The gym closures due to COVID happened more swiftly than I expected. One day I’m at our local 24-hour Goodlife doing the usual routine – socially distanced, of course. The next day I’m facing a locked door.
But rather than panic, my son and I immediately went into planning mode.
Some months ago, Adam had spotted an old barbell and some rusty plates at the back of the garage. At the time, both of us had access to the latest equipment, so there was no need to get our hands dirty and haul it out. Now these ‘cast offs’ from another era would become the foundation of our home training.
I had purchased the equipment back in the 1980s to work out in mom and dad’s wood-panelled Scarborough basement. Yes, I know I’m feeding into a stereotype.
With my hand-built bench press, chin-up bar and some mixed tapes featuring the likes of Max Webster, Rush, Van Halen, and Dire Straits, I was well on my way to becoming the next Mr. Olympia.
Since then, this vintage stash has followed me from house to house, and has been gathering dust and cobwebs since we moved to Aurora in 2005.
So I sent Adam behind the stacks of tires to pull everything out and clean it off. We added a few items already in our possession: dumbbells, a heavy bag, and a couple of recently-purchased kettlebells. The result shared no resemblance to LA Fitness, but was still decent effort for a low-budget garage gym.
The next day, I went to our local Canadian Tire to score a few more plates – but the shelves were bare. It seems a few others had the same idea. This COVID self-quarantine may last for a few months, and home workout gear has become the new toilet paper.
So we’re going to make the best of what we have, and get pumped – ‘old school’. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neil Moore is a freelance journalist, masters athlete, and family man who believes that excellence has no expiry date. That being said, Neil is not a medical doctor. This blog is for informational purposes only and is no substitute for professional medical advice.
Comments