Unlocking the gym

Fitness centres plan to clean up their act to lure enthusiasts back

People rarely associate Crossfit with subtlety. Yet, an understated air has affected Bengaluru resident Mamata Volvoikar whenever she has performed this high-intensity workout at home in the last four months. Her kicks and stretches are carefully placed to avoid knocking over potted plants in her apartment. “I am always worried what I might hit,” says the graphic designer. She jumps softly because the living room floor is hard and because it might disturb the people living downstairs. All this makes her miss the sense of freedom and space experienced in a gym but her trainers are not planning to reopen for at least another month.

The centre gave gyms the nod to restart from August 5, as part of Unlock 3.0. However, a cloud of confusion persists. Some state governments are yet to give their approval, and the official standard operating procedure (SOP) has not been shared still. The move followed protests by trainers in various parts of India, who flexed their muscles under signs that asked why fitness centres were banned from opening when liquor shops were not.

Gyms feature a lot of heavy breathing, perspiration, and correspondingly less ventilation. The owners have their work cut out to make people feel safe. Avid gymgoers usually spend 90 minutes to two hours sweating it out. That is all set to change. To observe social distancing rules, most owners plan to stop walk-ins and make users book time slots in advance. Guards will screen temperature and offer sanitiser. The bigger chains are replacing biometric access with online check-ins. Workout slots will last about an hour, after which doors will close for anywhere between five and 15 minutes while the staff cleans and disinfects the space. Users will also be expected to wipe down surfaces and equipment after they are done. Floor markers will tell people how much area is theirs to move in.

While waiting for further advisories from the government, Gold’s Gym has been preparing, says Shraddha Sheth, vice president of sales and marketing. “The situation is fluid but we are in readiness. Deep cleaning is done, orientation of staff is complete.” Housekeeping staff, in protective bodysuits, will be sanitising for five minutes every hour. At the chain’s outlets in the United States, where fitness centres have reopened, patrons are wearing masks and gloves throughout the workout. The 150 outlets in India have remained closed throughout the lockdown, paying lowered rent given no income, but none of them have permanently shuttered nor have any of its roughly 3,000 employees been laid off.

Some gyms will simply not risk opening until later this year. Once More Crossfit, based in Hennur in Bengaluru, has sent clients, including Volvoikar, resistance bands and dumbbells so they can continue training remotely over Zoom calls. It will also be moving to a bigger facility, she says, so that rigorous weight lifting and group sessions can be adequately spaced out. Even within facilities that will reopen soon, certain areas will remain out of bounds. For example, Gold’s Gym’s studios for yoga and spinning will be closed, says Sheth, because it is difficult to maintain distance in those settings. High energy, free moving Zumba lessons will be on hold too. Gym-goers will have to bring their own water bottles, towels and yoga mats.

The lives of personal trainers are changing, too. Samir

Jaura feels like a

“man from space” whenever he calls on Siddhanth

Chaturvedi, the only client he has been coaching at home. While the actor trains in his workout clothes, Jaura wears a PPE suit. Once back home, all his clothes, and even his shoes, get the washingmachine treatment. The other trainers in his staff do the same. For Prashant Sawan, trainer to the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay

Devgn, cleaning the house himself these last few months has made him even more conscious about that aspect of running a fitness centre. “I’ll be taking personal interest in cleanliness from now on,” he says. Not much will change at his two studios in Mumbai because he limited the number of visitors long before it became the norm. “There are a maximum of five people every hour.”

Whereas Sawant has been training over the internet for six years, Jaura launched virtual sessions only during lockdown. “The future is going to be a more hybrid one with the option to exercise online or access a gym or studio,” says Neha Motwani, cofounder of Mumbai-bsed Fitternity. Her app, which traditionally allowed users to book sessions at nearby gyms, has now been aggregating web content and letting people sign up for live and prerecorded sessions or oneon-one classes.

Her hypothesis is confirmed by fitness buffs. Volvoikar, for example, has realised she can save time and money by travelling to the gym less often and working out at home some days of the week. Weight training enthusiast Devjit Acharya has taken to free exercises indoors and running in parks, while a number of his friends have set up home gyms. He does not plan on returning to his Delhibased gym at least till September. “If the phased entry and sanitising works, it works. I will wait it out.” At least in the immediate months, it won’t be quite so tricky finding an empty treadmill at the gym.