COVID-19
Hello Town Community,
The following is a little update as to what the gym is doing to help keep everyone healthy and the doors open. As some of you know, we could create a small hospital with the amount of medical personnel that frequent our classes. A few of them have generously offered to include their thoughts on staying healthy during this time.
I’m sure you’re all wondering the same thing: Is the gym planning to close? No. As long as we don’t feel it is putting our community in danger, we plan on operating as normal. We have been in discussion with our doctor members, and currently we are all on the same page of continuing to offer you a space to foster your health! Because in the end, a healthy you is a healthy immune system.
1.) What is the gym doing? (⬅️click)
More disinfectant and hand sanitizer has been set out. You will find sanitizer next to where you check in, on top the water cooler, and one bottle each on the benches behind the lifting platforms. We also have our regular spray disinfectant bottles where they have always been, in the gray storage shelves; along with an extra bottle stored on top the water cooler. In addition, we purchased a pump-sprayer and set it up with a solution of bleach. Now, if a larger sweat pool needs to be disinfected, it can be done so quickly and easily.
We are giving our master janitor, your very own Nils Kahlstrom, more hours to ensure the deepest of cleaning is continually maintained. This will include a pump spray-down of the kids corner.
We are extending the hours of our key card access to Open Gym from 0500-2200 (5:00AM to 10:00PM) everyday of the week. This should help with social distancing if you are concerned about the group setting. NOTE: We are not there to monitor, so you need to be extra vigilant about wiping down your equipment!
2.) What can you do?
Wipe down your equipment! That’s each and every thing you touch or sweat on, please! We have always been good as a community about taking care of our space, but now it’s more important than ever. If the bottles are empty or if the rags are missing, please let a staff member know. We will get it taken care of.
Stay home if you are feeling ill. This is especially true if you have a fever or a cough. COVID is primarily spread through the air in the form of droplets, hence the 6’ rule you’ve probably seen.
Wash your hands. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this, but it still needs to be said. Dr. Oh informed us that the virus is very sensitive to regular soap, so don’t worry about it being an anti-viral. The soap we provide will do the trick.
3.) What are my options if I’m not comfortable coming in?
Talk to us! Your health and well-being are of upmost importance to us. A very large part of keeping your immune system at its strongest is a healthy lifestyle. This includes sleep, nutrition, hygiene, and fitness. If you feel it necessary to stay home, please reach out to us and we will set you up with a coach. The first step will be a remote (FaceTime) Goal Setting session. After that, you and your coach will discuss the options for continuing your fitness remotely.
Remember, you pay us for coaching; not for access to equipment. So if this is the choice you are comfortable with, let us help keep your fitness train on the tracks.
4.) Worst Case Scenario? (a.k.a mandated closure)
Looking at how other countries have been responding to this, we can’t stick our heads in the sand and assume there won’t be a time where we are forced to close our doors. If this happens, we will continue to operate in the online world. This will mean online coaching, programming, etc.—all to be covered if and when it happens. For now, though, we are not going anywhere.
The following is a Podcast (⬅️click) I shared on our Facebook Community (⬅️ click to request access if you’re not already a member) page last week. It’s well worth a listen for straight-forward information.
Not alarmist but not a zero, either. #science. Message: Healthy lifestyle is one of your best defenses. Sleep, nutrition, hygiene, and fitness.
Now a word from the Town Athletics medical group!
“As Austin wrote well, the best defense to this is an healthy offense! If you have specific concerns please don’t hesitate to ask any one of us! If you think that you’ve been exposed then it’s likely better to keep a distance or ask. There have been a lot of questions about the utility of Tamiflu or other antivirals - they don’t work with the novel coronavirus but are effective with the more common influenza A, B and adenovirus. If you’ve been exposed to one of the other viruses, Tamiflu is best taken within 48 hours of exposure. In that setting it’d be better to grab some home workouts! Again please be vigilant, if you’re sneezing or coughing or have a low grade fever please don’t come to the gym! As always please wipe down EVERYTHING that you touch! We’re here to support you!” ~ Dennis
“Your risk of infection may be lowest by staying alone in a room but that does not lead to good health. Good health needs good food, sleep, exercise and friends (perhaps not in that order!). I am not an infectious disease physician but known risks for severe disease are Diabetes, HTN, pulmonary disease and age; specific meds such as ACE and ARBs or immunosuppressants may increase your risk further. If you have risk factors I would encourage you to utilize the gym at off peak hours or utilize the the gyms “remote goal setting” until the threat is contained. Infections can be minimized by washing or sanitizing your hands thoroughly upon entering the gym. Also wipe down/disinfect your equipment before you start to protect yourself, and again after you are done to protect the next person. Do not exercise or mingle if you have a fever and cough (the two most common symptoms); you will not get an effective work-out as you are sick and you may make put your best friend(s) at risk. As Dennis said, be vigilant and thoughtful. Agree with his advice on Tamiflu.” ~ Nick
“My last 48 hrs have been all about COVID-19 and preparation for mass sickness. First of all, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (disease) is NOT the same as influenza. We must be vigilant and understand the virus, disease and how we can limit the spread. This disease is serious and I am hopeful that the measures that the US are taking now will make a difference. We must prepare for the long game. This will continue for months (6-12 months) until we can develop a vaccine, not just a few weeks. The goal is to slow the spread of COVID-19 so we can have healthcare capacity to take care of the sick and limit the deaths that is being seen in Italy. This is called "flattenthecurve". (www.flattenthecurve.com). This is the "social distancing" that is being implemented to slow the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus until we have a vaccine. The less you are around people who may be infected with mild symptoms, then the less the disease spreads. The best science shows that when someone is infected and a cough spews the viral droplets in the air, it can only travel about 6 ft before it falls to the ground or objects. So the theory of social distancing is that if you are 6ft apart, it is much less likely that those droplets will fall in your face. The second way of transmission is that you touch those droplets on the objects you touch and then touch your face/mouth/eyes/nose so the "crowns" of the coronovirus sticks to your inside mucous membranes (mouth, nose, eyes). finally it is believed that the SARS-CoV-2 droplets can stay alive for hours and even up to three days!
Ok, sorry for rehashing the science, but I think its important to understand the science of transmission so we can figure out how to respond and what to do when we go out and hit an AMRAP or testing week at Town Athletics. So, here goes. 1. If you haven't had the influenza vaccine, get it. Vaccine helps. if we had a vaccine for COVID-19...think about it. 2. Stay away from crowds if you'll be shoulder to shoulder. 3. If you go out, stay about 6 feet away from people to reduce droplet transmission from their cough. 4. Exercise. Go to Town. We have to stay healthy with nutrition, exercise, sleep, and emotional health and reduced stress. Austin has been as meticulous about this topic as he has been with his programming. He understands the risks/benefits of keeping Town open vs. closing. And trust me, this is not an easy decision. Many affiliates across the world are debating this exact concept. Some have closed for a couple of weeks. But, if you trust Austin in the programming, trust him when he keeps the gym open, and even opens it up to open gym time. What can you do to help out? Wash your hands before during and after the gym, especially if you want to touch your face. Clean your equipment and disinfect things you touch. Kill those droplets. Be grateful that Town is still open. Keep 6 ft away from each other. If you share your equipment - just wash your hands afterwards or before you touch your face. The best thing -- we are a community that will support each other through this. Finally - this is not cholera --stop hoarding the toilet paper!” ~ Rob
"There's not a lot more that I can add to the above except to reiterate the precautions listed. This goes without saying, but if you are sick stay home! This is a pretty active group of people so it's not likely that anyone is going to be predominantly sitting around doing nothing while practicing social distancing but if you're worried about being in larger groups then avoid peak hours or engage with one of our coaches about individualized programming. And getting outside is still safe as long as it's not in a crowd! Remember to wash your hands and use sanitizer when you can't get to a sink. You should always wipe down your gym equipment, but it's more important now than ever. Remember to drink plenty of water, keep you diet clean and get plenty of sleep. This is a serious health threat that we are facing, but don't panic. If we all follow the necessary precautions we can slow the spread and keep each other safe and healthy until we have an effective vaccine/treatment available. Hopefully you all have a sane persons supply of toilet paper. And I realize this doesn't apply to most people in the gym, but if anyone is wondering, if a woman contracts COVID 19 during pregnancy there is currently no evidence that there are any ill effects on the pregnancy nor is there any contraindication to breastfeeding. Stay safe y'all!" ~ Tess