Gyms, yoga studios offer virtual workout options
Being stuck at home has its benefits, including eliminating commute times to work, maximizing comfort and avoiding the chances of catching or transmitting COVID-19.
One major downside: It’s extremely easy to become a couch potato and forsake physical fitness, especially now that most Pennsylvania gyms are closed due to Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to temporarily shut down all “nonessential businesses” statewide.
To help folks not get too complacent, many gyms, yoga studios and recreation centers have made it a point to provide members with ways to stay active that don’t involve leaving their living rooms.
“It’s time to stay at home but also take care of yourself,” said Janna Hockenjos, owner of Downtown yoga studio Inhale Pittsburgh. “There are definitely ways we can do that; they just look a lot different right now.”
Inhale Pittsburgh canceled inperson classes on March 13 (and paused all membership fees) as a precaution, and now the studio is doubling down on its virtual offerings. Inhale is still putting on a class a day via Facebook Live — available for $20 a week on the studio’s private Facebook page “Inhale at Home” — and also sells both video and audio classes for $5.
Ms. Hockenjos said she was nervous about her clients’ response to closing the studio, but they have mostly been understanding.
“It was a really hard decision, especially because there weren’t studios in Pittsburgh doing that [last week],” she said. “But it was met with a lot of thank yous and positive feedback and support from our community. The scary part was, what happens if you cancel classes? I was very surprised and thankful by the support.”
Another Pittsburgh yoga studio, Urban Elements Power Yoga & Indoor Cycling on the North Side, has allowed its instructors to take over the company’s Instagram account for one free live class per day.
Urban Elements is also asking members to send photos of themselves taking those Instagram classes, suggest their favorite workouts so the studio can share them with others and find themselves an “accountability buddy,” as co-owner Sharon Skittle put it, to keep them honest and stave off laziness.
“I think it’s important to stay fit at any time,” she said. “There are mental as well as physical benefits to staying active. Our bodies were meant to move, and it’s so easy to fall into a sedentary pattern when you’re at home.”
If you’re looking for homebound activities that involve more movement than yoga, Planet Fitness has you covered. The national gym chain is also offering a free daily fitness class Monday through Friday through the company’s Facebook page for the next two weeks (at least) led by its instructors.
Each class will be about 20 minutes, won’t require any equipment and will also be available through Planet Fitness’ Facebook and YouTube pages after the initial livestream.
“The home workouts will offer tools to combat stress while providing motivation and inspiration sure to keep us all physically and mentally fit,” Jeremy Tucker, Planet Fitness’ chief marketing officer, said via email.
The need for home workouts became a little greater on Thursday, when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses in the state to close by 8 p.m. to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
There are plenty of other ways to burn calories from home, like doing Alexa’s seven-minute workout on an Amazon Echo, playing the fantasy fitness game “Ring Fit Adventure” on a Nintendo Switch or following the wellness suggestions on the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s “Y With You” campaign, which has tips for workouts, nutrition, mental health and more.
Alissa Clendenen, YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s communications director, said the organization plans to share more health tips with its members over the next few weeks. She also wanted to remind the YMCA community that canceling memberships while the facilities are closed could greatly impede the other services it provides, including food pantries and low-income housing assistance among others.
“Providing value to our members and encouraging them to stick with us through our temporary closure will help ensure that we can continue providing these services,” Ms. Clendenen said.
While plenty of local gyms and yoga studios are keeping their members moving through virtual means for the next few months — or possibly longer — they have much more riding on a return to normal than just continuing to help Pittsburghers work out.
“For a small business, this is a catastrophic event,” Urban Elements’ Skittle said. “We are scared as to how we’ll bounce back when this is over.”