Gyms pitch hard for nod to get back into action

Coimbatore: A section of gym and fitness centre owners petitioned district collector K Rajamani on Friday, seeking permission to resume operations. They said keeping them indefinitely closed would threaten their very survival.
The move comes after they were excluded from the list of services that were allowed to operate under the new guidelines, which would come into effect from June 8. They said the government can’t claim to be part of the “fitindiamovement” by keeping gyms closed.
Gyms and fitness centres were shut on March 12. The owners said they were struggling to pay trainers without any earnings. Pointing out that beauty salons, where a stylist and customer can’t maintain physical distancing, were allowed to function, they urged the state to allow them to function and come up with some guidelines for the same.
K Ravishankar, of Ravi’s Crossfit, said, “In beauty salons, nothing can be done by stylists without touching their clients. In textile shops too, there is a chance of contact between sales people and clients and among clients. Yet, they have been allowed to operate.”
The fitness industry players said reopening has become a question of their survival. Nityanandini Manoharan, of 45 Degree Fitness, said, “We usually have new joiners every month and they keep us going in terms of revenues. With no new members coming in and the government insisting on paying full salary to the staff, we are in a tight spot.”
Muthu Ramesh, CEO of Pink Fitness on Crosscut Road, said they were not only struggling to pay trainers, but also finding it difficult to make their both ends meet. “We have rent to pay. Regular maintenance is also expensive. After every phase of lockdown, we keep disinfecting the facility with a hope to reopen.”
Trainers, meanwhile, said keeping gyms closed would take a toll on people’s health. They also referred to the popular hashtag “gyms are safe and exercise is medicine” that is doing rounds in the UAE. “Gyms and fitness centres keep people healthy and help build their immunity,” Nityanandini said.
Ravishankar said while most of them have started online classes, people were struggling to stay motivated and complete their workouts. “It is also a huge stressbuster. But most people doing home workouts become irregular.”
Muthu Ramesh said online classes were not as effective as real sessions. “We are not there to correct their form and technique.”
Some of the international practices that are followed in gyms include thermal screening, wearing masks, ensuring social distancing by keeping every second machine out of action, increasing break between classes to disinfect equipment, not allowing personal locker facility and not working air conditioners, among others.