Since COVID I have lost two of my favorite places to exercise.

[rzemanfl]

One of them, which had a largely older clientele, never reopened after COVID. The other, a YMCA which was about half an hour away, that I used mostly in the winter, had an indoor pool, hot tubs, steam room, sauna, gym, racquetball and basketball courts, etc. It never returned to profitability after COVID and was sold. It will become a school for autistic children. If you belong to a facility you like, visit it, even if you are reluctant to participate in programs right now. If you pay for your membership, keep paying, if you have Silver Sneakers, drop by frequently, even if you don't do a lot while you're there. I plan to get to my nearby Y frequently. I swim more than any other form of exercise and feel pretty safe at an outdoor pool in the summer.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. That's awful.

I swim laps at a Community Pool about 5 minutes from my home. I’ve been going there for at least ten years. It’s part of the school system so even though you pay to swim there, they get funding from the school system. They also accept Silver Sneakers. It’s a great place, I love it there, and I would be lost if they ever closed.

I wish every community had a place like this. It’s such a positive experience for us to get some exercise and meet likeminded people.

[rzemanfl]

2. A high school and the Y share the pool and gym I go to regularly.

The pool is outdoors, but because it is in Florida, thunderstorms are more of an issue than cold weather. When I started swimming laps again about eight years ago, they were the first since Kennedy was President. It took a lot of work, but I was swimming pretty well before COVID hit. I had to have surgery last winter for a herniated disk and am working on getting my distance back up to what it used to be. I always consider my age cohort, most men who are almost 75 swim zero yards a day, so anything is better than that. I would like to get back to doing a mile a couple of times a week before fall.

[Diamond_Dog]

4. Every little bit helps.

I’m 65 and can say I have almost no arthritis and feel soooo much better when I swim regularly. And at my pool they have arthritis water exercise classes for the folks who are challenged with it. Down to the last person everyone there will tell you how beneficial the water is. My husband is 74 and he goes to a different pool to swim and he can do rings around me. Nice to speak with a fellow pool lover!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. The gym we go to accepts Silver Sneakers.

We go 3 to 4 days per week. Just 2 miles from our house. Plenty of treadmills, Elipticals, stationary bike, machines, stations, etc. A place where boby builders work out.

The local Y closed as well. Not profitable enough. Plus, the workout room was small and the stations and machines, limited. Multi levels just does not cut it, and the pool was on the other side of the Building.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. Two Ys have closed in my area within the last 7 or so years.

It’s a shame.

[ReluctanceTango]

6. We used to have a great gym a couple of blocks from our house

But they closed and went across town.

I hated the idea having to drive x miles to get to a decent gym, so I let them cancel my membership when they moved. Unfortunately, I've had no luck finding a replacement. A good gym is not a common thing. Not for curvy women like me. We get treated like primordial ooze when we show up at the usual fitness center. Hate that.

I'm saving up to get a stationary bike for home, since it's too damned hot too much of the year in Texas to ride outdoors. I'd love to make use of our school district community pool center, $4/visit, pay as you go, but as long as COVID is on the loose, I can't risk that.

I could pay the membership fee for our tiny neighborhood swimming pool only a block from my house, but it's open only Memorial Day to Labor Day. I guess $50 a month to swim at a place close to home that is empty more often than not, and that I could use as much as I want, wouldn't be a bad deal...if our finances weren't a bit strapped right now. Maybe if my husband gets a good raise this year...