On Friday, Orillia will move into Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan. That means local gyms can re-open their doors for the first time since March.
Phoenix Health & Fitness owner Susie Thisdelle says she was ecstatic to hear Premier Doug Ford give fitness centres the green light on Monday. She immediately contacted her clientele through email to welcome them back.
“I’m really happy to be back. People have been missing more than just the physical benefits of the gym, but also the psychological aspect,” she said.
“With so many people being shut in, now having the freedom to exercise again is going to be so positive for everyone,” she told OrilliaMatters.
Thisdelle has stayed in touch with clients while her Colborne Street fitness studio remained closed. She produced several online fitness sessions, lent out equipment, and began offering one-on-one sessions during Stage 2.
Phoenix Health & Fitness will resume regular programming on Monday, however Thisdelle isn’t expecting all of her clientele to be as anxious to return as she is.
“I’ve had a few people say they are taking extra caution and won’t be coming back until maybe September,” she said.
“I understand that everyone needs to do what they feel comfortable doing.”
Thisdelle says she will do everything possible to make her clients feel safe and comfortable when returning to the gym as she wants them to get the maximum benefits from their workout without adding any more stress related to the pandemic.
During classes, Thisdelle will stand at least six feet away from everybody. Clients will also be reminded to keep a six-foot distance and will be asked to wipe down equipment after each use.
Doors will be propped open, so there will be no need to touch handles, and windows will be left open when the weather allows for proper air circulation.
“It’s an opportunity to reboot and remind people of the simple but significant importance of things like handwashing and proper hygiene, keeping some social distance and not working when we are sick. It’s a reminder to always be protecting others,” Thisdelle said.
Over at Functional Fitness, owner and trainer Crystal Cabural says they will re-open on Friday, but clients should expect the gym experience to be different.
Many seniors exercise at Functional Fitnes, adding extra importance to keeping clients safe.
Training won’t begin when doors open on Friday. Instead, Cabural will begin the re-opening phase by re-assessing her clients' fitness levels.
“There will be an initial ease back into it because it’s been four months,” she said. “We will re-develop new plans and set new goals. Then, the training will start on a regular schedule probably mid-next week.”
Because masks are not mandatory in gyms, physical distancing and hand cleaning will become even more important, Cabural said.
“We have reduced capacity to accommodate social distancing, cleaning procedures will be done on machines after each use, making sure people wash their hands and sanitize frequently… we will make sure people can easily follow all the protocols,” Cabural said.
The pandemic has forced Cabural to re-invent her business plan before re-opening the doors of her Memorial Avenue facility on Friday. As a result, Functional Fitness will only be offering semi-private and private services for now.
“We are keeping classes smaller which means we’ve had to add new equipment to accommodate that and take away larger equipment that was taking up too much space. We’ve had to re-invent our entire space,” Cabural said.
“We have to make sure that when people are doing their program they aren’t overlapping with other people. We have to maintain a flow to make it easy for people to stay distant.”
Cabural says the re-opening of gyms and fitness centres is great news for the community, and it’s important for local seniors to once again have a place to go and work on their health and fitness.
“Older people, I think, have definitely lost that routine and haven’t received enough movement over the last several months,” she said.
CrossFit Orillia has been open for the past two weeks after restrictions on training facilities were eased by the province.
Owner and trainer Matt Spencer has put guidelines in place at his Progress Park gym that give his clients pre-measured physical distancing areas.
People working out are assigned to their own sections of the gym where access to equipment is spread out, making it easy to access without crossing over into someone else’s space.
Each individual section is provided with cleaning materials where people can clean equipment before and after workouts.
“Before, we used to do our classes on the hour with a bit of a carry-over. Now we are leaving a 15-minute buffer where that cleaning can happen and we can clear out the building,” Spencer explained.
Gym goers are also asked to enter through the front door and leave via the back; they are also asked to sanitize their hands both before entering and leaving the building.
During the pandemic, Spencer moved his platform online where classes are still offered three times a day.
Spencer said CrossFit Orillia lost 60% of its business since they closed their doors in March. However, business is starting to rejuvenate.
Not only are clients returning to CrossFit Orillia, but there is also about a 20% jump in business since reopening a couple of weeks ago.
“People want to exercise, they want to put their health in priority and people like that CrossFit is instructor-led, everything is controlled, they don’t have to walk into our facility and worry about the last time someone touched something and if it was cleaned after,” Spencer said.
“Confidence in our business is at an all-time high both with existing members and new members.”
