How to Keep Your Boxing Space Safe from COVID-19
The world might be returning to some sense of normality. But, the COVID-19 pandemic is still out there. With the Delta variant continuing to cause problems, many businesses are still taking extra precautions to keep employees and patrons safe. Your gym or boxing arena must do the same.
During the height of the pandemic, millions of small businesses across the country were forced to close their doors for good. Things still aren’t completely back to normal, as surges of the virus are still canceling events and limiting business hours.
Boxing is notoriously known as a great workout and a fantastic way to stay healthy and in shape. However, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of your safety. To still enjoy the benefits of boxing, it’s important to know how you can stay safe in a gym or your own boxing space without compromising your health.
Stay Educated and Up-to-Date
We’re still living in uncertain times, and it might often feel like information is coming in and changing at a rapid pace. But, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed or confused about how to protect yourself from COVID-19. One of the easiest ways to keep yourself safe is to follow the latest local and national guidelines from health department officials and the CDC.
This information is readily available 24/7. Though it is continuously updated and changed based on things like vaccination rates and positive cases, staying well-informed is your best tool to stay healthy.
If you go to a public gym, first pay attention to what national epidemiologists are saying. Epidemiologists are experts in public health surveillance. They collect and analyze data to offer the best suggestions and advice for keeping people safe, even for those that go to the gym daily.
Make sure your boxing space is following the same guidelines or is making efforts to keep its patrons safe. Look for things like:
- Mask requirements
- Vaccination requirements
- Sanitization efforts
- Social distancing
- Canceled group classes
In the end, it’s about what you feel comfortable with. Not every gym across the country is going to have the same guidelines in place because they’re trying to cater to a diverse group of people while keeping everyone safe. Do your research, understand the data, and keep yourself protected whether your boxing space is taking extra precautions or not.
Change your Gym Habits
If you still want to go to the gym, take it upon yourself to be responsible and proactive with your safety. For example, certain exercises and activities might increase your risk of exposing others to COVID, or catching it, yourself. Some of those high-risk activities include:
- Cardio machines
- Yoga
- Group classes without social distancing
- Weight training
These activities tend to cause a lot of extra respiratory work and deep breathing. While that’s great for your body, it can also cause turbulent airflow in a warm, moist environment – the perfect storm for any virus.
If you do any of these activities as a supplement to boxing or even on your recovery days, do your part to keep yourself safe. Wear a mask whenever possible, sanitize machines when you’re done using them, and stay socially distanced from people. You can still get in a great workout by doing your part to take precautions and keep yourself and other patrons as safe as possible.
Consider Working Out at Home
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many people approached health and wellness. With many gyms closed across the country, more people started working out at home and even building home gyms.
Now, even though most fitness centers have reopened, many people are opting to keep their home workout routines. If you’re not quite ready to go back to your boxing space or you want the freedom of working out at home, it could be something to consider. There are plenty of ways to get in a good workout in the comfort of your home, including:
- Buying/renting the equipment you need
- Getting help from YouTube videos
- Downloading fitness apps
- Working out when it’s most convenient for you
Not only is working out at home safer right now, but it also offers you more flexibility. You don’t have to drive anywhere at a certain time of day to get into the arena or hit a certain machine. If you find that you enjoy home workouts, you might even end up canceling your gym membership and saving a bit of money. Even if you don’t have a lot of space for a home gym, you can clear out an area of a room by decluttering and using things like storage bins or lockers to keep your gym equipment safely stored when you’re not using it.
Whether you’re training for a fight or just box to stay in shape, you might be wondering if things will ever go back to “normal”. At this point, that’s hard to say. But, just because things seem uncertain now doesn’t mean you have to give up on your training. Training is a great way to take care of your physical and mental health. You just might need to adjust your habits if you regularly go to the gym, or consider working out from home for a while.
By being cautious and prepared, you can safely keep training while keeping your risk of COVID-19 exposure as low as possible.
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