Flu Prevention at the Health Club

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Jon Gestl

Flu Prevention at the Health Club
By: Jon Gestl
Health Clubs exist to make people, well… healthier. Take preventive measures to reduce the spread of colds and flu in your club. Let your members go home healthier than when they arrived and not vice versa.

Editor's Note:

Any venue where a lot of people come together and touch common items beyond doorknobs such as the handles on cardio and strength machines, there is a higher risk of spreading the flu. Some quick tips to prevent the spread of flu in your Fitness Center:

Encourage your members to get immunized for everyone's benefit
Offer your facility to Visiting Nurses to administer flu shots
Generous locations of sanitizer dispensers throughout your gym
Post signage to have members please stay at home if their sick
Post signage to sneeze into their elbow and not their hands
A real full court press to encourage members to wipe down cardio equipment and strength machines, even if they're not sweating.
Your staff is particularly at risk, encourage them to wash their hands several times a day and to form a habit to not touch their face with their hands.

Health officials' warning this month of a potentially harsh flu season should be a red flag to avid aerobic-bunnies and gym-jocks alike. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warn that the flu is transmitted when flu virus in the air is inhaled after an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks.

Transmission also occurs when a person touches a surface that has flu virus on it and then touches his or her nose or mouth. Those familiar with the typical health club milieu, then, can easily liken a workout in the gym to sitting in a veritable Petry dish.

Heavy-breathing members on closely-placed cardiovascular machines and in crowded group fitness classes, hundreds of kinds of shared equipment from dumbbells and weight plates to public restrooms and the corner water fountain provide countless opportunities for contact with the flu virus. So, short of members ditching their fitness goals until mid-Spring, it would do us well to learn more about the flu, it's prevention, and what we can do about it.

A new habit like sneezing into your elbow instead of your hands will go a long way to reducing the spread of flu in your gym

What is the Flu?

The flu, or influenza, is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus. It attacks the respiratory tract in humans (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu is different from a cold; it usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms:

Fever
Headache
Tiredness (can be extreme)
Dry cough
Sore Throat
Nasal congestion
Body aches

Historically, about 10% to 20% of U.S. residents will get the flu each year. Among these persons infected, an average of 36,000 will die, and 114,000 will be hospitalized.

Although the CDC claims it is not possible to accurately predict the severity of the flu season, this year's early incidence of seasonal flu strain is historically associated with a more severe flu season, including higher numbers of related hospitalizations and deaths.

Who is at Risk?

Although anyone can get the flu, including individuals who are healthy, there are various groups who are at higher risk for complications. These high risk groups include:

persons aged > 50 years;
residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that house persons of any age who have long-term illnesses;
adults and children > 6 months of age who have chronic heart or lung conditions, including asthma;
adults and children > 6 months of age who need regular medical care or had to be in a hospital because of metabolic diseases (like diabetes), chronic kidney disease, or weakened immune system (including immune system problems caused by medicine or by infection with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV/AIDS]);
children and teenagers (aged 6 months to 18 years) who are on long-term aspirin therapy and therefore could develop Reye Syndrome after the flu; and
women who will be more than 3 months pregnant during the flu season.

How to Prevent Getting the Flu Both in and Out of the Gym

(above) Disney World has adopted a program of installing hand sanitizers throughout the park to help prevent the spread of flu, shouldn't you do the same at your fitness facility?

Health officials are encouraging people, particularly those in high-risk groups to obtain a flu shot. The CDC states that an annual flu shot is the best way to reduce the chances that you will get the flu.

The best time to get a flu shot is from October through November, although you can still benefit from getting the vaccine after November, even if the flu is present in your community. Be aware that it takes about two weeks after the vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body to provide protection.

Obtaining the vaccine does not guarantee a flu-free season, however. Influenza viruses are constantly changing, and vaccine effectiveness depends on the match between vaccine strains and circulating viruses and the age and health status of the person getting the shot.

Some people resist getting the flu shot because of the belief that they will get severe side effects, or even the flu itself, from the vaccine. The viruses in the vaccine are inactivated, so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot.

Since obtaining vaccination doesn't necessarily guarantee immunity against the flu, it is wise to add common sense to our prevention efforts while we are busy pumping iron at the health club. Old fashioned hand-hygiene can go a long way in helping to prevent flu transmission.

Although you don't want to spend your entire workout running to the restroom to wash your hands after every set, it's certainly advisable to make sure your hands are clean before and after the workout.

Refrain from touching your nose and mouth during the workout to avoid obtaining the virus. Use of hand-antiseptics which include alcohol can also help to prevent transmission of the flu virus.

By all accounts, we may be in store for a particularly harsh flu season this year. Take precaution to reduce the likelihood of spreading the flu in your gym. Preventative measures may not only help to avoid the flu, but also interrupting hard earned progress your members made on their fitness goals.

About Jon Gestl

Jon Gestl, CSCS, is a Chicago personal trainer and fitness instructor who specializes in helping people get in shape in the privacy and convenience of their home or office. He is a United States National Aerobic Champion silver and bronze medalist and world-ranked sportaerobic competitor and editor of the fitness ezine "Inspired Informed and Inshape."

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