When the country began opening up after the subsequent Unlocks, many rushed to purchase cycles. People were tired of sitting at homes and didn’t want to work out in gyms – closed spaces – out of fear they might get infected by COVID- 19. Today 90 percent of those people have stopped cycling and are returning to gyms. Such fitness enthusiasts are still few at the moment, but definitely on the rise.
Gym-owners are taking all the necessary COVID precautions – safe distancing, wearing gloves and using sanitisers. Customers are instructed to bring their own mats, water bottles and sanitisers, and also use less equipment. All this is being done to assure customers to view gyms as the safe places for exercising.
“Delhi’s weather doesn’t support outdoor exercising. Gyms are better as you are under controlled temperatures. Gymming is not only a huge stress-buster, but under the supervision of instructors, the other parameters of your body are also taken care of,” says Ajay Sethi, Owner of Phyaction, Rajouri Garden.
He raises an important point: “When you are working from home, medical issues like high BP, cholesterol, muscle fatigue and back pains are likely to affect you. Simply cycling doesn’t help. Therefore, you need to hit a gym where a proper protocol of exercising – warm-up, exercise and cool down – is followed.”
Gym owners are making sure that those who are back to gym don’t start doing vigorous exercises from Day 1.
“For the first week, we just tell them to do simple aerobics,” says gym instructor Mohit Yadav, who consults at a couple of gyms in Mayur Vihar.
“Then we tell them to do weights, and the heavy machines come in last,” he adds. Sethi has kept that limit to 15 days.
“For a fortnight, we work on body conditioning – the muscles, the heart and other body parameters have to be readied for exercising. Because people are coming from a very sedentary lifestyle, they are treated as patients. Only when the parameters reach a decent stage do we allow other exercises,” he says. As expected, gym enthusiasts are happy about these developments.
“For me going to the gym is important as there are qualified instructors to guide you. So you don’t end up over/under-exercising,” says Punam Singh, a Greater Noida resident.
Agrees Shalini Lall, a Gurugram resident. “All this while, I was exercising at home, but lacked discipline. There were days when I didn’t exercise at all. I am glad gyms have opened and I got my routine back.”
Rohini resident Muskan Gupta says she is very excited about gyms reopening as she can get back to her fitness regime. “It is important to look presentable and appealing. Since Covid is still not over, I take as many precautions I can as well. I take my own yoga mat, sipper and resistance band along with sanitiser spray and use it before using any machine or dumbbells. Even before opening the door, I apply sanitiser on the knobs too.”
Gupta adds that she books her slot a few hours before visiting the gym so that the floor is not too crowded and “I can workout with dedication without thinking about social distancing.”
COMPLYING WITH COVID PROTOCOL
Delhi-NCR gym-owners are taking all the necessary Covid precautions – safe distancing, wearing gloves.
and using sanitisers. Customers are instructed to bring their own mats, water bottles and sanitisers, and also use less equipment.
All this is being done to assure customers to view gyms as the safe places for exercising.