How virus lockdown changed this Gladstone gym

Industry professionals are nurturing the online fitness business models they created during COVID-19 lockdown, even as gyms start to reopen.

Healthy living - wellness, diet and fitness - for gt Bride. Photo: iStock

WHILE local fitness centres have taken a hit during COVID-19 closures, industry experts believe businesses who have adapted to the current environment through online sessions could emerge with new revenue streams in the future.

Colleen Harris from CC Fitness Addicts said the online sessions she and her staff ran during the COVID-19 lockdown proved very successful.

“The online sessions were the only thing that kept us going,” Ms Harris said.

“We are definitely going to continue the online fitness sessions and we are going to do more online personal training and nutrition plans because we have been so successful online.”

Despite the success of the online fitness sessions, Ms Harris said she was excited to reopen her gym this week.

“Nothing beats the personal touch of your local gym. People like coming to the gym to socialise,” she said.

The director of CQUniversity’s Motivation of Health Behaviours Lab, Dr Amanda Rebar, said the traditional way in which gyms serve their patrons has shifted immensely.

“People use gyms for a variety of reasons – for connecting with other like-minded people, for getting fit, to relieve stress, for ‘me’ time, etc,” she said.

“So, only if gyms are able to provide people with the rewards they are looking for, will the current and future online sessions be effective.

“Some patrons have successfully shifted to online sessions without much disruption to their routines.

“Others have, instead, opted to forgo exercise or engage in exercise at-home or outdoors without reliance on the gym services.”

Dr Rebar believes online fitness sessions could have a place in gym business models post-COVID-19 and provide new revenue sources if integrated properly.

“If gyms do this pivot well and are able to integrate online sessions within people’s regular routines, it may indeed be a new Ave stream for gyms that are not reliant on physical presence,” she said.

“However, the online competition is more vast than what local gyms will have ever competed with before, so success will rely on people’s ability, opportunity, and willingness to engage with their gyms in this new way.”