When rains arrive, how will you exercise? Bellingham fitness centers explore solutions
With the mostly sunny and dry weather these days, Whatcom County residents have plenty of options to safely exercise outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, local fitness centers are working on ways to make indoor exercise safe when the rainy weather arrives.
During this current Phase 2 period of Washington State’s “Safe Start” program, Whatcom County gyms, fitness centers and training schools are open, but with many restrictions. That includes the wearing of face coverings, reduced capacity, increased distancing requirements, encouraging outside workouts and the closure of certain aspects of the business such as showers and racquetball courts.
In a typical year, many residents make the switch from outdoor activities such as hikes, biking, runs and kayaking to indoor exercise, particularly those who don’t snowboard or ski. Will that happen this year?
As local owners of fitness centers, gyms and training schools continue to work on ways to make sure the facilities are safe from the spread of COVID-19, they recognize that a big factor will be the comfort level of the members.
“I tell people to go where you are most comfortable,” said Zac Palmer, vice president of Fitness Gear & Training at 1605 N. State St., near Whatcom Creek. “The exercise you will do is the one that you enjoy the most.”
Finding that comfort level is something everyone is dealing with on a daily basis during the coronavirus pandemic, whether it is going to the grocery store or a checkup at the dentist.
Staying away from the gym to avoid COVID-19 is one of those comfort-level choices, but other problems could crop up if the exercise isn’t done in some other way. Steve Avila, who operates Fitness Evolution at 1504 Iowa St., recently bumped into an older member who had stopped going because of concern about COVID-19.
In talking about the decision, the member said he was scared but also feeling depressed because he wasn’t getting his exercise. Avila took some time to explain what they are doing, such as temperature checks, cleaning and keeping members socially distant. He thinks the member felt a little more comfortable about the idea of working out in a gym. It got Avila to talk to more people about this, potentially working with other local fitness centers to start a campaign.
“We also want to get the word out that as winter comes and the clouds wrap themselves around us, depression and anxiety will escalate even beyond where it is now,” Avila said. “Now is the time to seek health so that you can fight the winter fight against the cold and flu season and the depression brought on by SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).”
What about fitness schools?
Training schools also have made adjustments. In a martial arts school, sparring is not a thing these days, replaced by socially distant workouts.
At Pure Fitness Martial Arts, there’s a long list of rules in place so they can stay open. There are more classes, but pre-booked class size is reduced to five people and 35-minute sessions.
Brooke Peté operates the facility at 1801 Ellis St. near Bellingham High School with her husband, Toney Henderson. When the facility was shut down in the spring because of the pandemic, they focused their efforts on learning the best way to reopen. That led to smaller class sizes than the state mandated.
“A little bit is better than nothing and our students have been so supportive of that,” said Peté, who has a background in nursing before starting Pure Fitness.
As fall weather arrives, Peté said they will do what they can to have outside air, including opening up doors, and using fans and tents.
She is also a proponent of members waiting until they are comfortable before trying it. If a member is on the fence, they should check and see how it works. When she first reopened, about 20% of her members had reservations about returning, but some decided to come after seeing how a class was handled.
Looking at home fitness equipment
With staying home the popular trend during this pandemic, many have bought equipment to create a workout space. Fitness Gear & Training sells exercise equipment and Palmer said sales have been strong. However, one challenge is keeping equipment in stock because of supply chain and production issues during the pandemic.
He expects sales to pick up as fall and winter arrive, but customers should put in orders sooner rather than later because of the supply chain issues.
Staying motivated with home fitness equipment can be a challenge, as anyone with an unused treadmill or free weights sitting in the garage can tell you. Some of the local businesses are trying to help, with videos and Zoom classes that can be watched at home.
Humans are social by nature, however, and that’s reflected in the pre-pandemic popularity of classes.
“Being around people, it just picks you up even if you are not talking to anyone,” Avila said. “Very few can work out by themselves for a consistent amount of time.”
The idea of seeing others, at least in a socially distant way, is something Palmer had in mind as he restructured his program. He’s created a series of “pods,” or zones, so that someone can exercise in their zone while others stick to their own independent workouts.
As for group workouts, Palmer believes it’ll be some time before people are comfortable with those again.
“This pandemic has exposed so much fear,” Palmer said, noting that while we read or see instances of people attending parties, that is not the case for most people. “There may be certain demographics that never return (to group workouts).”
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
