Gyms and fitness centers are some of the top businesses that are hit the hardest by the pandemic. As they’re not considered to provide essential services and they have high operational costs, it’s not surprising that many are struggling to survive the pandemic. So much so that some are willing to operate illegally just to stay afloat.
But it’s not just the ones willing to commit illicit activities who are still offering fitness-related services today. Since adversity breeds creativity, there are also a number of brands who came up with unique ideas to continue their services despite the challenges today. Here are a few of the most notable ones that you might want to try out.
Outdoor workouts
Lots of gyms moved their operations from indoor spaces to outdoor venues. Those that use exercise equipment like Equinox Fitness and SoulCycle constructed covered areas to keep their clients and machines protected from the elements even while exercising in the wild. Others just moved their operations from their locations to open spaces like parks and unused parking lots like Orangetheory Fitness and numerous dance studios around the country.
With better ventilation and air movement, it’s considered safer to exercise outdoors and in an enclosed space. If these gyms and setups are available in your area, they can be good alternatives for you.
At-home workouts
Since it’s safest to stay home in order to maintain a significant amount of distance from others, lots of fitness clubs also started offering at-home workouts. Some are unsupervised like UFC Gym’s free workout tutorials on their social media websites and Curves’ MyCurves OnDemand but many offer virtual private lessons. The Little Gym was one of the early adopters of this technique and it helped them provide solid support to their members and followers.
These services vary greatly as some don’t have supervision while others will allow you to work with a trainer even if they’ll just monitor you through a video call. It’s still a great deal, especially if you want to make sure that your form is proper and that you’re doing a good job in executing your workout.
Safety First
Exercise is one of the best ways to boost your immune system that will help you fight off infections and viruses so it’s more important than ever to workout. However, you should also be very mindful where to do it as some environments are less ideal than others.
By offering these alternative methods, gyms provide reliable substitutes to their traditional spaces. They might not be the most ideal for some folks but during these times, they have to make do.