Going into ExtraTime
An email arrived recently advising that the gym will hopefully be re-opening on 12th April. Further investigation suggests that it is on the basis that you exercise or swim alone, wear a mask as appropriate, follow strict sanitising procedures etc.. Most importantly not only is there to be no household mixing but there are no gym classes to participate in either.
I wasn't sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved. Clearly one of the big attractions of being a member is the social interaction with others and frankly on those terms I might as well stick to YouTube channels and Pilates in the living room.
Come June, and based on the Government's roadmap out of lockdown, however, it expects to be open in full.
Plan made. I shall defer my return until then. Hopefully with a little more time to step up the exercise regime at home and watch the calorie intake, I might actually be able to go back the same fitness level and weight as when I left.
It really has shocked me how easy it has been over the past few months to pile on the pounds and then how long it takes to lose them. Contemporaneously my increasing age seems to enthusiastically greet strained muscles and sore joints with a masochistic vigour totally out of proportion to the time it takes them to repair.
Retirement has taught me the delight and need to stay fit and healthy. Lockdown has reminded me how precarious that fitness and health can be and that sadly it takes dedicated effort to maintain it. At least I knew the day of reckoning would come round at some point and have been doing my best to prepare; an extra 2 months to do so is, however, much appreciated.
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