Last week in my blog post, I wrote about how this past week of workouts was going to be the week I get myself ready to work out in the studio again. I was excited to get back to more normal workouts for me and I was ready to see my friends and my coaches again. I was a bit nervous about going back, but the excitement outweighed the nerves and I was feeling like this was going to be a good thing for me.
And when I started my workout week last week, that’s exactly the mindset I had. I was working hard during my home workouts. I feel like I was doing a lot more than I ever had. It wasn’t that I was necessarily slacking off while working out at home, but this past week brought things to a new level. I was sore, but that soreness made me very happy. I was counting down the days until this week when I was supposed to be back in the studios.
But I was still a bit nervous about going back. Cases of COVID have been increasing, but with the safety measures that Orangetheory was taking, it seemed like it would be as safe as possible. I even started to see some articles saying how going to the gym could be good as long as certain precautions were taken. And everything on those lists was things that OTF was going to do. Plus they were doing things above and beyond what was on the list. I was also starting to get a bit nervous because the workout-specific masks I ordered hadn’t arrived yet. I knew they might be delayed, but I wanted to have them in time for my first in-studio workout.
Then, things changed. First, I got an email that my masks wouldn’t be arriving on time. This was disappointing, but not the worst thing since I have other masks I could use for working out (they just wouldn’t be the most ideal masks to sweat in). Then, the rules about how gyms could reopen changed. Originally, they didn’t require masks. Then they said they would require them for the entire time someone was inside a gym. That was fine with me since it’s what I was planning on doing. But then they added a rule that full gloves would be required at gyms. I wear workout gloves, but they don’t cover my entire hand. My palms and fingertips are exposed. I know they make full-hand workout gloves, but I didn’t want to buy those. And wearing nitrile gloves while working out didn’t seem like something I would like. The sweat would get in the gloves and I could see how it could make holding onto things harder.
I started to wonder if I should go back to studio workouts. My original plan was to go 3 days a week and then do 1 day at home. Then I switched that around and picked 1 day to go to the studio and was going to do the rest at home. I figured I could see how I liked working out in the studio with the new rules and if I didn’t like it I would just go back to doing them all at home. But soon after the rule about wearing full gloves was announced for Los Angeles, I didn’t have to worry about if I should go to the studios or not. Because the reopening of the studios in LA was pushed back.
I know this was a hard decision for the owners, but it was the right choice. This is about the safety of the members and staff. And even with all the precautions, there is still a risk. And the safest thing to do would be to not reopen until they feel confident that they could reopen safely for everyone.
I was disappointed because I was so excited about getting back to my normal workouts, but I understood why they made this choice. It wouldn’t be easy for everyone to work out with a mask and full gloves. A lot of people don’t have gloves (and they aren’t easy to find right now) and they didn’t have a stockpile of gloves to give some to every member for every class. But most importantly, as I said, this was about safety. And I find it admirable that the owners care more about safety than reopening and making money (while the studios are closed, all memberships are frozen so we are not paying).
I’m still really proud of the workouts I did at home this past week. Even though I won’t be back in the studio this week to show off what I’ve been able to do at home, there are no negatives to working out hard. And I’m glad I pushed myself because I did need to do that. I haven’t had a lot of great workout weeks at home, so anytime I can have one I need to take advantage of it. And I’m hoping that this week I will have another great workout week at home.
I’m still hopeful that the studios will be reopening in the near future. Nobody knows when it will be safer for us to be back there and there is no timeline just yet for when they may try to reopen again. I know the owners are paying close attention to the numbers of cases and all the new policies that are being announced. And when they feel like they can open the studios and provide the workouts we are used to, then that’s when they will do it.
In the meanwhile, I’m looking again for ways to make my home workouts better. I found a way I could rent a water rower and have added myself to the waitlist for one. I would consider buying a rower, but they take up a lot of space and I don’t know if I’ll want one after I’m back in the studio. So renting would be a great option. Hopefully, they will have one available for me to rent soon. And I’m still looking at other options for different pieces of exercise equipment that would work in my house. I just want to figure out how to keep improving while staying home.
I think I was using the idea of the studios reopening as an excuse to not keep looking for better options. Now, I’m not going to think that way and just figure out how to make my home workouts the best they can. Especially because I’ll be doing these for at least a little while longer.
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