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'Brutal, unfair' gym closures will exact a heavy toll, athlete warns

'This is really disappointing for athletes of all ages and for people who use the gym as a way to get out of the house and stay active,' says local NCAA lacrosse player
Functional Fitness Trainer
Crystal Cabural, owner of Functional Fitness, is pictured working with one of her many elderly clients who will be locked out of the gym for most of January. Rene Dawn Photography

On Wednesday local fitness fanatics and gym-goers will have to transition back to online and at-home fitness programs as the province mandates indoor spaces such as gyms shut down as Ontario moves into a modified Step 2 in a bid to stop the surge of the Omicron variant.

Brad Harper, general manager of Crunch Fitness, says moving classes online isn’t bad for his younger clients, but it’s certainly a barrier for his senior clients.

“Obviously we have a great facility here where people train to be healthy; it’s a great tool for mental health too, and now they can’t access that," Harper said of the West Street North facility.

“Online isn’t really an option for older clients (who) will have to use this as an opportunity to look for other sources of exercise in their day-to-day lives,” he said.

Harper says most of his clients have already come up with a Plan B for when gyms close due to experience with previous lockdowns.

“A lot of people are frustrated because they want to be here, but they aren’t devastated because they are used to this by now. Most people have either bought stuff for their own home or have switched what they are doing to stay active,” he said.

This closure comes at the worst time for Crunch Fitness as January is a busy month for gym memberships.

“With New Year's resolutions made, this is a big time for gyms to sell memberships and get people motivated, and we are losing that with this lockdown,” Harper said.

Crunch Fitness is part of a national brand with about 30 gyms in Canada. Harper says the chances of staying in business would be "very slim" this time around if he wasn't part of a bigger company.

While Harper isn’t sure if closing gyms is fair, he wishes the government would give them some leeway to increase restrictions before being shut down.

“It’s frustrating because we are willing to do our part to get through whatever we need to get through,” he said.

Harper encourages his clients to stay healthy and active during the 21-day temporary shutdown.

Crystal Cabural, owner of Functional Fitness on Memorial Avenue, says clients are becoming unmotivated by the ongoing gym closures.

“The value of routine is very important for our health, and every time we close down it takes longer for people to get back to being active,” she said.

“Winter is a very important time for people to stay active and they have fewer options, so the interruptions are one of the hardest things to overcome.”   

Cabural's clients, who are mostly seniors, are frustrated with the closure, but some are understanding and want to isolate. Cabural herself is feeling frustration and confusion.

“Personally, I don’t understand how closing a few businesses is actually going to reduce hospital capacity. People who come to gyms are the healthier people in society and they are not necessarily people who would need hospitalization,” she said.

“If we are really worried about this being a tsunami, why are we only creating a few restrictions? Why aren’t we doing a mass lockdown? And, if we aren’t afraid, then why are we being targeted at all?"

Cabural says mobility is the key to fighting off viruses and diseases, meaning this gym shutdown is setting up people to be weak if they do get COVID-19.

“They are taking away the opportunity for people to stay at their best. They would have a better chance at fighting COVID if they got it than they would if you removed all their movement in a day,” she said.

The damage has been done financially due to previous shutdowns. Now Cabural says she is trying to dig herself out of a hole emotionally.

“Whether or not this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, time will tell, but I don’t think this will be a three-week lockdown. I am very concerned,” she said.

Washago resident Chad Butler has been a member at both Fit4Less and Crunch Fitness in Orillia during the pandemic.

“I ended up having to get two passes because I couldn’t get into the gym all the time with all the restrictions,” he explained.

Butlers says the closing of gyms is "brutal and unfair."

“The way it was already structured was keeping people safe. Everybody wiped down their machines down before COVID, and nobody sits there and socializes. People go in there, do what they need to do, and get out,” he said.

Closing gyms is a big loss both mentally and physically, he said.

“That hour and a half was the only time I get for myself to let off some steam, and physically, I was down to 220 pounds and pretty ripped before COVID. Now, I’ve been sitting around 240 or 250. At 42 years old, it’s taken a toll on my body,” he said.

“I had a buddy who was recovering from drug addiction before the first shutdown. He was doing really well with the gym, but within two months of gyms shutting down the first time, he relapsed, overdosed, and died. It really does take its toll on you when you didn’t have something to wake up and do.”  

Gym closures are also taking their toll on young athletes who are playing competitive sports.

Orillia NCAA lacrosse player, Braydon Hickey, trains during the off-season at Peak Performance Fitness.

Gym closures are coming at the worst time for Hickey as he prepares to head back to Mount Olive University in North Carolina later this month.

“This is really disappointing for athletes of all ages and for people who use the gym as a way to get out of the house and stay active. It’s disappointing the government jumped to this decision so fast,” he said.

Hickey, 23, says gym closures hurt the development of young athletes like himself.

“For athletes trying to make it to the next level it’s so important to be taking care of your body. It’s a huge thing to get stronger and faster, and all this time off is going to hinder the chances of getting better,” he said.

Hickey says gym closures will impact mental health this time around more than during previous closures.

“Being in and out of lockdown is tough on people, especially when being in the gym is something that is used as a stress release, and now, they can’t access that release,” he said.


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Tyler Evans

About the Author: Tyler Evans

Tyler Evans got his start in the news business when he was just 15-years-old and now serves as a video producer and reporter with OrilliaMatters
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