How Ottawa’s gym rats can deal with constant gym closures

It has been an emotional roller coaster for Ottawa’s gym rats.

Ottawa’s gyms were closed, then opened, then closed, and then opened again. You used to check online to see your gym’s spin class schedule. Now, you check to see if they’re even open.

If you don’t work out, you may not fully understand how devastating that someone losing their beloved gym can be. First of all, it means they’re probably losing their primary stress releaser, right when they need it the most.

They’re also probably losing contact with friends because of it. We’re not talking about random nodding acquaintances they see at the gym. We’re talking about old friends that they lost contact with until they started playing weekly squash or pick-up basketball.

This is a huge gap to fill. But here is how you can try to keep active, keep the weight off, and hopefully keep your sanity.

Prepare For This to Happen Again. And Again

The entire COVID lockdown experience is teaching us that we can’t put all of our eggs in the “We will be back to normal soon” basket.

Be prepared for gyms to close again at any moment. If you were holding off on investing in home gym equipment or getting into yoga because a mass re-opening was “just around the corner,” it’s time to prepare for the worst. Or at least, prepare for a very long winter.

If you’re considering buying a Peloton bike, act soon. The delivery times are 4-6 weeks right now, and they will likely get much longer over the winter.

Consider Body Contouring

If you’ve put on the dreaded Quarantine 15, you can lose the weight a lot faster with a combination of diet, exercise, and a body contouring procedure.

The COVID crisis has led to a record number of people considering the benefits of plastic surgery or a liposuction procedure. Clinics across Canada and the rest of the world are seeing an influx of people looking for lipo, tummy tucks, Botox, nose jobs or breast implants.

This is particularly tempting right now because it’s easy to recover from your procedure while you work from home.

Give Jogging Another Chance

Yes, we know. You probably think that jogging sucks. It’s boring and the weather isn’t exactly getting any warmer. We hear you. But give jogging another chance.

This time, don’t listen to the same old playlist. Try something different. Try a podcast or an audiobook.

Music is great for running, but it’s hard to get swept up into the experience when each song is only 3-5 minutes long. Also, if you’ve heard these songs a hundred times, they eventually become far too easy to tune out. But a Podcast or audiobook can be more engaging and really help the time fly by. You can easily disappear into the experience for 30 minutes, or longer.

Besides, other cities would kill for Ottawa’s jogging scenery.

We all hope that this world returns to normal soon. But in the meantime, don’t just kill time. Take proactive steps to ensure that you’re taking care of your mental and physical health during these trying times.

You might have to think outside the box until you can get back inside the gym.