Fitness & Exercise

Workout mogul Denise Austin says Richard Simmons is doing just fine in the shadows ... and she's sharing some of their old fitness routines for folks in quarantine.

Denise tells TMZ ... her old buddy Richard is doing just fine these days, even though he's kept himself out of the public eye for 6 years and counting. Denise says she's in constant contact with Richard's managers, and they assure her he's doing well.

Interestingly, though, she -- like most of the world -- has NOT seen him in person.

Richard and Denise go way back ... and she says their fitness routines from the '80s will really do people a lot of good during coronavirus lockdown.

As we first reported ... Richard is making a comeback of sorts during the pandemic, posting old fitness videos to his YouTube channel, the first activity there in 6 years.

Denise and her daughter, Katie Austin, also have some pretty simple workouts for folks cooped up inside ... and you don't need much other than your limbs and some canned pasta sauce.

Anyone down for a backyard marathon?!

Retired javelin thrower James Campbell said he'd run back and forth in his tiny garden 7,000 times if he got 10k retweets on Twitter ... and guess what -- he got the retweets!!!

So, the 32-year-old decided to live stream his whole backyard journey to prove he's a man of his word ... while asking viewers to donate to his fundraising campaign for COVID-19 relief throughout the event.

The #6MetreGardenMarathon took 5 and a half hours to complete ... and after word spread about his accomplishment, Campbell raised more than $33,000 for his cause!!

FYI -- Campbell is a damn good javelin thrower too ... he was once the 8th best junior thrower in the world.

"There’s not much positive news around at the moment," Campbell said on the "TODAY" show. "To take people’s mind off of it for a day and give them a bit of a laugh and a bit of entertainment, that job's done."

He added ... "It’s just been a very long week at home on my own."

"As soon as you gain momentum, it was like, if I’m going to do something like this, then it’s got to be for a good cause."

And, if you have nothing better to do, you can watch the whole marathon below.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez just beat the buzzer ... squeezing in one final gym workout before Florida goes on lockdown, and using their pull to make it happen.

The engaged duo slipped out of a gym Wednesday afternoon in Miami after getting what we imagine to be some very exclusive access. Florida had already ordered most gyms closed -- in fact, the door to this gym even said it was closed.

There was an exception for gyms with a capacity of 10 or less -- so, J Lo and A-Rod likely had a private training session -- but even that has to end Thursday.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced a statewide shelter in place order just a few hours after Alex and Jen wrapped up at the gym. It goes into effect Thursday at midnight.

They did play it safe on the way out ... with their security guards wearing masks and wiping down door handles and other surfaces they might touch.

Joshua Tree is finally joining a long list of parks closing its trails to hikers and bikers ... just days after the area was besieged by quarantine-fleeing Angelenos.

The National Parks Service announced effective immediately the popular park in the Coachella Valley area is closed to ALL visitors until further notice. The park, of course, is completely shutting down in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

As we first reported ... Joshua Tree National Park was flooded with TONS of out-of-towners a little over a week ago, much to the chagrin of local neighbors. The park initially closed its visitor's center on March 18 and then closed its campgrounds on March 21.

But bored Angelenos couldn't keep their asses home anyway despite a "shelter at home" order by Gov. Gavin Newsom, thus forcing the National Parks Service's hand.

The closure comes a day after coronavirus cases in San Bernardino County hit 125, with four deaths.

Here's some good news we can all use ... Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her trusted trainer are still pumping iron despite the coronavirus shutting down gyms across much of the country. Go Ruth, go!!!

The Supreme Court Justice's personal trainer, Bryant Johnson, says his client continues to work out twice weekly inside her private gym in the Supreme Court building. As for the 'rona ... Johnson says 87-year-old Ginsburg "ain't having it" in regards to stopping. Johnson hasn't shut down at her request, and he told Law360 she's his only client right now.

They are taking the pandemic seriously, though. Johnson says they're wiping down every machine and piece of equipment they use thoroughly, and are also trying to maintain social distance between themselves as well. Sounds like it works.

Johnson says he doesn't really need to hold the notorious RBG's hand when it comes to the routine, adding that as soon as he lays a certain exercise area out ... she already recognizes it and proceeds without him having to be so close to her to explain much of anything.

Some of the exercises she does ... planks, push-ups and others.

Ruthie's famously known for getting her sweat on. Stephen Colbert documented his attempt to keep up with her recently, and it was pretty hilarious ... she was kinda out of his league and in her own world when it comes to fitness.

On another note ... it sounds like she's still working when it comes to SCOTUS biz too. Law360 notes she calls into conference chats via phone with the other robes these days.

NBA star Rudy Gobert is back in action just days after getting cleared of his coronavirus diagnosis ... hitting an intense boxing workout to prove he's back on his grind.

Of course, Gobert was first diagnosed with COVID-19 back on March 11 ... which eventually led to the NBA suspending its season.

The All-Star center -- along with teammate Donovan Mitchell -- was given the green light to get back to action (while still self-quarantining) Friday ... and now, the 27-year-old is keeping his body right.

Gobert posted a video hitting the mitts with a trainer in an empty gym Tuesday ... captioning the clip with a simple message -- "back at it."

It's great to see things getting back to normal (or as normal as it can be) for Gobert ... who recently explained he lost his sense of taste and smell while dealing with the virus.

Shia LaBeouf is taking advantage of his time outdoors ... and doing so in style by locking lips with a hottie and dancing his ass off.

The 'Transformers' star was spotted out Thursday in Pasadena hanging out with a mystery blonde. It's unclear who she is ... but it's obvious they're an item. They went full PDA in the midst of California's "shelter in place" order.

We can only hope they're in quarantine together ... for everyone's sakes.

Shia looks quite the outdoorsman ... rocking those running leggings, confidently. He's also showing off his heavily tatted bod, and generally looking in great shape. Just gotta get past that bowlcut hairdo. These are tough times for personal grooming.

In any event, Shia looked to be in a great mood, judging by the way he was dancing around.

Maybe he's in a celebrating mood. If you look closely, Shia's wearing what appears to be a ring on his wedding finger. That's odd ... since we spotted him with a mystery brunette last summer. This, after a very public rush to the altar back in 2016 in Vegas with actress Mia Goth.

New York Sports Clubs members are pissed they're still paying, but not playing while the gyms are shut down due to the pandemic ... so they're suing.

Mary Namorato filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday against NY Sports Clubs and its parent company, Town Sports International, claiming that despite closing its doors on March 16 due to the coronavirus, it's still charging customers monthly dues.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Namorato estimates TSI is raking in around $30 million per month from its customers, who have been ordered to remain home to help stem the spread of the virus.

She calls TSI's conduct "particularly reprehensible as it is stealing hard-earned money New Yorkers now need more than ever to pay for the necessities of life -- such as food and rent for themselves and their families -- despite the fact that its gyms are closed and TSI is not able to provide the services for which it is charging customers."

What's more ... Namorato claims TSI -- which operates gyms nationwide -- has a long history of refusing to honor member cancellation requests. She also points to the Attorney General of Washington D.C. having gone after TSI not once but TWICE for similar issues in the past. The lawsuit also drags out a ton of complaints from customers ... and, for good measure, mentions TSI's "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Namorato's suing for damages and to get TSI to stop making customers jump through hoops to cancel memberships. We've reached out to TSI, so far, no word back.

U.S. Army soldiers based in South Korea won't be getting their fitness on in their usual spot -- the main gym on base is closed due to someone contracting the coronavirus.

Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa of the U.S. Army tells TMZ ... Camp Humphreys, located some 40 miles south of Seoul, will close it's so-called "super gym" because an individual on the base who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently visited the gym.

We're told staff is sterilizing the gym but hasn't determined when it will reopen, the location serves nearly 40,000 residents at Camp Humphreys ... the largest overseas base in the world. According to the military outlet Stars and Stripes, U.S. Forces Korea announced late Thursday an 11th individual affiliated with USFK tested positive for COVID-19 but provided no additional details about who or the timeline.

So far, there have been just over 9,200 cases in South Korea ... resulting in 131 deaths.