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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
F.C. Gyms Pivot To Distanced & Remote Instruction During Pandemic
BY BRIAN INDRE
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
All businesses have suffered in one way or another due to the impacts of the coronavirus, and gyms have had it especially hard. Fortunately, two personal trainers in Falls Church were able to use technology during the shutdown, and continue to work with clients over the internet to keep their businesses afloat. But both are a little uncertain about how long they will be able to survive this way. Kavon Atabaki, a personal trainer and founder of Functional Fitness VA, and Eliot Corwin, owner of Advantage Trainers, had seen their business drop around 50 – 65 percent in the beginning of the pandemic. Business has slowly come back once they were allowed to open their doors again, but the numbers remain lower than they would like. Both trainers admit that online classes have been the saving grace for their business-
A SET OF RESISTANCE BANDS are local trainers Kavon Atbaki and Eliot Corwin recommends for those looking to work out at home since they’re just as versatile as dumbbells. (P����: N���-P����) es, but the transition to online is limiting to what equipment can
be used, or what clients have access to, and most importantly,
how they can help clients that benefit more from a traditional
one-on-one instruction. During the beginning of the pandemic, Functional Fitness had 75 kettlebells on hand (one of their primary pieces of equipment), and was able to rent some of those out to existing clients. It gave Functional Fitness’ clients something that they could use at home, and was a way for the gym to make a little income, according to Atabaki. But he continued by saying that it’s also harder for people to join their online classes if they’ve never been to the gym in person and don’t already have a kettlebell. “It’s a double edged sword, because it helps us to continue with what we are doing and keep our revenue going, but growthwise our classes are dwindling,” Atabaki said. “We have limited the capacity of the gym, so that there are never more than nine people, including trainers, inside at one time.” This gives enough space between a trainer and a client so that they are never closer than ten feet from each other, he
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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Local Trainers Expect Online Sessions To Remain Common After Virus Threat Ends Continued from Page 8
explained. Still, trainers are required to wear masks and with multiple large windows lining the facility, Atabaki said they can open them up and get good airflow. And no equipment is shared and all of it is cleaned with virucidal wipes after each session. “We feel confident that we’re following the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and not putting anybody at unnecessary risk,” he said. For those who would like to take up either in-person or online training sessions, Atabaki said that the kettlebell is their favorite tool, but resistance bands and other equipment can be used depending on the clients needs. “If you can get a 25 lb. kettlebell to start with, you’re in business,” Atabaki said. Advantage Trainers cater to a lot of clients who tend to be older or may have health risk
factors. “There is a certain population that is never going to come back until everyone is vaccinated, and that makes up a good 20 percent of our people,” said Corwin. “We have regular gym memberships, but the bulk of our work is with personal training,” He explains that although some clients have switched to online workouts, the majority prefer coming into the gym and working with a trainer in person. Corwin described two primary categories of clients. The first are people who have some limitation and want extra help from a professional to make sure they don’t further hurt themselves; and the second are clients who want accountability — in other words, they want to work out, but they are not going to do it on their own or they don’t know how to. For people interested in what equipment would be best to get started, Corwin recom-
mends a set of resistance bands because they are much easier to use at home, don’t take up much space, and are less expensive and almost as versatile as dumbbells. You can easily get a complete workout with a set of bands, he said. Corwin mentioned that working with clients online can be challenging for the trainer, but it has its upside, for example, three clients who had moved away from the area reached back out during quarantine to start working out again with their former trainers. “We are offering a new year promotion called ‘Project Reset’ that will involve a month long workout at home, which will be free and no equipment needed,” said Corwin. Although online training sessions may not be what these personal trainers prefer, the coronavirus has most likely changed how gyms will be used from now on, and making online training much more common.
JANUARY 7 – 13, 2021 | PAGE 9
Covid-19 Vaccine Info
• Fairfax County Health Department officials have said that there is no word as of yet on when the vaccine distribution regimen will extend beyond initial Phase 1a populations of frontline healthcare workers and long-term care residents according to the protocol set up by the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. • So far, nearly 14,000 people in Phase 1a in the Fairfax Health District have been vaccinated with the first of two shots as of Jan. 5. • The goal for the Fairfax Health District is that by the time it moves out of the restricted phases, the vaccine will be available at primary care providers, pharmacies, urgent care centers, public health departments and occupational health clinics so that anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one very easily. • However, “it will be a few more weeks” before the vaccines become available to people in Phases 1b and 1c, according to health officials. Officials said there is no way to receive the vaccine now unless you are a long-term care resident or a frontline health worker. • Phase 1b is expanded to include all persons over 75, firefighters and police, corrections officers, and workers in food and agriculture, the U.S. Postal Service, manufacturing, grocery stores, public transit and those who work in the education sector and child care. • Phase 1c, third in line for the vaccine, includes persons aged 65 to 74, persons aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase the risk for severe illness, essential workers in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, shelter and housing (such as construction), finance (such as bank tellers), information technology and communications, energy, legal, media, public safety (as in engineers) and public health workers.
• Physicals, Sick Visits, Vaccines • COVID testing • See our website re: COVID vaccine
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