Peet Sapsin directs clients inside custom built "Gainz Pods", during his HIIT class, (high intensity interval training), at Sapsins Inspire South Bay Fitness, Redondo Beach, California, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images hide caption
Peet Sapsin directs clients inside custom built "Gainz Pods", during his HIIT class, (high intensity interval training), at Sapsins Inspire South Bay Fitness, Redondo Beach, California, Wednesday, June 17, 2020.
Exercise is good for physical and mental health, but with coronavirus cases surging across the country, exercising indoors with other people could increase your chance of infection. So, as gyms reopen across the country, here are some things to consider before heading for your workout.
Assess your own risk
It starts with you, says Dr. Saadia Griffith-Howard, an infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente.
"You have to make your own assessment of how risky it is based on knowing your medical situation and whether you are someone who's at high risk for an infection," Griffith-Howard says.
People 65 years and older are at higher risk for getting a severe case of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So are people with certain underlying health conditions, like diabetes, heart or lung disease, or those who are immunosuppressed.
So if you fall in a high risk category, Griffith-Howard says it may not be worth the risk.
"If it was someone in my family [who was high risk] I would suggest that they not go to a gym," she says.
Consider alternatives for working out
If you want to exercise indoors, it's safer to do it at home, says Doug Reed, an immunologist and aerobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh.
"That's what I'm doing now," he says. "When the weather's nice, I'm jogging outside, but when it's not, I'm doing some weights and stretches and exercise indoors."
Exercise outdoors is a great low-risk alternative, agrees Dr. Nikita Desai, a pulmonologist with the Cleveland Clinic. When you are outside it's easier to control how close you get to other people.
"I would be less worried about the jogger who is running past you for a split second and more worried about the person who's working out next to you without a mask for half an hour," she says.
And the risk of transmission is lower outside than inside, says Joshua Santarpia, a microbiologist who studies biological aerosols at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
"Outdoors you have sunlight which has been shown to quickly inactivate the virus," he says. And outside airflow and humidity help dilute it.
If you do go: Assess your gym's safety measures
There are things gyms can do to help mitigate the risk of infection, so Griffith-Howard suggests making a checklist before you go.
"Are they taking your temperature?" she asks. "Are you seeing them regularly clean equipment? And are staff and other clients in the gym wearing a mask?"
Official guidance for how gyms should proceed varies state by state. Gyms are not open yet in some states, or open with restrictions in others find your state's restrictions here. Most guidelines suggest limiting capacity to keep the gym from getting crowded, routine disinfection of all equipment including machines and weights before and after use, posting signs to reinforce hygiene and other policies, and all recommend physical distancing.
In fact, that should be the number one thing on your checklist: Is there at least six feet of physical distance between everyone who is working out? Even more would be better. Another tip: Go during off hours when they'll be fewer people.
Some clubs have constructed exercise pods to ensure physical distancing. Others have gone touchless and are encouraging members to use a mobile app to check-in, says Sami Smith, Communications and Public Relations Assistant for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, which has developed guidelines for clubs to use as a reference when planning their reopening.
Stay far apart. Really
This bears repeating stay at least six feet away from other people while you are exercising. And, if people are breathing heavily, "it would be preferable to double that to 12 feet," says Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, division chief of infectious diseases at Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Mass.
That's because we don't know exactly how far virus particles travel when people are breathing heavily," says Doug Reed, an immunologist and aerobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh.
"When you are exercising and exerting yourself, you're going to be breathing out and breathing in more than you normally would, he says.
"And so the potential for being infected or spreading the infection would be that much higher," says Reed.
And if you're thinking about taking a group exercise class, think again, says Griffith-Howard, because it can be very difficult to keep six feet apart when moving around quickly.
"You may be breathing harder, people may be coughing, it may be hard to keep on masks," she says. "I would have some concerns about that."
A small study from South Korea looked at coronavirus spread at 12 different sports facilities. It found that infection spread rapidly among high intensity fitness dance classes with up to 22 students. Whereas yoga and pilates classes, with just seven or eight participants and little moving around, saw no spread.
So if you really want to take a group exercise class make sure it's small and that you can maintain a distance of six to 12 feet away from others.
Pay attention to air flow
Steer clear of small gyms and those with little ventilation, says Desai of the Cleveland Clinic.
"Your best bet is going to be a gym that is larger, able to have windows open or have multiple floors or levels to allow for physical distancing," she says.
That's because more space and more air flow dilute the concentration of the virus in the air and likely reduce the risk of transmission.
"If you're strenuously exercising then you're tending to draw in and exhale more air," says aerobiologist Reed.
This is especially important because there's increasing evidence to suggest "that people who are not symptomatic are, in fact, transmitting the infection," says Reed.
In fact levels of the virus found in the nose or throat of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals "can be considerable and are equivalent" to the amount of virus found in individuals with symptoms of coronavirus, he says.
So people who feel well enough to exercise may not realize they are infected, and may be on the weight machine next to you.
Should I wear a mask?
Our experts say it's best wear a mask as much as possible in the gym, including at the front desk, in the locker room and the bathroom and even while doing light exercise. But of course, when you're working out hard and breathing heavily it can be difficult to keep a mask on.
"Physical exercise doesn't lend itself well to the idea of wearing a mask," says Reed, because it can make it harder to breathe.
And while many gyms recommend masks, most don't require them.
"If you're doing aerobic type exercises on an aerobic type machine, you probably are not wearing a mask," says Bruno-Murtha of the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge.
And even if people don a mask when they enter the gym, Bruno-Murtha still highly recommends maintaining at least a minimum 6-foot physical distance, "because I suspect at some points people may inadvertently remove their mask," she says which can be risky for others.
"Physical exercise is important for your physical and mental health but you still have to be smart," says Bruno-Murtha. "Wearing a mask is part of being smart, along with physical distancing, disinfecting equipment and vigilant hand washing."
Location, location, location
And, finally consider your geographic location. Exercising indoors in hot spots where cases are surging is more risky than in areas with low infection rates says Bruno-Murtha. So check out this color coded tracker to look up the COVID-19 risk in your county, and nearby counties.
See original here:
- Let's hear scientists with different Covid-19 views, not attack them - STAT [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Why are more men dying from COVID-19? - Livescience.com [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Doctors find more cases of 'COVID toes' in dermatological registry. Here's what they learned. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- North Dakota reports 24th COVID-19 death as drive-up testing is underway in Bismarck - Bismarck Tribune [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- WHO and European Investment Bank strengthen efforts to combat COVID-19 and build resilient health systems to face future pandemics - World Health... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19: Could Europe's countries be flattening the curve? - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Nine new COVID-19 deaths reported in NH Friday - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 1 May 2020 - World Health Organization [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Where The Latest COVID-19 Models Think We're Headed And Why They Disagree - FiveThirtyEight [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- US consumers rush to buy meat amid concerns over Covid-19 shortages - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Gov. Kate Brown Lays Out COVID-19 Testing And Contact Tracing As Keys To Reopening Oregon - OPB News [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Britons will suffer health problems from Covid-19 for years, warn doctors - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Congress is investigating cruise ship company Carnival over COVID-19 outbreaks - The Verge [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19 death reported in Dakota County Saturday; believed to be Tyson worker - Sioux City Journal [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Antibody, Antigen And PCR Tests For COVID-19: Know The Differences : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Russia now has second-highest rate of Covid-19 spread as other countries ease restrictions - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- New Hanover County tests more than 180 people for COVID-19 in first week - WWAY NewsChannel 3 [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- A service trip to Peru offers lessons for treating Covid-19 in the US - STAT [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Long Does COVID-19 Coronavirus Live On Clothes? How To Wash Them - Forbes [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 2 May - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Results of Completed Antibody Testing Study of 15000 People Showing 12.3 Percent of... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus Update (Live): 3,173,442 Cases and ... - zonix.net [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Patients Die After Contracting COVID-19, The New ... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus gets official name from WHO: COVID-19 [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Symptoms and causes ... [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Mick Jagger and Will Smith to perform in India Covid-19 concert - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Where did Covid-19 come from? What we know about its origins - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Apple and Google release first seed of COVID-19 exposure notification API for contact tracing app developers - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- IDPH reports one McHenry County COVID-19 death Saturday, bringing total to 39 - Northwest Herald [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Poor air quality has been linked to Covid-19 impacts. Trump's EPA is still limiting pollution restrictions. - CNN [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Janesville hospitals hoping to add on-site COVID-19 test processing - Janesville Gazette [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- After Covid-19: How will a socially distanced high street actually work? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Drive Thru Covid-19 Testing Hosted in Cleveland - WDEF News 12 [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Majority of Alexandria COVID-19 deaths were in long-term care sites, as city seeks better pay, benefits for workers - WTOP [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Covid-19 in prisons and meatpacking plants shed a light on Americas moral failures - Vox.com [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- While the west fixates on Covid-19, vulnerable countries pay the price - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Anger as Italy slowly emerges from long Covid-19 lockdown - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- The Health Department confirms 22 new cases of COVID-19 - ConchoValleyHomepage.com [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- 50th COVID-19 death reported in WV - WSAZ-TV [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- Illinois Seeing More and More COVID-19 Cases as Testing Continues to Increase - WTTW News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- COVID-19: Why Does the Disease's Name Matter? | Time [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 1 May - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- More than 300,000 UK smokers may have quit owing to Covid-19 fears - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- How Cybercriminals are Weathering COVID-19 - Krebs on Security [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- You don't need an appointment to get tested for COVID-19 at this site on Monday - KMOV.com [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- More than 1 Million People Recover from COVID-19 : Coronavirus Live Updates - dineshr [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Employers Could Terminate Your 401(k) Plan Due to COVID-19. What to Do if It Happens. - The Motley Fool [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Port Huron offering city employees voluntary furloughs in wake of COVID-19 - The Times Herald [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Greater Lansing sees one more COVID-19 case and no further deaths - Lansing State Journal [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- These Scientists Saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They're Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts. - Mother Jones [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Museum of Covid-19: the story of the crisis told through everyday objects - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- No new COVID-19 deaths reported in Oregon - KGW.com [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- The roads into this New Mexico town remain closed as lockdown is extended to slow Covid-19 outbreak - CNN [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- New Zealand records first day with no new Covid-19 cases since before lockdown - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic - ny.gov [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Travel - The indigenous communities that predicted Covid-19 - BBC News [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Covid-19s Race and Class Warfare - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- Singapore Was Praised For Controlling Coronavirus. Now It Has The Most Cases In Southeast Asia : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2020]
- ICUs Transformed To Care For COVID-19 Patients : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Family devastated after father dies of COVID-19 can only comfort mother from a distance - INFORUM [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- One of Trumps personal valets tests positive for Covid-19 - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Clinical trials press on for conditions other than COVID-19. Will the pandemic's effects sneak into their data? - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Medical delivery drones are helping fight COVID-19 in Africa, and soon the US - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- How Lyft intends to navigate and survive COVID-19 - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- How a New Mexico hospital rebelled against its bosses as Covid-19 hit - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Tell the Stories of the New Yorkers Lost to COVID-19 - THE CITY [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- COVID-19 update: South Dakota death toll up to 31, active cases at 846 as 698 new test results announced - KELOLAND.com [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Covid-19 Parties Probably Didnt Involve Intentional Spread - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Is It COVID-19 Or Something Else? What Experts Are Learning About Symptoms : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- China Says It Contained COVID-19. Now It Fights To Control The Story - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- COVID-19 Is The End Of The Higher Education Buffet - Forbes [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Covid-19 taking toll on blues community - CNN [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- U.S. Field Hospitals Stand Down, Most Without Treating Any COVID-19 Patients - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Even for a nurse who has dealt with infectious diseases, COVID-19 is scary; National Nurses Week - PennLive [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Mental health care will undergo a revolution post COVID-19 - World Economic Forum [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Mystery Inflammatory Syndrome In Kids And Teens Likely Linked To COVID-19 - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- Do Antibodies Against The Novel Coronavirus Prevent Reinfection? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]
- 'This Is ... Personal': After Surviving COVID-19, A Mom And Daughter Mourn Loved Ones - NPR [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2020]