Michael Hanover is lucky if he gets 45 client hours
a week in his Northbrook, Illinois gym, Fitness
Hero Wellness Center, down from his usual 60. He
sometimes opens at 5 a.m. or stays late at night
to get those hours; many clients are too uneasy
to come in when other people are there.
“We don’t have people pounding on the door
trying to get in,” Hanover says.
In Illinois, gyms currently can operate at 50% of
capacity, leaving Hanover with no more than
10 people onsite at any time. He feels small
gyms have been lumped in unfairly with big
fitness chains where there might be hundreds
of people exercising at once and coming into
contact with one another. He’d like to be able to
bring in more clients.
Hanover’s big worry: A surge in cases that might
prompt officials to force gyms to go back to
holding only outdoor classes and one-on-one
training sessions indoors.
“It will be devastating and most likely, the end of
Fitness Hero Wellness Center,” Hanover says.
Over 80% of the 40,000 to 50,000 health and
fitness clubs in the U.S. are small businesses,
according to the IHRSA. Whether yoga studios or
fully equipped gyms, these businesses provide a
livelihood to their owners. Last year, the overall
industry employed 3 million trainers, instructors
and other workers.
In a thriving fitness center or small gym, people
run on treadmills or pedal stationary bikes
nearly side by side, exercise classes are crowded
and trainers work with clients just inches or a
few feet apart. After a good exercise, people
tend to breathe more frequently and harder.
Image: Steven Senne