Is there such a thing as conventional wisdom in an unconventional time?
Evidently. The CDC’s prescription for warding off the coronavirus boils down to staying home, washing your hands frequently, and not touching your face. And the prescription for maintaining your sanity in the age of COVID-19 is turning off the news and keeping in touch with friends and loved ones, even if it’s safer to communicate from afar.
The trouble is that so many of our fitness and conditioning routines involve other people and sweaty vinyl. It’s a problem, whether you’re a student-athlete cut loose from your athletic program or an employee working from home.
And then there’s the moving target — or moving goal posts, or whatever sports metaphor might capture this moment. If you belong to pretty much any for-profit club or studio, you may have just received a swift progression of email announcements to the effect that 1) everything is okay; 2) members should stay home if feeling unwell and, if not, wash their hands before and after their workout; 3) the club has boosted its already vigilant cleaning and disinfecting regimen and is providing extra sanitizers and wipes; and 4) the club is closed until further notice. The best clubs are allowing their members to pause their accounts; the worst — SoulCycle in Los Angeles, via Twitter — are fighting the pandemic with exhortations such as “the only thing that’s contagious is your energy!”
Ross Kolodziej, the former Badgers defensive tackle who now leads Wisconsin football’s strength and conditioning program, says the team was last together for training on March 12, and at that moment all expected that team workouts ahead of spring ball could restart a little more than a week later. The following day, he was telling them to plan for their immediate return — but, at the same time, to pack for an indefinite stay at home.
“It evolved rather quickly,” Kolodziej says. “On Thursday, the workout program for the break was set, but at that point there hadn’t been statewide or even nationwide high school closures. The assumption had been that they would have access to training facilities and certain equipment, and over the course of the weekend a lot of guys were texting that their local high school was shut down, their parents didn’t want them to go to the gym, and what were my recommendations?”
Kolodziej’s modified spring break workout program involves utilizing home equipment for certain exercises, and then others that can be executed using an athlete’s bodyweight: squats, lunges, lateral lunges, step-ups, push-ups, pull-ups. “I’m pretty sure most guys have access to a street, a back yard or a flat piece of land somewhere,” Kolodziej says. “So running and multidirectional work should not be an issue at all.”
Casey Green, West High School’s head girls track and field coach, this week sent his charges a highly detailed training plan, including separate plans for mid- and long-distance runners and sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers; six training videos; and a pace chart. The training plan continues the progression coaches had set during the team’s first official week, with the idea that it would prepare them for eventual competition, should any take place this season.
Green believes that the breakdown among athletes will be about the same as it ordinarily is: A third will execute it in full, a third will do it in part, and a third will choose another form of leisure. But he also thinks they’ll face a bigger challenge, being unable to head out in groups.
“Unfortunately currently, but fortunately for the rest of time, I think group exercise is incredibly important for motivation,” Green says. “It’s a really positive thing because it creates a lot of positive social interaction. Right now it’s really hard, though, for anyone to stay motivated, whether they’re student-athletes or the average person. It’s difficult to stay engaged in activity when you can’t be around people to do it.”
Green will continue to run with partners, which technically one can do while maintaining 6 feet of separation, but notes that coaches were instructed by the school system not to encourage any group activity, even in pairs. For adults, one alternative that he sees as providing some appeal is fitness apps that offer live, trainer-led running classes. But, he adds, “if you’re someone who likes going out and running with a group of running partners, you’re pretty much shit out of luck.”
The fitness portion of the CDC’s advice on “Things you can do to support yourself” says, in total, “Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.”
In Madison and elsewhere, studios are experimenting with video conferencing alternatives such as Zoom for sharing fitness classes with members at home. YouTube is overflowing with home workouts, and the latest can be accessed now that most big-city papers have dropped their paywalls to provide free coronavirus coverage. For example, the Boston Globe has gathered links to some popular free online workout videos, though my personal favorite is a days-old story touting a Coronavirus Workout that has already swept, virus-like, through every newsroom in Australia. The story features “Canberra-based personal trainer Jenna Louise,” who recommends substituting canned goods for dumbbells and offers a listing of dozens of upper-body, lower-body and core exercises that together add up to a 75-minute daily workout. It’s OK, it’s looking like we have the time.
And there’s no telling whether this is a one-, two- or even three-plus-month hiatus from playing or watching sports, hot yoga or spinning. If March Madness gives way to April and May Madness, what then? If the past week is any indication, the future will provide even more opportunities for intense and demanding supermarket-based workouts.
“Everybody’s freaking out about the virus, but then 10,000 people jam into Costco or Walmart for a case of water, right? That makes no sense to me,” Kolodziej says. “You’re panicking for goods or supplies, and getting into closer contact and touching more things with more people than a gym. That’s kind of the irony to me, that you see these massive lines at Costco but the gym’s unsafe.”
