ForFitness And Athletics COVID-19 questionnaire (Image: submitted)
Gym facilities across New Brunswick, including ForFitness And Athletics, are adapting to a new manner of operation.
“It’s going pretty well; we look at the recommendations, guidelines and the mandates from the province regarding the physical distancing and businesses with the cleaning and PPE,” said ForFitness Gym Manager Emma Hicks. “We’re looking at the best ways to implement all of it into our space and provide a safe and comfortable space for our members to use.”
The gym also reached out to its own members for feedback and suggestions on how to re-open. “Making sure that it fits the usage and the people who are going to use the space as well is important to have their feedback in that process,” she added.
COVID-19 has changed how people exercise and Hicks has heard feedback from many perspectives. “As a business, we’re also navigating that and seeing some of these changes — we may actually keep on as we move forward,” said Hicks.
ForFitness And Athletics entrance arrow guide (Image: submitted)
Some had a hard time sticking with online exercises classes because of working remotely, keeping track of one’s children and trying create an exercise space while at home, while others found doing online classes at home cut down on driving and having to manage their kids.
“One mom came to our class religiously and was here three times a week, and now that we’ve been doing it online her husband has actually been able to join her as well,” shared Hicks. “They have three young kids, so they get up for the six o’clock class up in their kids’ playroom, who are still in bed.”
ForFitness offered remote training and online programming prior to the pandemic, but had not incorporated online classes as part of its business.
“It’s been kind of an interesting time to explore when that was the only option that we had, so now we’ve been able to explore that with our members and I think there’s parts of it that may stick around for sure,” she said.
All of the gym’s activities, from drop-in gym usage to the in-person classes, will be limited and booked in advance, with the online booking systems now in place. Online classes will remain available.
“We have a bunch of times set out throughout the day that members can look at and drop into,” said Hicks. “They still have a little bit of flexibility, but they can be assured that when they arrive it’s not going to be totally full or when they arrive, they can actually come in.”
The cap for drop-in gym sessions is four people in ForFitness’ downstairs space, while in-person classes will be capped to eight people. “In the classes they’re going to have a spot on the floor all marked out distance wise, so they can do their training, but still have lots of space around them,” she explained.
One of ForFitness’ social-distanced training areas (Image: submitted)
The reopening of gym facilities such as ForFitness coincide with people wanting to re-establish or start an exercise routine as COVID-19 restrictions ease in many areas.
“I think there is kind of an opportunity there and hopefully that we find what works for people,” said Hicks. “We’re very much about supporting that long-term process and we don’t promote quick fixes because we want a sustainable lifestyle.”
The effects of cleaning solutions and how they could possibly affect the longevity of gym equipment was another issue that needed to be considered.
“As we’re spraying everything and thinking about, ‘is this going to kind of degrade the material and the equipment?’, we’re kind of at the point where it is what we need to do and it’s what we need to do to provide the space, so we’re just hoping it doesn’t ruin all our stuff, but it is a bit of a concern,” she said.
ForFitness will reopen Friday, June 5, once the province gives approval. The gym originally planned to have its first in-person classes on May 30, but were delayed due to New Brunswick postponing the next step of the Phase Yellow reopening.
“We have a really great community of people that have appreciated what we’ve done online and being able to continue to support the routine of what they used to do in person,” said Hicks. “It’s not ideal, we’re all really excited to get back into the facility for sure, but they’re really supportive and working with us.”
This story was originally published on Huddle.Today – an Acadia Broadcasting Limited content partner.
