CAMBRIDGE — If this were a normal year, the Magazine Beach Park’s outdoor gym would be deserted by December, when its metal pullup bars start to feel like Siberia.
However, many have come to embrace the cool fresh breezes swooshing down the Charles as Massachusetts gyms are ordered to roll back occupancy or even close due to COVID-19 surges.
This is not by any means a fancy health club. It’s a humble, dozen-station exercise area near a bend in the river with a we-are-the-world clientele. It’s free, has complimentary four-hour parking, and a welcoming attitude.
Jermaine Collier, a former University of South Carolina hurdler, says he prefers planet Earth to Planet Fitness.
“For me, it’s better to be outdoors,” he says. “It’s easier to stay 6 feet apart. It’s healthier.”
He also likes the working-class attitude. There is no staff, the cushioned floors have holes, and it’s BYOS — bring your own sanitizer. There is little socializing, but plenty of mutual respect. Nobody lingers at the nearby picnic tables.
“We encourage each other, not by a vocal standpoint, but just seeing other people still motivated to work out and having a positive attitude,” he says.
There are no free weights, so Collier does squats with his 18-month-old son Jakai on his shoulders. The toddler is no dumbbell; he’s got a pacifier in his mouth and he’s enjoying the ride.
“Don’t let the pandemic be an excuse for you to be a couch potato,” Collier says.
The more the temperatures tick above freezing, the more people come to the fitness stations. Michael Raybman, a venture capitalist, loves his gym and says they are doing a good job with social distancing and keeping it clean. But he finds he loves the fresh, cold air even more.
“It keeps me sharp and keeps me centered,” he says.
Raybman has some advice for couch potatoes who are stuck home and have given up.
“Don’t worry too much about working out the right way, just spend a little bit more time outdoors every day,” he says. “I think you’ll find that at some point, you just can’t stop looking for more things to do outside.”
Niels Sokol is a banker in Cambridge who bikes to work and swims recreationally, but he’s working from home, and the swimming pool has been shut down, “so you have to figure out some other sports to keep your heart rate up.”
He says the first steps are the hardest.
“Just get out 10 minutes a day and get some fresh air,” he says. “Even if it’s terrible outside, just get out.”
Ose Okhihan, a building supervisor from Everett, was driving on Memorial Drive when he saw people working out and stopped. Now, he’s a believer.
“Oh, I think it’s great. It’s amazing. It’s better than the gym,” he says. “It’s never going to be too packed because not everybody can adjust to the climate.”
Chim Okoye, a CBD salesman from Allston, says he too has stopped going to an indoor gym.
“This is actually like a godsend,” he says. “The whole idea of staying in a bubble and only being able to work out [in the gym] for an hour turns me off. I can get a quality workout in 20 minutes doing body weight instead.”
But he realizes that the worst weather is yet to come.
“It’s going to be tough to get through the winter time,” Okoye says.
Will Knight is a writer for Wired also steering clear of his gym. Layering is his mantra.
“I can probably handle pretty much any cold with some insulation, but it’s the iciness that is the problem,” he says. “If that gets too bad, then it’s over.”
Andrey Dedkov says he got his share of the cold growing up in the mountains near Siberia and likes warm weather, but he’s outside with the temperature barely above freezing.
He put his YMCA membership on hold because it didn’t fit into his schedule.
“The fingers get kind of frozen on the cold metal, definitely, but the ‘stache keeps me warm all the time,” he says. “It’s really not bad.”
Rain does stop him though.
“I tried one time and I got soaked and was like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing this again.’ ”
Nicholas Kimaiyo, 65, slowly does situps in front of a flock of Canada geese. He says he tries to do something, anything, to keep moving because he wants to live a long life.
“There’s good oxygen here,” he says. “Look, if you don’t work out at all, it’s no good. You get lazy.”
Nearby, 8-year-old James Wang makes like Usain Bolt, pumping his legs furiously while his mom stretches.
“All day long, he’s on the computer,” she says, shaking her head. “I want to get him out, so we walk here during lunch. It’s nice and it’s close to my home.”
Nekoh Aimes of Cambridge does chinups to the sound of Tupac’s “Dear Mama.” The music helps him forget the cold, and he doesn’t take breaks. He plans on continuing, even in the winter.
“You got to keep the body moving to stay warm,” he says. “I’m going to bundle up and make it out here. You’ll see me out here. Definitely.”
David Carreon, a Boston University freshman from Dallas, says he prefers this to the BU gym.
“Fresh air, it’s as simple as that,” he says. “I like the wind hitting my face, I guess.”
He also likes the serenity. He hates piped-in music.
“There’s not anything disturbing me. I get to do what I want however I want to do it,” Carreon says. “I prefer just being out here at my own pace.”
On a recent December day, Collier, the hurdler who moved here from South Carolina, was back, this time shadow boxing using a reflex ball that dangles from his headband. He vowed to stay outdoors as long as possible.
“I’ll just bundle up and see what I can do,” he says. “I try not to be upset about it. That’s nature. Just make the best of it.”
Stan Grossfeld can be reached at stanley.grossfeld@globe.com.