Doherty’s Gym owner Tony Doherty makes urgent plea for gyms to reopen
A well-known fitness guru has made an urgent plea for gyms to reopen and to be classified as an “essential service”, saying exercise is a “coping mechanism” for millions of Australians to keep their mental health in check. WATCH THE VIDEO
South East
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Fitness guru Tony Doherty has made an urgent plea for gyms to reopen, saying they should be considered an essential service.
Mr Doherty, who owns Doherty’s Gym and is the promoter of Arnold Sports Festival Australia, posted a video to social media on Tuesday, calling for gyms and fitness centres to be classified as an essential service.
He also took to Facebook and wrote the Chief Health Officer’s claims that gyms were a high-risk setting that cause outbreaks was “just not true”.
“Data collected by Fitness Australia across over 500 gyms in NSW that have reopened since June, showed 7 million visits without a single recorded case of community transmission,” Mr Doherty wrote.
“Despite the ignorance of politicians and people that don’t work out, going to the gym is so much more than physical fitness.
“It provides a coping mechanism for millions of Australians to keep their mental health in check, to keep depression and anxiety at bay. In many cases it is the single thread that holds so many people’s lives together.”
He said exercise kept you healthy and boosts your immune system.
“There are so many reasons that make gyms safer, more hygienic and cleaner than the Victorian premier and his Chief Health Officer could begin to understand,” he said.
Mr Doherty said contact tracing at gyms was “far ahead” compared to any other industry.
“Members swipe in with a fob that provides their name, phone number, photograph, address and date of birth. It tells us what time they enter the gym to the very minute. It also can trace every single person that is in the facility at any given time,’’ he said.
“When we go to the supermarket or bottle shop, there is no identification check, not even a sign in system.”
Mr Doherty said when people entered his gyms they checked-in and had to sanitise their hands before they enter.
“Every machine or bench is 1.5m apart. Every second cardio machine is switched off and taped up so they can’t be used to adhere with social distancing,’’ he said.
“We have hygiene stations everywhere, with disposable paper towel and hospital grade disinfectant. Members must wipe down every bench, handle, barbell and dumbbell after every single set.”
On Sunday, key fitness industry figures also expressed dismay at the Government’s new road map which they say might not see them reopen until next year.
Gyms Coalition leader Tim Schleiger has more than 50 Victorian gym owners join a petition, which has racked up thousands of signatures asking for the Government to allow them to reopen.
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