The Truth About Gyms, Unmasked
Our New Cardio Confidential Columnist Explores Santa Barbara’s Fitness Scene
Here’s an embarrassing confession: I suffer from a bad case of quarantine competitiveness.
When acquaintances announced they’d written books during lockdown, I felt inadequate — I could barely keep up with my day job, let alone take up a side project. I also found myself mystified — and frankly a bit ticked off — by people who had time during quarantine to bake bread, master a musical instrument, and allegedly stream all of Netflix.
On the other hand, I am proud to say that I have not spent the past two years in sweatpants, and I managed to avoid putting on “the COVID 15” by ordering takeout sparingly and continuing to exercise. The latter was a challenge, since I was in the gym five days a week before the pandemic, for group fitness offerings from weight training to hip-hop dance to yoga. My home office, which doubled as my work-from-home office, also became my workout studio — complete with weights, foam roller, and even a portable ballet barre — where I streamed both live online classes and on-demand workouts.
