“Are you coming out of the pandemic a hunk, a chunk or a drunk?”, says a friend of mine the other day on social media (thanks Rudy!) Well, being a female I can’t be a hunk, but as to either of the other two…..I’m going to say, “No comment”, thank you very much!
From what I’ve seen around town, if you’re able bodied, you have been enjoying the out of doors a lot these past two months of quarantine. I’ve always hiked and walked our areas in and around town, and I have to say, our pathways have been more crowded than ever. It’s good we’ve tried to stay healthy and take in the sunshine. But it’s getting mighty warmish outside now, so the timing that our gymnasiums, yoga and dance studios can reopen, couldn’t be better!
Here are the official government guidelines from the state, below.
Phase 2 GYMS & FITNESS FACILITIES (INCLUDING DANCE STUDIOS, YOGA STUDIOS, ETC.) may reopen in Phase 2 under the following restrictions:
-Larger gyms shall be capped at 50% of occupancy per applicable fire code and must implement social distancing requirements.
-Smaller or “boutique” gyms that can only accommodate 10 or less people may reopen only if they can accommodate the social distancing requirements including six feet of distance between individuals.
-Employees must wear face coverings at all times. Members are encouraged to wear face coverings to the maximum extent practicable.
-Equipment must be arranged to ensure six feet of social distancing and equipment should be designated inoperable or turned off to ensure six feet of social distancing
-Group fitness class participation will be limited to allow for at least six feet of spacing between participants.
-Locker rooms shall be closed except for restrooms.
-Use of showers, steam rooms, saunas, portable saunas, vapor baths, salt therapy rooms, hot tubs, and any other communal facilities are prohibited (except for pools as allowed in the Phase 2 Directive).
-No contact sports like basketball, boxing, martial arts, and wrestling.
General guidelines throughout the state continue to be that any employee of any establishment who interacts with the general public should be masked. It is recommended that all of us wear masks, but it is not required if you are working out in a gym.
Above all, do what you feel comfortable with of course, and for heaven’s sake if you even think you have a fever or might be sick at all, then stay home to minimize the risks.
We called the owners of Anytime Fitness, Eric and Kyle, and they tell us, “We’re open today and working now on an ‘anytime schedule’, and there are of course restrictions that you have to follow. It’s been very busy to get to this point with only two days of notice. But we’ve been cleaning everything these past two days and are ready to go! We are fully compliant with all of the mandates and have plenty of hand sanitizer and wipes on hand. Thank you to all of our members for their support, and we look forward to seeing them all soon!” By the way, their phone service is down currently, but have been assured that should be up and running soon.
We also reached out to our beloved Dance Etc. in town, and Anna Lawson says, “We will reopen for “in person” classes on Monday July 6th, 2020. My staff and I all agree, at this point we want to make sure Phase II reopening goes well and youth activities/sports are included safely- which has not been announced in the reopening plan quite yet. We feel waiting a few weeks is the proper thing to do dealing with the safety of our students and staff.”
Lastly, we hit up the folks at Snap Fitness in town. Owner Steele Sacks, who has several Snap locations wrote to us, “Workout in the gym and you’re going to be healthier and it is highly unlikely that you will be hurt by the virus…We have a good citizen agreement that everyone must agree to and this is the key to our cleaning and member safety. The member is key in the process… Protect yourself as much as you can is the only way this will truly work.”
The folks at Snap Fitness in town have also created a little informal video tour featuring the Manager Mayi Rosenbaum Reiss. You can check that out below, (click twice to start the video):
