When the world was turned upside down back in early 2020, gyms were among the many businesses that were quickly forced to shut down. For those of us who use gyms as part of our lifestyle, we basically went into full panic mode…(well…maybe not quite full panic)…over how we would be able to continue our routines to maintain the results we’ve worked so hard for.
I’ve long used resistance bands for many of my workouts. I have my own that I’ve discussed many times, that use a double-banded style to help avoid injury on breakage. And, I’ve used the bands that my gyms supply if I’m going to do a band workout there.
But of course each of those band workouts at the gym, could almost always be done just as easily at home.
So I was able to transfer *most* of what I needed to home workouts. And after a short time, I dare say I even preferred this route, but it was most likely due to finding a new comfort zone, as we all tend to do. People love their comfort zones, even to the point of it working against them and their progress.
The one area I needed a machine for was my leg workouts. I had been used to using a leg press machine for years at that point, but had used high-resistance seated bikes for years before that. A family member had a stationary bike, so it was a perfect excuse to visit the family member and accomplish a workout goal at the same time.
Which one was more important to me…the family or the bike… I will not say.
(Joking)
The two gyms I had attended for many years were the more family-branch, nationally-known organizations that we all know by name. Those were closed and were going to do only exactly what their governors and local governments told them to do.
The more independent gyms had more options. And opened much sooner, with less restrictions on their patrons.
So I found myself trying one of the national chains that had local-ownership franchises. As you can see, I’m avoiding saying the names of any of these places simply because it’s not necessary and maybe a little to maintain my privacy. I of course have masses of fans and can’t be troubled with selfies and autographs.
;p
I hadn’t been to this style of gym since the 90’s when I first started going to gyms, the old Holiday Health that turned into Bally’s. The good ole days when the bodybuilder types were discovering how carbs and especially starches factored in to their workout goals. The atmosphere, in my opinion, was more of a “meat market” environment, whereas the other more national organizations seem more centered around family. I always preferred the latter, as the eye candy at the other style of gym is often just too distracting, and I’m there to get work done.
And nothing has really changed in that regard. What’s extra-interesting about this, is that the specific chain I’m referencing, had commercials featuring extremely attractive women (and men) as part of a sort of parody advertisement, claiming “we don’t have this type here” (and yes, it created some backlash in the process).
I’m sure you know exactly which gym I’m talking about based on that description.
Anyway, I joined, and stayed with them for almost a year. And saw an abundance of the aforementioned eye-candy, which although alluring, I really could’ve done without.
So I finally switched back to my old gyms, the family-style ones, once I was assured there would be minimal government interference in their operation. And as of now, there hasn’t been (I live in New York, where it seems government’s main objective is to interfere as much as possible).
Back for just a couple weeks now, it has been so cool to see some familiar faces here and there, see and talk to people I haven’t seen for over a year and a half, and am hoping, life will just return to normal as soon as it possibly can.