Does anyone have recommendations for a home rowing machine?

Concept 2 Model D is quite popular and well made. Any time people talk about what rower to buy Concept 2 will come up. There are lots of different types of rowers as well (water, air, magnetic). The type could affect your use. Air rowers simulate rowing decently, are inexpensive (in general), and generally well made. They are louder. Magnetic rowers don't do a very good job of simulating actual rowing (but still a great workout) but are quieter. Water rowers simulate rowing well and are quieter than air.

I think the Model D is really a good choice if it's in your price range and you want a gym-quality machine.

Sunny Health and Fitness makes rowers. I can't comment on their quality but we have a cheap Sunny Health & Fitness spin bike we bought off criagslist 2 years ago and have had no issues with it at all. Well made no-frills machine. Actually we had two issues. 1. We had to replace the felt pads (which is normal). 2. I had to replace the tension knob. Cost me $12 on ebay. Been very happy with it overall.

I think the most important thing about rowers is getting something that's comfortable and good quality. If you aren't comfortable on it, you won't use it.

We had a Sunny Health & Fitness stationary bike that was frustrating. The pad required lubrication regularly to avoid squeaking while riding; and I had to disassemble it to get to the crank and align it all because it was thumping. I was glad to sell it.

Which experience is partially why I'm asking, because I saw a SH&F rower on Amazon inexpensively and don't feel good about the brand. However your experience makes me more comfortable choosing that. And it's 10% the cost of the Concept2 Model D.

Thanks!

detroit20 wrote:

A bit of an update:

Gyms in England can open from Saturday 25th July.

My gym - Fitness First - will implement capacity limits, but will not require pre-booking in order to use the gym floor (they already require members to book classes).

Similarly, there is no time limit on sessions, though they ask that members limit themselves to 1 hour if the gym is busy.

If a gym reaches capacity, then members will have to queue. However, they say that - having analysed usage pre-lockdown - they don't expect this to happen.

I want to see for myself if this will work in practice, so I will delay quitting until I've tried it for a week.

Keep us posted about how this turns out. My SIL works for one of the newer fitness brands and they opted to open only a handful of their gyms because the thinking is the faster they open everything, they faster they'll be forced to close.

One thing to to note is that this is the warmest time of the year in the states, so people have outdoor access (even in cities) that they won't have come November. The gyms that can get hold on till then should see a surge when the weather turns.

I have been kind of lucky with our version of isolation. We were allowed 1:1 training as long as it was outside and my semi-regular PT from the gym has weights setup outside.

So I've been going 3 times a week and working really hard. The calories were going in anyway, that's the price of my workplace now being the same as my kitchen, so I might as well go on a bulk phase.

Pushed my big 3 move along really well. A few weeks ago I pulled 200kg deadlift (all the weight we had), 154kg squat, and 94kg bench. I reckon I will add 10% to those numbers when we check again in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to get over 100 for bench.

I'm actually starting to look pretty jacked. It's a shame dating is not allowed right now.

I did 200 swings and 20 get ups yesterday with 18kg and I feel like sh*t today.

Yeah but it's the good sh*t right?

I think so yes

Years ago I did a 10,000 swing challenge. 10k swings with a 50lb bell. It was brutal for the first few days. There were times when my back, behind, and hamstring burned so much I could barely sit. I got through it. You will too. Keep going boogle.

I mean its pretty remarkable how good a workout just swings and getups are.
I've done some skill work on snatch, clean and pressing as well, but day to day its swings and getups.

After jogging too much in 2018, taking 2019 off trying to recover from a weird knee issue, and struggling to get back into a groove in 2020, I've resorted to the NHS Couch to 5k program. I'm now at week 4 where I'll probably start to need to follow the program rather than push harder/further than what they were asking for. My walk is at 3mph and my jog is at 6mph on a 4degree incline. I'm hoping this translates to a 30 minute road time or better. Back in my military service days, I'd have scoffed at those numbers, but it's the best my 55 year old body can shoot for right now.

I don't foresee actually doing an outdoor jog until spring of 2021 though, and the actually running a 5k event isn't going to happen until well after covid 19 is a thing of the past (assuming it ever is).

We joined the 2020 at home Tough Mudder with a group of friends. We've been doing mostly text updates to each other but got together for a small group to knock out some of the bigger events. All of us take distancing seriously and have had limited contact with others so it was pretty safe. We did hill sprints, log carrying, mud angels, and finished with the ice pool we'd built. The Artic Enema as it's called. Was a blast! Forgot how fun those things are.

Currently getting back on a regular workout schedule to get this body back in shape. hovering round 200 and need to drop 20 to 30 lbs. Gotta love starting at the bottom of it all again. Here we go!

My brand new squat rack will be here Tue. Eep!

Managed to get an order in for a pair of Titan loadable olympic dumbbell handles. Should ship mid-August.

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

Unless you moved to New Zealand, look for home equipment

Tanglebones wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

Unless you moved to New Zealand, look for home equipment

Yes. Gyms are high risk environments these days. And even modest home setups can be very effective.

I visit my local Fitness First a couple of times since it opened on Saturday.

For the most part, the differences were subtle. Hand sanitizer at the front door. Temperature checks at the font desk. Fewer benches. Cardio machines either spread further out or taken out of service. More conspicuous cleaning of equipment by staff and members. And, of course, fewer members in the facility (by choice, as FF hasn't restricted numbers).

The only irritation for me was a new rule prohibiting the use of towels on the gym floor. It pretty much rules out cardio for me, because I sweat pretty heavily and I don't fancy dripping my way around the gym when I switch to waits.

I'm not persuaded that the cleaning regime is going to provide full Covid-security. I could see my own cleaning regime becoming quite perfunctory towards the end of my sessions. Its amazing how many touch-points there are in gyms; I can't see how they can be kept genuinely clean. But the new regime is better than nothing, I guess.

I've decided not to cancel my membership for now. My home gym is probably sufficient for my needs. But it's nice to be able to supplement my routines with adjustable benches, dumbells, Smith machines and - of course - a proper squat rack.

Tanglebones wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

Unless you moved to New Zealand, look for home equipment

Fair. Let’s just say I want to start the conversation now so that I can be informed later when I need it. I have my copy of Ring Fit and a kid to run around with for now.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

Unless you moved to New Zealand, look for home equipment

Fair. Let’s just say I want to start the conversation now so that I can be informed later when I need it. I have my copy of Ring Fit and a kid to run around with for now.

I second the home gym if you have the space for it. If not - I suppose I'd say look for a gym that has a nice mix of weight machines, free weights, and conditioning equipment. Assuming you're just looking for general fitness. For weight room specific - make sure they have squat racks, plenty of plates and dumbbells, and an assortment of benches. Ideally a reasonable amount of space allocated to this area - cramped free weight areas are no fun. Obviously if there is a particular activity you are looking for (swimming, rowing, etc) make sure they have what your activity requires. And location as close as possible to your home - my family used to belong to a gym on the other side of town - beautiful, well equipped gym but driving over and back was a minimum of an hour time commitment. It started to wear on me after a while. I much prefer now just walking out to my garage!

Knightsabre wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Looking for a new gym since I moved. I was going to Planet Fitness regularly, but I feel like I would like something with barbells that aren’t Smith Machines.

What should I look for in a new gym? Assume I am an idiot.

Unless you moved to New Zealand, look for home equipment

Fair. Let’s just say I want to start the conversation now so that I can be informed later when I need it. I have my copy of Ring Fit and a kid to run around with for now.

I second the home gym if you have the space for it. If not - I suppose I'd say look for a gym that has a nice mix of weight machines, free weights, and conditioning equipment. Assuming you're just looking for general fitness. For weight room specific - make sure they have squat racks, plenty of plates and dumbbells, and an assortment of benches. Ideally a reasonable amount of space allocated to this area - cramped free weight areas are no fun. Obviously if there is a particular activity you are looking for (swimming, rowing, etc) make sure they have what your activity requires. And location as close as possible to your home - my family used to belong to a gym on the other side of town - beautiful, well equipped gym but driving over and back was a minimum of an hour time commitment. It started to wear on me after a while. I much prefer now just walking out to my garage!

If you're looking for barbells, I'm going to assume you want to squat, bench, deadlift, press...

Lifting platforms/squat racks/benches. Don't join the gym that has two for the whole place. While there are places that have barbells, they don't always have enough places to use them. It's almost like an afterthought for free weights when 90% is machines/treadmills/ellipticals. Really frustrating to plan leg day and then kill 30-45 minutes waiting for the dude doing curls and dips in the squat rack.

Maybe some sort of powerlifting gym?

Kettlebell?

I wanted to add a little to yesterday's post.

The other reason that I decided to continue my membership of FF is that I recognise that I have a role in keeping companies, and thereby sectors and thereby the entire economy going.

In the UK, around 62% of GDP is consumer spending. If we all shift to online or 'at home' at the same time, then we're all - in effect - cutting each others' throats.

I don't go to the gym, so the gym closes. Which leaves the landlord out of pocket, and reduces the customer base of the company that launders the towels... 'For want of a nail' is the old proverb.

Of course, I cannot provide Atlas-like support to the entire economy, so I've made three small personal commitments:

I will continue to do my monthly grocery shopping, in-store
I will continue with my gym membership (and use my home gym for the second of my two-a-days)
I will continue to use my local barbershop (rather than the clippers I have upstairs)

I think that's an interesting perspective.

When I think of my local gym (an independent place that is very, very large and supported by an extremely wealthy local family), I do want them to stay open. They will and don't require my dollars to do so (pretty sure they even own the building and the land the 20,000 foot facility sits on).

That said, I have spent several months' worth of gym fees on equipment for my garage. 80% of that spending was done with a US company that makes US-made products, albeit in half a continent away from my local economy. Another 10% was spent on another US company that imports its products from China (this company is in another state). The last bit was with an importer within my own state (again, product from China).

@Top_Shelf,

I think what matters is that you've identified a local or national business or two to support. I don't think it matters what business they're in.

For about the last 20 years, a common refrain in Britain has been "If we don't use our local [insert suppliers here], then one day they'll all be gone." It began with the creation of out-of-town shopping centres, the arrival of big box stores and mega-supermarkets and continued with the rise of internet shopping.

Barely a day goes past without a national newspaper publishing an opinion piece about 'The Death of the High Street. I expect that US papers wring their hands about the demise of Main Street in a similar way.

But I can already see the extent to which the Government's response to the Coronavirus has accelerated this trend. Pubs and restaurants for example have been allowed to open for a couple of weeks, but there are several around me that haven't opened yet. I suspect that they are not going to.

And as I look out of the window of my home office, I see parcel delivery vans passing by every couple of hours. Everyone of the parcels in those vans represents a trip to a bricks and mortar store forgone.

During the lockdown, my TV stopped working. Ordinarily, I would have gone to my local Currys PC World, browsed the TV section for an hour, and then bought one and taken it home. But they were closed because of the lockdown. So I bought one via Amazon. (And it was delivered 15 hours later.)

To get to the point. I work for an advertising business, one of who's customers is Currys PC World.

I am standing in a tree, sawing away at the very branch that I'm standing on...

detroit20 wrote:

@Top_Shelf,

I think what matters is that you've identified a local or national business or two to support. I don't think it matters what business they're in.

For about the last 20 years, a common refrain in Britain has been "If we don't use our local [insert suppliers here], then one day they'll all be gone." It began with the creation of out-of-town shopping centres, the arrival of big box stores and mega-supermarkets and continued with the rise of internet shopping.

Barely a day goes past without a national newspaper publishing an opinion piece about 'The Death of the High Street. I expect that US papers wring their hands about the demise of Main Street in a similar way.

But I can already see the extent to which the Government's response to the Coronavirus has accelerated this trend. Pubs and restaurants for example have been allowed to open for a couple of weeks, but there are several around me that haven't opened yet. I suspect that they are not going to.

And as I look out of the window of my home office, I see parcel delivery vans passing by every couple of hours. Everyone of the parcels in those vans represents a trip to a bricks and mortar store forgone.

During the lockdown, my TV stopped working. Ordinarily, I would have gone to my local Currys PC World, browsed the TV section for an hour, and then bought one and taken it home. But they were closed because of the lockdown. So I bought one via Amazon. (And it was delivered 15 hours later.)

To get to the point. I work for an advertising business, one of who's customers is Currys PC World.

I am standing in a tree, sawing away at the very branch that I'm standing on...

There is so much to unpack in here! We were all sold the line that cheap products from developing nations would be an unmitigated success. Reality is, of course, very complicated, with winners, losers, costs and benefits. I am very interested in all of us doing some serious soul-searching and building a better, more just world coming out of this worldwide pandemic. The results of our previous decisions speak for themselves. IMHO.

Back on topic:
My squat stand and bench arrive today!

Completed the first significant hurdle in my couch to 5k journey. On to week six. I had to slow my pace down for the last session of the week (twenty minutes jogging no breaks). This was probably just as likely due to mental limitations than physical ones, but I'm happy I met my goal.