Gyms in Sun Valley Remain Shuttered
Jose Mier here with yet another take on how the coronavirus shutdown is impacting Sun Valley. I wrote recently about hair salons being closed and the domino effect it has on our economy but there’s another aspect to the shutdown that people talk about and that’s gyms.
One of the first things to be shut down was gyms. Yes, they are places where large groups of people congregate and of course there is a lot of touching of surfaces involved in a workout. We grab a dumbbell or barbell or other weight machine not knowing who’s touched it before and what they had on their hands. The closeness of weight stations or just where we position ourselves when working out also comes into play.
Was it justified to close these establishments? Perhaps. But it’s been two months of lockdown and we collectively have learned a lot. Can gyms reopen safely? Cautiously? I believe they can and should. And this isn’t just selfishness on my part or narcissism. There is a real reason our gyms should be allowed to reopen (along with everything else if you ask me). Physical well-being.
If you’re like me your fitness routine has sputtered out to basically nothing. I, Jose Mier, do not have any workout equipment in my home. Joining a gym was a low-cost way for me to keep in shape and without access to the equipment at my gym, my fitness and overall health is probably suffering.
Jose Mier’s Take on Weights
Weight training keeps my body healthy and especially strengthens my bones. For seniors this is especially important and I wonder if the stay at home order will be the cause of bone density loss in senior who can ill afford weaker bones. Exercise also helps maintain mental health and alertness and now this avenue to health has been taken away from us.
An article on the KCRA website (a tv station in Sacramento) writes about the California Fitness Alliance fighting to get gyms to reopen. Like everyone else they want to keep their livelihood. But for us gym-goers, not having access to the equipment we need is going to have an impact on our physical and mental health—something it seems the government is not taking into account. The total effect won’t be known for sure until after this coronavirus craziness has faded away.
We need to reopen now and for me in Sun Valley that means letting gyms like Valley Fitness Center (located at 7630 Vineland Ave, Sun Valley, CA 91352) reopend while taking every precaution. If we can’t go to work, at least we can maintain our physical and mental health to help us weather this COVID storm. If we are allowed to go to Costco, why aren’t we allowed to go to the gym. We know how to stay safe and keep things (and ourselves) clean. That’s my two cents, anyway. Tell your officials that Jose Mier from Sun Valley is pushing for a gym reopening now!