Tag: gym

Rest day

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Yesterday, I went to the gym to see if I could survive a workout and therefore pronounce myself fit to play football in the evening. The workout went very well, thanks for asking, and so I pronounced myself fit to play football in the evening. I then played football in the evening.

Dream day.

It was only after playing football in the evening that I realised that I had done a gym workout that morning. 20000+ steps. 600 (or at least the equivalent of 600) Discovery points. All in just under 10 hours. This is what is known in gym/football circles as “a bit much” for one day.

Consequently, today I am feeling battered and I did not want to get up.

I will not be exercising today. I feel that I have earned a rest day.

There is still plenty to be done around the house though, so it’s only a rest from actual exercise, not from life. And that’s sad, because with dark grey skies up above and disappointingly chilly temperatures, I’d honestly rather be in bed.

Day 223 – I left gym

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Yep. I used to enjoy gym, but I simply don’t think it’s a safe place to be at the moment.

Actually, it hasn’t been a safe place for a while, but I still did seriously consider going back. However, one only has to look at the number of tweets sent to the Virgin Active account to see that the rules put in place to prevent virus transmission are neither being followed, nor enforced. And despite the Social Media Manager’s best efforts at repeated pacification with:

Thanks for letting us know, we’ll follow up with the club concerned

…the worried messages keep coming.

So, no thank you. My membership is cancelled.

The club putting “please wear a mask” and “please sanitise regularly” signs on and around the equipment are akin to the “no fly tipping” signs you see at secluded beauty spots: people really should already know. And if they weren’t obeying the rules before they saw the sign, they’re not going to once they’ve seen it, either.

And of course, the gym bunnies – the ones who go there to be seen, rather than to exercise – are all immune to Covid-19 (until they get it), and so they don’t need to cover up and protect themselves or anyone else. They didn’t wipe down the equipment BTV and they’re not going to do it now. Previously, it was just unpleasant – now it’s potentially risky. And with the gym staff apparently unwilling or unable to make people follow the rules, gym is a no-no for the foreseeable future.

Sad. But just not worth it.

Progress continues

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Back to back to back gym days and it’s only Tuesday. [crowd gasps]
I’m getting the car serviced tomorrow, so I won’t make it four in a row, but hey, the thought was there. I’ll come home and walk the dog instead. Something a bit more gentle with a side-order of snorfing.

Finally, the excesses of the festive season are falling away, and my knee is beginning to recover from the (still bewilderingly) rock hard sand on Struisbaai beach. I’m starting to put a bit of stress and strain on it – a short run here or a quick row there – and I can still walk.

So that’s good.

That said, I’m still giving myself another few weeks before I even consider approaching the health insurance fitness assessment. Let’s at least give me a chance of passing the test and being allowed to live for another year.

Onward and upward.

Minor loadshedding cost thoughts

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Thursday: I went to the gym this morning. Yes, the hard work goes on.

And it was harder work than usual this morning because there was no electricity at the gym. Not directly because of loadshedding, but because of a substation fault, caused by the overnight loadshedding (according to the frustrated electrician I spoke to). Gym was emptier than usual, because a lot of the machines weren’t working, preventing people from working out. In addition, the aircon wasn’t working and it was HOT and humid.

I did what I could on the weights and the freerunning treadmill, but the temperature and yesterday’s blood doning left me a little short of energy.

And then when I left, I couldn’t validate my parking ticket to get my free parking. Understanding this, the car parking people had left the booms open – free parking all round this morning then. And that got me thinking: just how much is this loadshedding costing the economy?

A few thousand for the parking company this morning, maybe?  And even if they get the fault fixed by lunchtime, there’s another 2½ hours of genuine loadshedding this afternoon.

The Kauai outlet in the gym wasn’t able to operate: no fridges, no tillpoints, no smoothie makers, no hot water for coffees. Another few thousand there, maybe?
Pick and Pay was still operating downstairs, their generator churning out noise and fumes, but the other shops weren’t able to open.

And this is just one building, just one morning.

So yes, without electricity, daily life goes on in some limited form or other, but it’s irritating, costly and difficult. And we’re set for at least another 18 months of this nonsense.