Public will have to book in advance for their trip to the pool or gym
THE importance of physical activity has been highlighted again and again in the past few months and many people have been missing their trips to local leisure clubs.
As these clubs begin to open their doors again this week, things are not going to be the same as when people last stepped foot in a pool or gym in March.
Gosia Tonewo, Manager at the Ashdown Park Hotel’s Club Ashdown, explained that walkins will no longer take place at the gym and that a new booking app for members has been put in place.
‘Members will book their one-hour slots in advance and plan their visit. There will be limited numbers in the changing rooms as well. Some facilities like the sauna, steam-room and jacuzzi, will still be closed so this week will be our first phase of opening.
‘We’re getting such a great response from people who want to come back and exercise, so what we can say is that the gym will be safe. In normal times we could fit a maximum of 40 people in the pool, but now this will be limited to 15 people,’ she said.
Hygiene measures like hand-sanitisers and extra-cleaning procedures will be in place and, after a one-hour training slot, the area will close for 15 minutes so that it can be sanitised and sprayed down.
Fitness classes are not going ahead for the moment and Gosia explained that patrons new gym and pool will experience a more controlled environment.
‘We will be allowing ten people in the gym at a time at the moment, we had to re-arrange the equipment and we removed some of the stock as well. It’s all going to be different, but we have been working hard preparing that behind closed doors throughout the lockdown. I hope we thought of everything, but we’ll see how it goes.
‘We thought we would have a little bit more time, but after the last announcement, it was intense to try and get the information out to members and getting systems ready. The good thing is that I was here when we were closed, so we had a lot of time to think about what way we wanted things to be done when we re-opened’.
Gosia said that physical exercise after the Covid-19 lockdown is something very important.
‘I believe that people are going to be more aware of how being fit and exercise is important. Being active, people see how it has an impact on their health. There’s research out there that shows that people who were fit and healthy recovered quicker after getting Covid-19. So there is that aspect that being healthy, going in for your swim and gym, I think it’s going to be very big now and people will be more aware of it.
‘We are getting a lot of people inquiring about new memberships, but also people asking to keep their membership on hold. There’s a chance we won’t be busy this first week but I think long-term, we will be busier,’ she said.