The Gym Is Closed Till 30 April

Infographic: The Straits Times, 24 March 2020.

It’s not unexpected that last night, Virgin Active suddenly announced full closure across its six clubs with immediate effect till 30 April. Although the government hadn’t ordered gyms and fitness studios to close (yet), Virgin Active elected to do so. Bars, cinemas and entertainment outlets are to shut their doors at 1159hrs tonight till 30 April. Even religious services are suspended. Sport Singapore has already announced a halt to all sporting events till 30 April too.

We had an inkling that this would happen to Virgin Active. This is a necessary closure. They were pretty laissez-faire about it when the news of COVID-19 broke in January. Too British. From all leaked emails and photos, they weren't taking it seriously even when the other gyms and yoga studios did so. Till two members tested positive for the virus, then the gym scrambled to put in place precautionary measures, and answered the members' call to do the right thing of removing strikes from canceled classes and allowing a longer freeze of memberships. From the social distancing practices that the gym finally adopted, they downsized the capacity of each class, and did away with some altogether. With a month’s clousre now, I hope the full-time and long-term part-time trainers are being treated fairly, and not be too badly hit pay-wise.

I’m glad to have gotten in one last class at the Reformer studio before the closure announcement was made the same night. At the Reformer studio, it was refreshing to see so much space in class. From 18 Reformers, there were only a total of 11 Reformers — 10 members and 1 instructor made for a very comfortable session. Ah well. #SocialDistancing

I’ll really miss the LES MILLS GRIT™ Strength classes. The gym pushes me to include HIIT as part of the exercise regime. There’s motivation. Now, I need to get some self-discipline going to up the heart rate somehow without going to classes. There's LES MILLS On Demand, but without purchasing the SmartBar and weight plates, I can't replicate Grit Strength. I can only do Grit Cardio and Grit Athletic. Which works, I suppose.

My pilates and gyrotonic studios are still in operation. I’m thankful for that. Gyrotonic will still work on flexibility, but the pilates classes could up its intensity to make it tougher in order to do strength training. These studios try their best to keep the classes small, and environment super clean. Equipment are all dutifully wiped down. My one-on-one classes should be able continue, pending stricter restrictions. I need them to continue. I’ll go batshit crazy without these classes.

Faced with the possibility of 200,000 returning Singaporeans over these two weeks, soaring numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 39,000 already issued with Stay-Home Notices, we can’t help but hunker down. The statistics are frightening. Science doesn't lie. This is crunch time. We’re essentially in lockdown mode, but it isn’t a full lockdown yet. This is pretty much DORSCON RED except the government isn’t declaring it as such. Restaurants are open, along with  the supermarkets, pharmacies and providers of essential services. Work goes on, but livelihoods for many have been smashed. People who live from paycheck to paycheck are already in panic mode. I pray that each resident in Singapore find strength within to fulfil our part so that our brave and dedicated frontline workers remain safe. I pray that we can maintain status quo and see a silver lining come May.