I do an outdoor exercise bootcamp, owned by a personal trainer who started it 15 years ago. On any given morning the group is 20-30 people. We meet at 5:30 a.m., and the trainer makes us do push-ups and other exercises. Everyone brings their own water bottles, weights, mats.

Since the social distance requirements, she has spaced everyone two parking spaces apart, which is double the recommended amount. We stay in our spots, we work out, we go home.

Yesterday, our governor ordered that all non-essential businesses must close. This morning, we met as usual, outdoors, parking lot, assigned spaces.

This evening, she emailed us that she won’t teach us anymore. It seems that she was accosted by someone who saw the class and let it be known that . . . I don’t even know what this person was worried about but thought we were violating the law and exacerbating the pandemic.

That’s nonsense, of course, but the trainer doesn’t want to risk her livelihood by teaching.

If folks are going to panic to this extent, it will erode the willingness of people to cooperate with the quarantine requirements. I have done a bootcamp for over 20 years, and it is important for my health. Shutting it down serves no purpose and cannot be what the governor meant by closing businesses. I have been reasonably cooperative with the restrictions, but I am starting to think a lot of people have lost their minds.

From your story, it sounds to me like one person has lost his/her mind, and another person didn't have the strength to stand up to that person and/or did not realize that that person really had no power over them.

Jesus, Cindy. It’s not about you.

Please don’t be a vector. Please just stay home.

Just stay home?

Yeah. That is exactly the attitude that is going to make people who are generally supportive of the measures taken so far to push back.

If someone is out jogging by themselves or doing pushups in a parking lot, they are no risk. They are not a vector. They are not bothering anyone.

Are we going to tell people they cannot walk their dogs? How is walking a dog any different from going for a run?

I think the hysteria is not helping anyone and is going to backfire.

Let's do things that make sense. Telling people they cannot do pushups in a parking lot makes no sense.

Members of the class are organizing to meet up in the parking lot anyway, so I guess I will join up with them. It's gonna get weird with no leader, but I guess it's better than nothing.

If you can do it in a parking lot you can do it at home.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
From your story, it sounds to me like one person has lost his/her mind, and another person didn't have the strength to stand up to that person and/or did not realize that that person really had no power over them.

Exactly.

Not a lot different from an insane Trump supporter attacking an Asian-American for being responsible for the virus.

Thumbing our noses at reasonable actions simply because someone else behaved irrationally is the kind of thing Trump does.

Interesting to hear the different perspectives about what is important in that story.

The problems come when those perspectives bump up against each other in the real, not virtual, world.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Just stay home?

Yeah. That is exactly the attitude that is going to make people who are generally supportive of the measures taken so far to push back.

If someone is out jogging by themselves or doing pushups in a parking lot, they are no risk. They are not a vector. They are not bothering anyone.

Are we going to tell people they cannot walk their dogs? How is walking a dog any different from going for a run?

Some country, I think it's Spain but I'm not sure, is only allowing you to exercise outside of the house for one hour a day, you have to stay within a mile of home, you have to have a written plan before you leave, and you have to be able to show the police (if they stop you) what your written plan was, and that you're complying with it. At least, that was my quick-read understanding.

I have no idea how that works with dog-walking.

If that is indeed the Spanish approach, it reflects a very dirigiste and almost authoritarian mindset. It also places lots of power in the hands of often-petty people, which goes along with how weak states often operate. I'm not at all surprised that this is thought useful in a Mediterranean nation (where governments pass lots of useless laws and people routinely ignore the government).

It's interesting to see how the "stay home" mandate will clash against America's intolerance of being told what to do by the gummint. As P*D hinted, there are different views of what is/isn't important in terms of reasons for social distancing and whether we've gone too far.

My concern has more to do with mental health, especially for people who are already in precarious situations--things like domestic violence, pre-existing depression, post-partum depression, etc. Exercise and fresh air most definitely can help with that. Add in stress and access to things like guns and there's the potential for violence in some extreme cases.

BUT people are stressed and afraid. I would hate to exacerbate that feeling for anyone. Seeing 30+ people working out together in a parking lot, while technically "legal," may contribute to that. I can work out by myself in my yard, living room, basement. That's what I would prefer to do.

Our state order is to stay home except for "essential" activities, like going to work (if your job is deemed essential), picking up food/medications, etc. Participating in a large workout, even when observing social distancing, isn't in the spirit of this mandate. Your state mandate may be different.

That's part of the big problem with Trump rambling on as he does, and implying that the distancing has "gone too far," etc. There is no standard.

There is no stay at home order here. At last count, we had three deaths statewide, so a far cry from the other hot spot.

If I saw a huge middle school parking lot with everyone 12 feet apart on yoga mats, I would not be fearful. I would think these are some folks seriously committed to physical fitness who are definitely following the social distance rules.

So why do we need to be together to work out? Well, it's obvious: Working out sucks. Working out in the morning and in the dark sucks. But doing it with friends who will tease you and hold you accountable when you want to quit is why it works. You don't have to be in arms reach of someone to support one another -- you just have to shout loud enough to be heard two parking spaces away.

Working out solo in your living room doesn't work for very many people. And it definitely doesn't work for me.

I think the quarantine effort would be more successful if folks would use some common sense and considered why we have the restrictions we have. But when has that ever worked?

The sun is out. I think I will strap on my running shoes and go endanger humanity by going for a run.

You are exercising which means breathing harder which means any aerosol droplets travel further. With a small breeze you could very well be exposing yourself to virus as you in turn breathe in more deeply. A pulmonologist told a friend of mine to keep a distance greaterthan 6 feet for people you pass by as their aerosol cloud will expand.

It was France.

quote:

Taking exercise

Following much confusion as to how far and for how long someone could exercise outside, the new decree has clarified and rendered more stringent the existing rules.

"Going out to take the children for a walk or for physical exercise must be within a distance of one kilometre maximum of your home, for one hour, and obviously alone, once a day," Philippe said on Monday.

Anyone wishing to take themselves or their dog for a walk must now write down the time they left their home to prove, in the event of being stopped by police, that they had not passed the one-hour mark.

https://www.thelocal.fr/202003...ew-coronavirus-rules

quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
You are exercising which means breathing harder which means any aerosol droplets travel further. With a small breeze you could very well be exposing yourself to virus as you in turn breathe in more deeply. A pulmonologist told a friend of mine to keep a distance greaterthan 6 feet for people you pass by as their aerosol cloud will expand.

Yea, a runner came up behind me when I was out for my walk. She barely passed me on the sidewalk, way less than six feet. After walking a little distance, I thought about what she had breathed out and could be hanging in the air. I crossed the street and went a slightly different route.

Sometimes it's a good idea to reframe a situation. If I may offer a suggestion....

Many Christians prepare for Easter by giving up something for Lent. Maybe this year instead of giving up candy or whatever folks can view giving up some of their freedoms and changing their habits as an act of penance and repentance. They might feel better about it and not feel like they're being deprived of something.

If the above suggestion doesn't apply, please ignore it.