Frustrated, yes. Shocked, no.
Owner of Strategic Strength & Conditioning in Somerset, Brendan Ferreira heard and read what he expected when gymnasiums/fitness centers were not included in Phase 1 of Gov. Baker’s COVID-19 crisis reopening of Massachusetts.
Gyms are currently slotted for a Phase 3 reopening. Phase 3 is slated to start “at least” six weeks after Phase 1, whose last reopening date is June 1.
“To be honest, my wife and I 100 percent expected this to be the case,” Ferreira said in a text message. “We have friends around the country and we’ve been kind of keeping a finger on the pulse of this thing, and it looked like most states were rolling gyms out as part of Phase 2.
“That being said, this whole thing is wildly frustrating. There’s not a lot of information being put out, and they don’t really give us much to plan on. Even when they do put out dates, the dates constantly change and weeks keep getting added on.”
Small gyms (or micro-gymnasiums) are very able to keep track of who is in the facility. And serious gymnasium owners have long been recognized as advocates of and practitioners of disinfecting equipment after use. That’s what has some small gym owners and members frustrated about being excluded from Phase 1 while churches and hair salons got the the governor’s green light.
“It’s created a pretty unfair situation for micro gyms like mine,” Ferreira said. “We aren’t Planet Fitness where people just walk in whenever they want. Folks need to sign up for classes, and we do a lot of one-on-one training in a private setting.
“We would probably be able to open and function under cleaner conditions than a lot of barber shops because of the style of gym we run. Yeah, we get lumped in with big corporate gyms like Planet Fitness and Workout World that wouldn’t be able to control the situation like we could in a much smaller micro gym setting.”
Include Jessica Moniz, owner of Lois Fitness in Swansea, among those who feel gymnasiums should have been included in Phase 1.
"We feel that our gym or any gym for that matter should be part of phase one in every state, due to the fact that we promote healthy lifestyles which will contribute to help build a strong immune system!!," she wrote in a Facebook message. "We would obviously have restrictions just like everyone else but the difference is we would be helping people mentally as well!! We also feel it should be the choice of the people to go to the gym not the government!! This is against our constitutional rights!! All businesses are essential! This is ridiculous! Enough is enough!!
Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.