Gym closures frustrate fitness lovers in Quebec, but Health Ministry says they're necessary for now

The Quebec government is loosening some rules next week, letting people swim at indoor pools or skate in arenas, but those looking to pump iron or ride a stationary bike alongside strangers are out of luck if they live in a red zone.

Gyms are staying closed for now and that has plenty of gym owners, and gym lovers, up in arms as they say exercise is a key to happiness for those who long to once again get their sweat on.

"The gym is the only place I can give myself a moment, just for me. I don't have to be a mom, a girlfriend, an employee. It's my 'me' time," said Anna-Maria Lisa Bilodeau.

So the 56-year-old has found an alternative in the interim. She has been running the streets of downtown Montreal during her lunch break to keep up her calorie-burning routine while she waits for gyms to reopen.

But that might be a while yet.

Wearing a mask while working out isn't recommended and people move around a lot in a gym, increasing the risk of transmission, says Quebec's Health Ministry in a statement.

The government is striving to protect the health network from being overrun by too many COVID-19 patients and is particularly concerned about the arrival of new variants of the disease, the statement says.

Loosening of some restrictions are aimed at giving people some relief during March break.

Gym operators demand answers

Gym owner Nick Trainor fails to see the logic in the ministry's decision.

"It's tough to understand the choices that they're making," he said. "They don't give us any feedback as to why they're making that choice. It doesn't seem like they're consulting anyone from the gym world."

Trainor said he and other owners have put measures in place to follow public health guidelines and keep their gyms safe.

Gabriel Hardy, Quebec head the Fitness Industry Council of Canada, also questions the government's motivation for keeping gyms closed.

He said the benefits of keeping fit "largely outweigh the risks when they are supervised correctly."

After gyms in Quebec's red zones were shuttered a second time in October, a coalition of yoga studios, gyms and other centres threatened to reopen regardless of the restrictions. 

The coalition demanded proof that gyms serve as a public health risk during the pandemic.

There were some fringe cases of gyms staying open or reopening in protest, but authorities were quick to step in and shut them down.

Exercise increases transmission risk, experts say

Gyms, even with strict measures in place, are not immune to outbreaks. One example of a large-scale outbreak took place in Ontario back in October.

The superspreader even unfolded at a downtown Hamilton Spinco location.

It was linked to at least 69 cases of COVID-19, despite screening customers, operating at 50 per cent capacity and keeping the recommended two-metre radius around bikes.

High-impact activity leads to heavier breathing, which means droplets are being expelled from peoples' mouths at an accelerated rate.

Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, likens it to throwing a ball: the harder you throw, the further it goes. 

"We still don't have a perfect understanding of this," he said. 

"But we do know that when people are exercising vigorously, the volume and distance of what comes out of their mouth and their lungs is dramatically different than when somebody is speaking [at a normal volume]."