As of today’s date (June 2020), the COVID-19 pandemic is slowly abating. Countries and locales are gradually opening back up, performing a delicate balancing act between public health and local economies.
One place you are probably eagerly anticipating returning to is your local gym, but not no fast soldier. Before thinking about setting foot into a gym again, you need to ensure that you have your ducks in a row. The pandemic is NOT over by a long haul, even though things may be looking better in the short term.
So what should you do? Continue to atrophy from lack of physical activity? Not necessarily. But you can safeguard yourself and others around you by acting smart. Well timed supplements and other essentials can mean the difference between life returning to normal in a jiffy, or having to endure restrictions for many more months to come.
Consider these your post-quarantine essential list. Don’t risk your health without them.
Face Masks
Not surprisingly, many gyms that are opened or in the process of opening over the next week or two are making it mandatory for you to don the accessory that had defined the year 2020; your friend in safety, a mask.
We previously discussed the merits of the different types of masks, and owing to the fact that the pandemic is not fully over, and because there may still be many asymptomatic people in the gym at any one time, you should still opt for the one that provides maximum protection- the KN95/N95/P2.
Other options include surgical masks and cloth masks, although their protection lies on a sliding scale. Wearing a mask, however, does pose its fair share of challenges, with the major one being difficulty breathing during heavy perceived exertion. For this reason, be sure to take sufficient rest periods and ease up on the gas until you are comfortable with breathing.
Vitamin C
If you had difficulty in finding vitamin C supplements for purchase over the last two months, you probably understand why. Although it does not definitely prevent any illness, it does possess real benefits for your immune system.
For instance, it reduces inflammation[i]bags, pockets, and everywhere else. In the gym, this is going to be much more important. In a confined space where multiple people will be handling the same equipment and weights, you need to ensure that you sterilize both before and after use.
To effectively deactivate the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, the hand sanitiser product you use should contain at a minimum 62% ethanol[vi]
