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Gym-goers protest outside a courthouse in Florida.
Gym-goers protest outside a courthouse in Florida. Photograph: Photo: Courtesy of @WFLA/Twitter
Gym-goers protest outside a courthouse in Florida. Photograph: Photo: Courtesy of @WFLA/Twitter

'Give me gains or give me death': Florida gym-goers protest lockdown with push-ups

This article is more than 3 years old

Demonstrators rallied outside a courthouse as some pointed out if push-ups can be done outdoors, they can be done anywhere

We all know about the right to bear arms, the right to free speech … but what about the right to do push-ups?

On Monday, a group of gym-goers assembled outside a courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, waving American flags while doing push-ups and squats on camera. The protesters held up placards saying “Give me gains or give me death” and “We will not comply”.

IF YOU CAN DO SQUATS AND PUSH UPS ON THE SIDEWALK, YOU CAN DO THEM IN YOUR LIVING ROOM AND DON’T NEED TO BE AT THE GYM, YOU ABSOLUTE DING DONGS.

— Summer Sandiego (@summerasana) May 11, 2020

Florida is in the process of reopening pretty quickly after its state-mandated shutdown. Beaches have already reopened to the public, and gyms are pegged to open up their doors again in the second phase of Governor Ron DeSantis’ reopening plan. So it is hard to tell exactly what the protestors are angry about. The Bill of Rights does include a right to the “freedom from … cruel and unusual punishments”, but if having to lift your own bodyweight is not considered a cruel and unusual punishment, it’s hard to tell what is.

Video footage shows the protesters doing claps in between push-ups, claiming this will be the “fittest protest in America”. But the uncanny tactic may have backfired as people are now asking: if you can do push-ups on the pavement, why do you need the gym to be open?

Some protesters said that they take issue with the broader government shutdown and its economic impact on the fitness industry, rather than just the right to bench press. Travis Labazzo, a Florida gym owner who attended the protest, has posted about job losses and financial hardship in the fitness industry on his Instagram.

“Yes, we know we can work out outside,” said Labazzo in a statement on his Instagram. Clarifying what the protest was about, he said. “Thousands of employees need to go back to work. Members need their mental health and to stop overwhelming Florida’s horrible workers’ comp[ensation] system.” Labazzo’s gym has been closed for more than two months since the shutdown, and millions has been lost in the fitness industry in Florida.

A recent Tampa Bay Times investigation with the New York Times found that Floridians who took matters into their own hands and decided to stay home while officials debated closing may have stemmed the spread of the virus in the state. Although Florida has reported 40,982 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 1,735 deaths, it has avoided a bigger catastrophe than was initially expected.

It is not yet known when the second phase of reopening will begin in Florida, as the state waits for evidence of a rebound and resurgence of Covid-19 cases, before making the next move.

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