Home workout boom may leave gyms unfit for purpose

GYMS could struggle to reopen as fitness fans opt to stick to their lockdown routines, businesses have said.

Fitness centres can reopen from today, but Huw Edwards, chief executive of Ukactive, the trade body, warned that financial pressures mean it could be difficult for some.

Glen Hall, of Parkwood Leisure, which runs 80 local authority gyms, said it was inevitable that some people will have started working out at home, and that it could take a year or more for gym membership numbers to recover. He said Parkwood’s membership list has reduced by 21 per cent.

Anthony Franklin, founder of gymbooking app Fibodo, said: “There is a risk that some gym-goers have formed new exercise habits, and started running, taking online fitness classes, and booking PT sessions in the park during lockdown, meaning they are in no rush to return to the gym. Their new workfrom-home routine also means they no longer pass the gym on their commute to and from the workplace, with figures suggesting lots have since cancelled their memberships.”

Mr Hall said that social distancing also made opening some gyms unviable. He added: “We have a 25-station gym, and with guidance, that becomes eight. It’s impossible to offer something that stacks up from a commercial perspective.” But he said: “What we offer is more than just equipment. It’s the sense of community, and the opportunity to interact with someone else.”

Research by Ukactive showed that 87 per cent of gym members planned to return to their centres as soon as they reopened.

However, Mr Edwards said that some facilities would be unable to reopen because of the financial pressures of the Covid-19 crisis.

He added: “Physical activity has a central role to play in our nation’s recovery, and our gyms and leisure facilities are needed more than ever to strengthen our resilience to Covid-19, as well as to the underlying health conditions that have made this virus so deadly.”