The pandemic has helped wither the flood of self-flagellating gym selfies on Instagram for months now, in part because the backdrops to those heavily hashtagged images remain closed — at least still here in San Francisco. But recently, San Francisco allowed outdoor workout classes to resume, offering a semblance of pre-pandemic fitness training — sans those well-lit abdominal pictures and the tone-deaf inspirational captions that generally saddle them.
Sign up for The Bold Italic newsletter to get the best of the Bay Area in your inbox every week.
Being The Bold Italic’s perpetual guinea pig (with a proclivity for exercising), I took it upon myself to head out and see just what group workout classes look like amid a respiratory virus–spurred pandemic. TLDR: Expect a lot of spacing, and wear a breathable face mask. I also rounded up where you can take one of your own, below.
But first, my experience.
Quite a few boutique fitness studios are offering these approved workouts. After sorting through some of the available local options — Dryft, OaR Outdoors, The Boombox — I chose a $25 7 a.m. HIIT boot camp at Dolores Park organized by 17th Street Athletics.
I chose an early class as an excuse to wake up with the sun; I’ve adopted a bad habit of repeatedly snoozing my alarm over the past few months. I also had to move my Prius before 10:00 that morning or I’d be issued a street-sweeping citation.
Like a hesitant waddle of emperor penguins, each of us took to one of the now-famous circles painted on the park’s grounds.
At the intersection of Dolores and 19th streets, I rendezvoused with certified personal trainer and studio manager Laura Stronach, who would lead the eventual class of five fitness habitués. The skies were overcast, familiarly clouded. It was this aforementioned kinetic chill that brought to my attention I’d forgotten to don underwear before scurrying out the door, that same cool air nipping at my private bits. I prayed to the high power I still struggle to believe in that the class wouldn’t necessitate any long lower-body lunges and stretches — both of which could provoke unintended flashings.
I quelled my anxieties and consciously clenched my legs tight before picking Stronach’s ear on the current state of fitness.
“We’re slowly getting up to speed again and adapting to what we can do, like these outdoor classes,” she said. “People are itching to get back to their normal gym routines for the sake of both their mental and physical health.”
Exercise is considered a nearly essential tool for helping bolster mental health during the pandemic. A recent study in Cambridge Open Engage found that adults who partook in some sort of daily outdoor physical activity (walking, running, etc.) reduced their rates of depression by a third and increased their levels of mental resilience by some 40%.
“I hear from people all the time in these classes how much they appreciate being able to have some kind of normal life back in their routine, safely,” Stronach said through her low-slung bandana before four others joined us. “Because these outdoor classes don’t use much equipment and are set in places where people can actively social distance, it really isn’t more ‘risky’ than going to Trader Joe’s.”
After friendly introductions, our group took a socially distanced run, all of us trailing one another from six feet behind. My Tarahumara huaraches slapped the concrete in an embarrassingly loud fashion, which eventually let up when our small class took to the level grass in Dolores Park. Like a hesitant waddle of emperor penguins, each of us took to one of the now-famous circles painted on the park’s grounds. Then Stronach led us through myriad HIIT exercises.
“Don’t worry about getting your clothes wet,” she said, responding to the fact that we were doing mountain climbers and crunches on grass slicked with morning dew. “You’re going to get sweaty anyway.”
I was also elated to find a workaround to exposing my genitals to the general public: pointing my body and conducting the workouts in an opposing direction to the present throngs of people. It was during this episode of problem-solving that I took note of just how crowded Dolores Park was with other workout classes.
A boxing class took to the area just outside the Mission Dolores tennis courts; people contorting their torsos in yoga positions populated the field around the Miguel Hidalgo statue; another collection of human beings pranced down nearby steps, panting all the while.
More than a few friendly dogs managed to escape their well-meaning handlers and interrupt those pursuits — including ours. One curious shepherd mix by the name of Mindy nuzzled my armpit while I was doing bench dips; what could only be described as a creature crossed between a shih tzu and a golden hamster sniffed my empty pockets during a set of single-leg lunges.
The class’s 50 minutes of strength and endurance training crescendoed into one final round of pushups, which ended in a breathless pause before we nursed our individual water bottles. We quickly rehydrated ourselves and soon collected in an ordered, well-spaced formation to convivially wax on our weeks and fitness itself.
“It’s so nice that we can do these things now,” Sophia L., a class member clad in head-to-toe Lululemon and self-described Burning Man veteran — it’s San Francisco, after all — said to the group. “Sure, it’s not the same as being inside the studio, but it feels good to do workout classes again. I feel like something I love is coming back into my routine. Now I’ve just got to find a Pilates class!”
So, if you’ve been itching to have (face-masked) witnesses to your fitness again, go for it—invite some pre-Covid-19 normalcy back into your life. But just make sure you wear a breathable face covering and stay six feet apart from your fellow classmates during your group workout of choice.
To save you from tedious Google searches, here’s a list of some of our favorite fitness studios currently offering outdoor workout classes in the Bay Area.
A HIIT endurance and strength-training outdoor gym that uses both cycling and oar equipment to get your heart going. (Justin Spence, the business’s owner and lead fitness instructor, passed away earlier this month. His mother is taking over OaR Outdoors; you can email her dr.abigailcrine@gmail.com for updates.)
Though it’ll continue to offer its Zoom classes, mobile fitness studio Dryft has recently started offering in-person HIIT classes at Marina Green on Saturdays. The small amount of equipment, like resistance bands, used during each class is disinfected after each session.
The Boombox is hosting six-person classes at Dolores Park and Keizer Stadium throughout the week. The 45-minute classes incorporate full-body exercises without the use of weights or other equipment. Evening classes are held at Keizer Stadium; morning classes will be conducted at Dolores Park.
Seasoned fitness expert Coach B is taking his lauded Zoom classes and molding them into in-person boot camp classes held at Dolores Park.
Synonymous with sunrise sessions and beachside meditations, Outdoor Yoga SF is again in full swing, offering limited-size group classes at Ocean Beach, Crissy Field, and “one more location” it’ll be “announcing soon.” Book your spot early if you want to save some green—a small portion of tickets for each class are offered at $10 a pop.
This fitness studio offers a rarity during these pandemic times: CrossFit-style workouts. These “open personal workouts” can be done at your own pace, so there’s no pressure to keep up with the Olympian to your left.
With classes capped at a dozen people and cleaning supplies provided — which can be used to disinfect provided dumbbells or kettlebells or your own equipment — Urban Fitness Oakland is offering 45-minute HIIT workouts at Jack London Square and in North Oakland. Curious patrons can sign up for a free trial class.
Sans in-person sessions at its Mission District studio, 17th Street Athletic Club’s HIIT boot camp classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at Dolores Park and Twin Peaks. Like all of the classes on this list, face coverings and social distancing are required. Note: Communal park equipment, like benches, will be used for some of the exercises, so make sure not to touch your face after using them.
North Berkley’s foremost yoga studio, YogaKula is now offering in-person classes Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at nearby Oak Park. BYOM (bring your own mat), water bottles, and other niceties. These outside classes are designed to accommodate all skill levels.
