The Scariant is Here

ALL THE CANUCKS HAVE IT! IT IS MORE CONTAGIOUS! IT EFFECTS YOUNG PEOPLE!

Whew! What a week of headlines. Yes, COVID cases are up. Yes, there are some new variants causing concern. Yes, after more than a year of pandemic news and even with the vaccine roll out, it feels like the world just took a turn for the worse.

Blame it on the weather. Mr. Fantastic says that worldwide pandemic modelling shows that COVID transmission drops in warm weather but is especially high in cold dry weather. And we have had an unseasonably cold spring. Last year sunshine and shorts and days spent in the park, this week scraping frost off the car windows at 7am. Hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll see a transition into more spring-like weather and a concurrent decline in COVID transmissions.

Hopefully the world doesn’t descend into panic and despair before then. Dr. Henry is facing a lot of political pressure to put forward a stay at home order. She is resisting but for how long?

I’m not a pandemic alarmist. I now know a lot of people who have tested positive (no, I’m not in contact with them, I have no social life outside of the gym – not pandemic related), including people in high risk and vulnerable populations. Their symptoms have ranged from very mild to none. I know, COVID is killing people. But a lot of people – 100% of the small sample I personally know – are recovering.

The new variants seem to be targeting 20-39 year olds, once again missing our Empower demographic. But don’t let that make you careless. I understand very little about viral age targeting but if I were to offer a hypothesis I would suggest that the apparent age selection process at play has less to do with how old you are and more to do with your lifestyle choices. I suspect people ages 40-60 are probably being more careful, are more likely to be getting vaccinated and are less likely to be socializing with folks outside their bubble at restaurants or attending parties in Whistler.

So whatever your age, you need to continue to curtail your social activities and continue to practice due diligence in your now long practiced ant-viral habits. And try to remain calm. We still haven’t seen major cases of transmission inside of a Vancouver gym but we do not want to be the first one so please carry on with all COVID protocols. We are about the only gym in the city with windows that open so wide. We are also about the only gym in the city to request members wear masks while working out. We’ve gotten a lot of flak for it. In fact, we have in recent months lost members both because we were criticized for too much mask wearing AND because we were told we weren’t wearing enough masks! We still believe a little extra precaution may be mildly uncomfortable but hurts no one so we appreciate your cooperation in continuing to use masks while in the gym.

(Please note that we do have a small group of members with other health conditions that make wearing a mask unsafe for them. They already feel self conscious enough. Please don’t ask or comment. And please do not adopt the role of COVID vigilante and try to enforce mask wearing – true story!)

Be Calm. Be Kind. Be Respectful.

What if they shut the city down again? I guess we’ll have to resort to our Lending Lottery list. Members who joined after the Lending Lottery will get the first right to request equipment at the mandatory 2 week turn over. No new barbells will be leaving the gym.

I understand that these are worrying times but I also believe that if we continue to observe safe behaviour we will be able to continue training without putting each other at risk. With numbers up throughout Vancouver some of you will come into contact with the virus. It is almost unavoidable. Please remember to remain home if you or any family member exhibits symptoms and alert us immediately if anyone in your household tests positive. We just re-upped our Zoom contract so Zoom workouts will continue to be available for those of you concerned about attending in person. And start lining up for your shot at the vaccine.

You do not need to be afraid to take precautions. And when you take precautions, you do not need to be afraid.

Friday Make Up Day

1) 10 rounds
30 sec burpees
90 sec rest

2) 10 Rounds
100m Sprint
90 sec rest

3) Overhead squat
3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

4) 6 Rounds
2 Rope Clmbs
10 Ring Dips
12 GHD Sit-ups

5) OS Reset #8
1 min Belly Breathing Any Position
30 sec Head Nods On Hands And Knees
30 sec Head Rotations On Hands And Knees