Christy Ryan, an urgent-care doctor in Denver, would have balked at the idea of seeing a patient right after a sweaty workout not too long ago. But her new normal involves finishing a high-intensity interval-training class online, then jumping right to a telemedicine chat.
Dr. Ryan had been working 35 to 50 hours every two weeks. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, she took on an additional 20 to 30 hours of telemedicine, in addition to her two shifts at an urgent-care facility.
Despite the longer hours, she has been exercising more than ever. Dr. Ryan, who is 52, used to take classes at Compass Fitness Denver three or four days a week. When the gym closed in mid-March, the co-owner, Heather Harrington, launched free classes on Facebook Live. Now, Dr. Ryan is taking one or more classes six days a week.
Dr. Ryan says free classes from her gym, Compass Fitness Denver, on Facebook Live have kept her motivated during the pandemic.
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“It’s easier to work out when you remove the time constraints of commuting to and from the gym and shuttling your kids to sports practice,” says Dr. Ryan, whose two sons are 15 and 16. “And there’s no stress to arrive early to get a space in class when you just log into Facebook.” Initially, she was doing three workouts a day on her days off. “I’d be so sore,” she says. “I had to remind myself not to overdo it.”
A creature of habit, Dr. Ryan would normally snag a place next to the same people in class. Now, they occasionally Zoom during workouts. “You forget how much you miss seeing people you really don’t know outside of the gym until you don’t see them for two months,” she says. “This has let me feel connected to my gym community.”
Compass Fitness Denver reopens June 8. Ms. Harrington says it will offer classes of 10 or fewer people and practice social distancing and EPA-recommended cleaning procedures. Dr. Ryan says she plans to return, but will continue with online classes while the gym works out new protocols.
Dr. Ryan doesn’t need to mop the floors when she adds mountain climbers with dish towels to her workout.
Photo: David Clifford for The Wall Street JournalThe Workout
Dr. Ryan follows an hourlong online workout at 9:15 a.m. Instructors have been getting creative with household items. For example, Dr. Ryan recently found herself doing plank tucks with dish towels beneath her feet so that she could slide her knees to her chest. “My hardwood floors have never been so clean,” she says. She might fill a backpack with books and perform squats and lunges. She has found herself doing biceps curls and overhead presses with bottles of wine.
The only piece of equipment she has bought is a mini trampoline so she can participate in rebounding classes online. “I used to want to run every day, but my knees can’t take it, so the tramp is a great alternative,” she says. “It’s super hard but low-impact.” The 45-minute class might include squat jumps, lunges where you alternate stepping one leg off the back of the trampoline and plank hops where your hands rest on the rim of the trampoline and you jump your legs right to left in plank pose.
Once a week she does a HIIT + Run class, which involves 30 minutes of high-intensity interval strength training with 30 minutes of running. Dr. Ryan doesn’t have a treadmill at home, so she runs up and down her street or her stairs.
Dr. Ryan performs lunges on her mini trampoline.
Photo: David Clifford for The Wall Street JournalDr. Ryan also runs 4 to 5 miles three days a week at Washington Park, near her home. She wears a bandanna around her neck and pulls it up when she sees people approaching. She can save classes on Facebook Live to follow later in the day and occasionally takes a yoga class at day’s end.
Her husband, Dave Ryan, is the chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado. He has been working from home but getting out almost daily to bike. Her sons, a fencer and diver, have been doing home workouts. The family has even hung a pull-up bar in the pantry doorway. “Every time anyone goes in for a snack, they have to do a pull-up,” she says. Her boys enjoy knocking out five at a time just to show up their parents. Dr. Ryan could do two pull-ups in March. She is now up to three.
The Diet
Dr. Ryan typically makes a protein shake or avocado toast for breakfast, but says with her boys home, the family has been indulging in eggs and french toast a few mornings a week. She grazes on yogurt, fruit and almonds throughout the afternoon. Now that the weather is warming up, the family is grilling more. Dinner might be grilled chicken with sweet potato fries and green beans. “The four of us have sat down together for dinner more in the last two months than we have in the last two years,” she says.
Dr. Ryan wears a weighted backpack during a backyard workout with her dog, Cody.
Photo: David Clifford for The Wall Street JournalThe Gear and Cost
Dr. Ryan spent $300 on her mini trampoline. She is a fan of Asics Gel-Kayano sneakers ($160) and wears apparel from Athleta and Lululemon. She uses her Apple Watch to track her metrics and wears AirPods ($160) when she runs. Her gym membership costs $143 a month and includes access to up to 15 classes a month. Facebook classes are free to gym members. Since she has been averaging more than 15 classes a month she has been paying extra each month as a gesture of appreciation.
Workouts on her mini trampoline have become Dr. Ryan’s low-impact alternative to running.
Photo: David Clifford for The Wall Street JournalThe Playlist
Dr. Ryan says podcasts like “The Hidden Brain” from NPR, “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text,” and the true-crime series “Dirty John” distract her from the monotony of running.
Exercising Online
Parks and gyms are slowly reopening. But if you feel more comfortable at home, fitness classes streamed on video platforms like Zoom or Facebook Live can provide motivation. They can approximate the sense of camaraderie, competition and accountability you would typically get from the gym, says Carol Ewing Garber, director of the graduate program in applied physiology at Columbia University Teachers College.
If you pay for a class and sign up, you are more likely to attend the class, even if it is virtual, she says. “It’s also helpful to have some social interactions at this time,” she says. “Social isolation can lead to apathy and depression, which make it even harder to exercise.”
If you are working out intensely, your muscles need some time to repair, Dr. Ewing Garber says. Consider building in a rest day or easy workouts. “If you’re the type of person who needs to work out daily, cross-training can be helpful, allowing you to exercise every day without overdoing it,” she says.
Setting a schedule and sticking with it will help create routine. And don’t feel as if you have to do an hour-long workout. Dr. Ewing Garber says mini workouts of 10 to 15 minutes sprinkled throughout the day should feel doable and can be just as effective.
Write to Jen Murphy at workout@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Christy Ryan is a doctor. An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to her as a nurse. (Corrected on June 7, 2020.)
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