Gyms are closed nationwide — and may not reopen for months — as the coronavirus pandemic steamrolls into towns. Amazon’s shipment dates on free weights are a month long, not to mention the prices are astronomical as demand surges with people working out from home.
Don’t be discouraged though, there are still great ways to stay healthy. And keeping your immune system in tip top shape is more critical than ever before if one wants to ward off the deadly coronavirus (though nothing could truly contain in). The CEO of privately held health club Life Time Fitness, Bahram Akradi, tells Yahoo Finance health must be one of your key focuses right now — as important as finding a camera to make Zoom video calls for work from a home office.
“As for advice I have right now, it’s to do at least 20 to 30 minutes of moderate exercise. That helps your immune system. Also eat healthy and stay away from packaged foods, and stay away from anything that causes inflammation. Inflammation is the enemy,” Akradi said on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.
So that means no cans of Coca-Cola and Hershey chocolate — rather more water and salads. Sucks, but it has to be done amidst this pandemic.
Life Time Fitness — bought out by a consortium of private equity firms led by Leonard Green in 2015 — operates 150 high-end clubs spanning 30 states. They are all currently closed due to new state requirements aimed at flattening the coronavirus curve. Akradi isn’t sure when gyms will be allowed to reopen. But with smaller gym chains under severe financial stress amid the closures, there could be a major shakeout on the horizon.
Akradi remains hopeful most gyms will survive.
“First of all, I hope that none of the gym operators will lose their business from small to mid-size. This is not a way that I would ever want to win. This is not a good outcome. We do not want to come of this and have 10% to 15% of the people losing their businesses. This is not good for the economy overall,” said Akradi.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
