Calgary man sparks spontaneous workout in Costco COVID-19 lineup

A Calgary man, faced with a 45-minute lineup outside to get into a Costco due to pandemic restrictions, started an impromptu workout that rippled down that lineup, later lighting up social media.

'Everybody here is probably cold,' David Keegan said of the motivation to exercise

David Bell CBC News Posted: Apr 20, 2020 7:34 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 20, 2020

Calgary man sparks Costco lineup workout

55 years ago

Calgary man sparks Costco lineup workout

A Calgary man, faced with a 45-minute lineup outside to get into a Costco due to coronavirus restrictions, started an impromptu workout that rippled down that lineup, later lighting up social media.

"I showed up at Costco," David Keegan told the Calgary Eyeopener about his Friday experience.

WATCH how a lineup outside a Calgary Costco turned into a workout session in the video at the top of this story.

"A guy said we have 45 minutes. They had it set up with shopping carts to create a corral line, like security at the airport. After about 15 minutes, I said to the lady beside me, 'It's actually a nice, brisk breeze here. It reminds me of growing up in St. John's, Newfoundland.'

"About 10 more minutes, it was more cold than brisk. I thought, I have to warm up."

And that gave Keegan an idea.

"I thought, 'Hey, everybody here is probably cold, particularly the guy wearing shorts and Birkenstocks,'" he said.

"We did a lineup workout. We did a whole bunch of lunges, squats, jumping jacks, bicep curls, military presses with fake, air dumbbells that we pretended we had in our hands. It was so much fun."

And that workout has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter.

I was standing in the lineup to get into @costcocanada @costco and got a bit cold, so started doing lunges, and I ended up leading a #lineupworkout ! pic.twitter.com/w2IZIGJPkT
—@drDavidKeegan

Keegan said it didn't take much to get people moving.

"We didn't have to convince a bunch of people. People were really game. They were cold and bored and they thought, this is pretty fun. Altogether it was a really fun time."

And that lineup workout, Keegan said, ended up taking on a larger, symbolic meaning for him.

"In this time of COVID-19, it's like the world in general," he said.

"Beautiful and terrible things will happen."

David Keegan, left, started an impromptu workout that rippled down a Costco lineup, later lighting up social media. (@drDavidKeegan/Twitter)

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.

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Calgary man sparks spontaneous workout in Costco COVID-19 lineup

'Everybody here is probably cold,' David Keegan said of the motivation to exercise

Calgary man sparks Costco lineup workout

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