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Here ice skating rinks are closed (outdoor-only ones are open to a maximum of four 12 year olds on the entire rink at once, it's fucking absurd). I've not skat

Here ice skating rinks are closed (outdoor-only ones are open to a maximum of four 12 year olds on the entire rink at once, it's fucking absurd). I've not skated in seven months. My weight is stable thankfully because I spent 400 bucks buying a VR system and beat saber, not all my (mostly younger) skating fellows can afford that luxury. Running is out of the question, and gym at home is awfully boring. Point is, do not just assume people will "find other ways to exercise". Sports centers should be considered health necessities, not recreational, in the context of the current pandemic.

brianwawok 6y ago
Well, exercise isn’t how you control weight. Weight control is just eating less calories than you burn. Exercise less, eat less, and your weight stays the same. Trust me I love exercise. I am a running nut. I do anything I can to help bike trails get made. But keeping skating rinks close to stop the spread of a pandemic seems pretty reasonable, and I would support it.
- scrollaway 6y ago
  Rinks are extremely safe. They are air conditioned, filtered. In Belgium, there have been zero recorded infections from the rinks across all of last year when they were still open - limited attendance, masks, etc. For comparison, swimming pools are open. Their showers aren't, though. Something about it not being safe, so instead people don't soap up before getting into the pool. It's gross, idiotic and all in the name of COVID. There's a lot of these absurdities going on, it's pretty easy to find them if you look. It happens, of course.. but it is demoralizing. I'd invite you to consider how you would feel if your local government closed everywhere in the country where you could run. Closing off not just your sport, but your psychological break from the world. Your mental pillar. Back in winter when the lakes froze, our equivalent of the parks service decided people skating outdoors, on lakes, was a COVID risk and forbade it. Even some of our official experts called it an absurd move. And no, exercising less has had a pretty bad effect on my body, regardless of what I eat. My core and leg muscles are not doing well after 7 months not getting their daily routines on the ice, and I simply don't burn passively as much as I used to, despite doing what I can at home. To be honest, as someone who struggled with weight most of my entire life and only got it under control after two decades thanks to those rinks, I find it pretty off-putting the way you're implying how simple it is to control weight. Maybe for you it is, but one look at obesity rates unveils the truth for most people.

brianwawok 6y ago

Well, exercise isn’t how you control weight. Weight control is just eating less calories than you burn. Exercise less, eat less, and your weight stays the same. Trust me I love exercise. I am a running nut. I do anything I can to help bike trails get made. But keeping skating rinks close to stop the spread of a pandemic seems pretty reasonable, and I would support it.

scrollaway 6y ago
Rinks are extremely safe. They are air conditioned, filtered. In Belgium, there have been zero recorded infections from the rinks across all of last year when they were still open - limited attendance, masks, etc. For comparison, swimming pools are open. Their showers aren't, though. Something about it not being safe, so instead people don't soap up before getting into the pool. It's gross, idiotic and all in the name of COVID. There's a lot of these absurdities going on, it's pretty easy to find them if you look. It happens, of course.. but it is demoralizing. I'd invite you to consider how you would feel if your local government closed everywhere in the country where you could run. Closing off not just your sport, but your psychological break from the world. Your mental pillar. Back in winter when the lakes froze, our equivalent of the parks service decided people skating outdoors, on lakes, was a COVID risk and forbade it. Even some of our official experts called it an absurd move. And no, exercising less has had a pretty bad effect on my body, regardless of what I eat. My core and leg muscles are not doing well after 7 months not getting their daily routines on the ice, and I simply don't burn passively as much as I used to, despite doing what I can at home. To be honest, as someone who struggled with weight most of my entire life and only got it under control after two decades thanks to those rinks, I find it pretty off-putting the way you're implying how simple it is to control weight. Maybe for you it is, but one look at obesity rates unveils the truth for most people.