Uncertainty weighs heavy, 800 gyms stare at closure in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: Around 800 gyms in the city are facing threat of closure because many members are asking to refund fees as there is no clarity as to when workouts can resume and even if centres restart, exercising in masks and sanitization of machines every time after being used by a person would be impossible, posing risk of infection.
All gyms, including small and big chains, are closed in the city since March 25 when the lockdown was imposed in view of pandemic. According to gym owners, total membership of all taken together is more than 18,000 and number of trainers are above 300. Closure, they said, has resulted in an estimated loss of about Rs 5 crore so far.
Muskan Sahini, owner of a gym in Gomtinagar, said, “I have received more than 15 calls from members asking for refund as they do not want to continue anymore. We have five trainers, if we start returning membership fee, we won't be able to pay their salaries.” Some have also asked the administration to lay out specific guidelines for gyms in order to return to business.
“Even if we open gyms, we have to sanitize equipments after a single use which will be a very costly exercise. Apart from that, seven regular members of my gym have decided not to renew their packages and have made workout arrangements at home,” said Chetan Singh, owner of a gym chain in Aliganj Sec-C.
Another owner of a chain of gyms said many have asked to terminate membership as they feel workout in masks and sanitisation of machine everytime it is used would be impossible. Some have also requested the administration to allow more shifts so that the existing load can be distributed evenly to check overcrowding.
Ravi Jha, a gym owner at Alambagh, said, “We will only allow limited number of people in shifts. Timings of the shift can be reduced from four to two. Sanitization can be done after every shift.”