When it comes to the coronavirus, all those
scenarios concern health officials because
they can increase the spread of the respiratory
droplets that carry the virus.
To allay those fears, owners follow Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention guidelines
calling for bikes and treadmills to be spaced
further apart or unplugged so some can’t be
used. Equipment is disinfected after each use.
Masks are required.
Owners are also installing ventilation
equipment to lessen the chances of breathing in
concentrated amounts of coronavirus germs. But
these procedures don’t reassure many people
who used to work out several times a week.
Vincent Miceli, owner of Body Blueprint Gym,
sees another problem: People have found they
can stay in shape without a gym by running,
buying their own equipment or taking online
workout classes.
“When we reopened, we assumed that about
30% of our members would never come back to
a gym because they found something else, and
that was pretty accurate,” says Miceli, whose gym
is in Pelham, New York.
The state of New York is limiting the number of
people in a gym to 33% of normal capacity. Before
the pandemic, Miceli was running 140 classes a
week; now it’s 25. His revenue is down 70%.
Jeanne Carter and Julie Bokat also held online
classes while their Fuel Training Studio in
Newburyport, Massachusetts, was forced to
shut. Outdoor classes began in June and were
well-attended; but when indoor classes were
permitted in July, few clients wanted to be inside.