During Lockdown, A Joyful Ride

When the COVID quarantine began in March, we lost our routines. For many, the lack of daily exercise — the Y, the gym, the spin studio, whatever — was toughest.

But we missed more than just the physical workout. We longed for our suddenly severed social connections too.

Early in the lockdown, a dozen women from Westport, Weston, Fairfield and Norwalk gathered on Zoom for what they figured would be 2 weeks of planks and push-ups. Their friendships had been solidifed at JoyRide. The group included one of the owners, an instructor, even one of the member’s sister-in-law and her friend, both in Denver.

Planking via Zoom.

What started as a temporary fix turned into much more. They do 75 push-ups and 5 minutes of planks daily (that’s over 7,000 push-ups and 8 hours already– and they have not missed a day).

If a group member can’t make the designated workout, someone joins her on FaceTime. No one works out alone.

After planking, they do another, member-inspired workout together. They track their favorites on a Google Doc.

More than exercising together though, the group is a support system. They laugh (“a lot,” says one member). They’ve shared their children’s college acceptances (and rejections), graduations from college, high school and 8th grade, and a pair of 50th birthdays.

After working out virtually for weeks, the group (minus their Denver members) got together for a 50th birthday celebration.

They created a logo, and designed a shirt, water bottle and (of course) face masks. They ordered the same leggings and workout equipment (including mini-trampolines). They had (multiple) happy hours.

They also gave back to the community, both as a small group and in conjunction with JoyRide.

These past few months, everyone needed something to keep sane and connected. These women may be back together — in person — soon. They’ll be fit and fresh, both physically and emotionally.

And they’ll have those very cool t-shirts, water bottles and face masks forever.

(Hat tip: Lauren Burg)