Genesis Health and Fitness, F45 studios, Raw Fitness prepare to reopen
The gym freeze is almost up and doors at Melbourne’s muscle houses are about to reopen. Find out what to expect as owners are preparing for the big day.
East
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For gym lovers and fitness fanatics, the countdown is on to June 22.
That’s when the gyms will reopen but your local muscle house is not going to be quite the same as it was with social distancing restrictions still in place, with a maximum of 20 people at a time.
David Lechte, from Genesis Health and Fitness Box Hill’s Coaching Zone team, said the move to reopen gyms was welcomed but a lot of uncertainty remained.
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“At this stage it’s good news that there will be some easing of restrictions but it’s still just a little bit unsure as to what areas of the gym will able to be in use,” he said.
It won’t quite be business as usual when the F45 studios in Templestowe, Ringwood and Chirnside Park reopen from June 22 but it will be a relief for hundreds of members struggling to stay motivated, owner Steve Tragardh said.
All three gyms have engaged with members online via Zoon since the enforced coronavirus closure back in March.
“But we’re desperate to re-engage with members in the flesh. Since we’ve been closed we’ve done a deep-clean of all the equipment and the studios themselves,” Mr Tragardh said.
Numbers will be restricted initially and a thorough clean of all equipment a must, he said.
“Our members will be given strict instructions about how to protect themselves and each other,” Mr Tragardh said.
Workshop Gym in Kew co-director James Hargreaves said it was nice to have a concrete date.
“We’ve obviously been shut so it’s allowed us to do some renovations, but it’s nice having that date and knowing the gym has to be in spic and span condition for then. We’ve been drifting along, waiting for them to pull the trigger,’’ he said.
“We plan on staggering class start times, so instead of having a class start immediately after the last one, there’ll be a 15-minute buffer where the coaches can clean equipment and wipe everything down.
“Our gym is very socially distant friendly, so to speak, we already have six very clear work stations. If we have to adhere to social distancing rules, we’ll be fine.
Andrew Emmett and his wife Chloe run Body Reflexion Health & Fitness, based out of Ringwood, and said he was “ready to go now”.
“Because we are a private gym we know who is coming to the gym in advance, we know who is high risk, we know if people have travelled,’’ he said.
Mr Emmett said the blanket ruling by the State Government meant there was no way his gym could operate, even with strict social distancing, instead relying on zoom class and outdoor only programs.
“It’s hit us (financially) by 80 per cent, in fact 79 per cent exactly,” he said.
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Gena Campbell, from Raw Fitness, said she was “pretty excited” but there was a lot of work to be done before June 22
“Just trying to work how we will do it, limiting the number of people, workout out a booking system, but we are pretty excited,’’ she said.
Anytime Fitness Croydon co-owner Thomas Olsen said he was preparing for the big reopen and had completed prescribed COVID-19 training.
“We have a massive checklist we have to tick off,” Mr Olsen said.
He said there were prescribed disinfectants gyms had to use and equipment would be 1.5m apart.
“We’re making staff are all trained up and we’re finding out more information as time goes on,” he said.
Mr Olsen said with the 20 person maximum there would be a booking system put in place.
“Please be mindful of the time you spend in the gym so we can make it fair for everyone,” he said.
“We’ll be updating social media as we find out more,” he said.
Anytime Fitness Box Hill’s Christian Brookshaw said he’d been cleaning and disinfecting the business since the lockdown started but managing maximum site numbers would be a greater challenge.
“It’s going to be difficult, especially for 24-hour gyms. Systems are being trialled to limit numbers, and hopefully with people tagging in that will work but there will be logistical issues,” he said.
Mr Brookshaw said he gave members an “extended freeze period” in January after travellers returning from China warned of events in Wuhan.
“Even before the shutdown we were on top of it and we’ve been cleaning and disinfecting all our equipment since,” he said.
Mr Brookshaw said Anytime Australia had also been proactive in setting up a virtual platform to engage members.
“But we’re pretty excited to be getting back in the gym,” he said.
More to come.