A Snap Fitness employee disinfects exercise equipment between uses

‘Adjusting on the fl y’

A year after the COVID-19 outbreak, fi tness centers have survived by offering creative programs, social distancing and lots of disinfectant spray

by CHRIS BURRITT

NW GUILFORD/GREENSBORO – After the COVID-19 outbreak shut down gyms last March, Jill Thomas felt lucky she was able to find a set of exercise equipment for the garage of her Summerfield home. She feels even more fortunate now, after returning to Proehlific Park where she’s resumed lifting weights five or six days a week.

Over the past year, few industries have been harder hit than fitness centers. After riding out a governmentmandated shutdown and navigating public gathering restrictions, centers have adapted for the safety and peace of mind of members such as Thomas.

“It’s been a world of adjusting on the fly,” said Ricky Proehl, owner of Proehlific Park in northwestern Greensboro. Like other fitness centers, Proehlific has gradually regained members since September when an executive order by Gov. Roy Cooper allowed the reopening of gymnasiums, yoga and dance studios and other exercise facilities at 30 percent capacity.

Over the past year, revenue for fitness centers has tumbled along with the loss of membership fees. Since reopening, the facilities have incurred additional expenses for cleaning supplies to meet public safety requirements and recommendations of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

In December, additional measures by the agency required the wearing of masks inside of gyms, even during strenuous exercising; that, fitness center owners said, discouraged even more members from returning.

“No one would have ever thought we’d have to go through all of this,” said Kimberly Stoll, who owns Snap Fitness in Oak Ridge with Paul Benz. The center returned to profitability in January.

“We’re just starting to get back,” Stoll said.

Last summer, Snap Fitness trainers worked with clients outside before returning inside the gym over the past six months. When members enter the club, they grab bottles of disinfectant spray to sanitize equipment. The floor is marked with keep-your-distance circles.

Starting next month, Snap Fitness trainer Jamaal Johnson plans to offer strength, conditioning and agility training for teenagers in classes limited to six people. The program is targeting youngsters training for sports teams as well as seeking social interaction after nearly a year of attending school virtually.

“You just have to get creative and come up with new ideas to do things differently than you did in the past,” Stoll said.

After closing last March, about 200 of Snap Fitness’ 800 members canceled or froze their memberships, she said. About half of the 200 have rejoined the club. The others represent senior citizens and others who are “just being very cautious,” she said.

“With the rollout of the vaccine, we’re

Photo by Finley Skelton Photography Group fi tness classes are held in various places within the Proehlifi c Park facility, including the gymnasium, to allow for social distancing.

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going to see more people feeling more comfortable and safer about going out,” Stoll said.

At Proehlific Park, staff moved exercise classes to the parking lot during the warm months and then to the gymnasium and indoor football field as weather turned cold.

“We can spread out and do it safely,” said Micheala Amidon, assistant director at Proehlific.

“When they come back, they talk about how much they missed the place, how much they needed the park for their physical and mental stability,” Amidon said.

For Thomas, lifting weights at Proehlific Park “is my one hour of the day that I do not sacrifice. With four kids, my day is crazy.”

Aside from the exercise, Thomas said she had missed staff and friends at the fitness center.

“It was like returning home to family I hadn’t seen for months and months,” she said, adding she wasn’t concerned about COVID-19 because she was comfortable with cleaning procedures and social distancing in the facility.

Returning members “talk about how much they need the park for their physical and mental stability,” Amidon said. “People have embraced coming back here.”

Proehlific Park has regained about three quarters of its members since the onset of the coronavirus, according to Mike Kennedy, the facility’s director. Strict adherence to the state’s cleaning requirements and recommendations has helped bring people back, he noted.

“COVID-19 has taught us a lot of things,” Kennedy said. “We’ve had to learn how to adjust to the different rules and meet people where they’re comfortable.”

On the average day, about 700 members are visiting the Spears Family YMCA, accounting for roughly half the number of people who visited the northwestern Greensboro facility before COVID-19, according to Executive Directoer Joe Hennigan.

“People are looking for things other than working out,” he said.

Shortly after the outbreak, the Spears YMCA provided emergency child care for first responders when the outbreak forced the closing of schools. It now provides accommodations for about 70 children a day for online schooling and after-school care.

“Our biggest takeaway is how deeply the Y is rooted in the community,” Hennigan said.

Membership is recovering, although “a lot of people are not 100 percent comfortable coming back,” he added.

Kristin Guthrie hasn’t rejoined the Spears Y, partly for financial considerations. Instead, she walks or runs about four miles a day and lifts weights in the garage of her home. Several times a month, she swims in a recreation center.

The YMCA’s temporary closing “caused me to think twice about my expenses,” said Guthrie, explaining she’s not yet prepared to resume paying monthly membership dues.

CrossFit Oak Ridge has regained about 75 percent of its members, according to co-owner Chad Gimbert. It has slowed efforts to recruit new members during the virus outbreak while stepping up cleaning procedures and placing red Xs on floor mats to separate people.

Some members have refrained from rejoining not only because of health concerns for themselves, but also for parents, spouses and co-workers, he said.

“It’s been a struggle, but I’m pretty positive,” Gimbert said. “People always want to be fit. Staying at home doesn’t meet their needs.”

Gimbert and fitness center operators said they’ll maintain cleaning procedures even after the threat of the virus retreats.

“We are changed forever,” said Proehl, owner of Proehlific Park. “People are so conscious of everything they touch now. I don’t think the mentality is going away. It is going to take some time for people to feel comfortable again.’’

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