Fitness in the time of c.19
As Columbus, Ohio considers how people can begin to reacclimate to life during COVID-19, the fitness industry is presented with a dilemma: how to welcome people back safely considering the very nature of the environment involves close contact and touching shared surfaces?
Has anyone EVER felt good walking around in bare feet in a gym locker room?
How about high-touch surfaces like exercise machines, weights, railings, and lockers?
Big box gyms are making their customers the first--and often, only--line of defense against transmission. Usually something like "You will be asked to sanitize equipment before and after using it." But we all know Those People in the gym that are oblivious to their impact on the facility and its patrons. Other people mean well but aren’t thorough enough and this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, either.
I've been reading how equipment has been spaced out to allow for physical distancing. Facilities implementing physical distancing from personal training sessions to the weight racks and cardio machines. However, if you have been to a franchise facility lately you know that 6 feet of space in the free weight areas and squat rack doesn’t exist.
Physical distancing is an admirable sentiment but it also pushes against their business model. Box gyms jam as many treadmills into their square footage as possible for peak hours of use. How long till the need to maintain massive overhead wins out, and owners stop enforcing physical distance because “everyone here is healthy.”
So what is the solution? Perhaps it is time to consider a new facility in your community. REFIT offers individual training by appointment, and we always have. Our first statement about cleaning and sanitizing has nothing to do with you, the client wiping down anything, and everything about holding us accountable. Beating COVID-19 is a group project. We’re doing our part by maintaining an immaculate space so you can focus on fitness at REFIT.
Our protocols include:
Only 1 client in the facility at a time, even during transitioning from one appointment to the next.
Each client has a distinct pair of sanitized handles for variable resistance work so you’ll be the only person to touch them.
Employees wear masks during sessions and are adept in giving instruction while maintaining physical distance.
We ask that clients wear a mask during training unless a medical condition makes it impossible to do so.
All equipment is cleaned before opening, wiped down between clients and wiped down almost immediately after use.
A smaller space catering to those who don't wish to be exposed to a big box style gym is what we are about at The REFIT Group. We can do much more than memes about physically distancing cardio machines. It's this attention to detail that allows us to take these extra steps and give you the safest experience that we can.
At REFIT we want to give you one less thing to worry about as you resume your life. Focus on fitness, let us focus on the rest.
Everyday People Every Day Fitness
Is the new face of fitness behind a mask?