Hello fitness community! I hope everyone is safe and well.  I am writing today with few thoughts on gym safety during Covid-19 for the personal training community.

Is your gym doing enough?! To me enough is requiring social distancing, wearing a mask at all times, and cleaning regularly and often. All three of these safety steps are critical.  

Let’s talk about mask wearing while working out.  Let me first define what I mean when I say wearing a mask – wear it correctly! Not under your nose. And definitely not under your chin.

Unfortunately I have watched first hand as gym owners get lax on the rules, and members, for all intents and purposes, end up with their masks becoming necklaces.  The result, in my humble opinion, is a potentially very dangerous environment. 

Obviously, heavy breathing comes with exercise, which makes it all the more necessary to make sure your mask is covering your face. Is it uncomfortable at times?  Quite frankly, yes, but as human beings we are quite adaptable and if you ease into it you should be ok. I liked this article’s (https://about.underarmour.com/news/2020/06/expert-advice-wearing-face-mask-while-working-out) explanation of “getting used” to wearing a mask.  

So let’s be clear – it is safe and possible to workout (even intensely) while wearing a mask! As personal trainers, we need to dispel the myths that this is dangerous and ensure our clients are following all of the CDC guidelines to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.  We are after all promoting a healthy lifestyle.   

I unfortunately had to leave a gym recently because it was not following recommended guidelines. Everyone has their level of comfort, but remember if you catch Covid-19, you could spread it to your clients, your family, and who knows who else. We should all be taking every precaution possible. If you’re in an environment that isn’t being safe then just leave, it’s not worth it. Your clients will respect you for your decision and if you have taken the path that most trainers have these days you probably are seeing most of your clients virtually anyway.

I hope this helps…train hard, train safe!!