Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Fitness » Richmond-area fitness centers navigate restrictions as Phase One of reopening begins – starexponent.com

After Gov. Ralph Northam announced the guidelines for the states first phase of reopening last week, AnnMarie Grohs said her reaction was probably like that of every other business owner.

We all just want to be open. But we all have to also be smart, said Grohs, who is the founder and owner of BOHO Studios, fitness centers with locations in the Museum District and Brookland Park.

There was buildup to the Phase One unveiling, coming off Northams May 4 announcement that businesses would likely be allowed to begin to reopen with restrictions.

Some gym owners and operators in the area believed that could mean they would be able to open their doors for the first time in weeks, but what they learned last week is that their businesses must keep their doors closed for now, but with the ability to host outdoor classes and activities with no more than 10 people.

But that doesnt apply yet to gyms in Richmond. Thats because the city will wait another two weeks before easing COVID-19 restrictions after Northam late Thursday granted Mayor Levar Stoneys request to delay the citys entry into Phase One.

Its all not quite what some proprietors expected, but theyre continuing to try to stay nimble to navigate this time of limited operations.

We were expecting a little bit sooner opening, said J. Patrick Galleher, co-owner of Midlothian Athletic Club. But this gives us a little bit more time to plan out and make sure that we got all of our bases covered on the reopening. And our staffs been kind of working around the clock on getting everything right for, hopefully, when were able to reopen.

The Phase One reopening took effect Friday where permitted. Among the outdoor activities that will be allowed in Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield counties is the opening of swimming pools for lap swimming only, one person per lane.

Some fitness centers, if they do opt to offer outdoor services, will have to get creative.

The Weight Room in Scotts Addition began allowing equipment rentals after it closed its physical location in March. Chris Lawyer, the gyms founder and owner, said most of the facilitys equipment is checked out. So he brought in a machinist to make benches and weight racks on site.

Lawyers plan was to set up racks outside and allow two to three clients at a time to visit, starting Friday. But, after Thursdays exception was granted to delay reopening in the city, Lawyer will curtail that.

The Weight Room will offer private and isolated, one-on-one, outdoor personal training in the interim.

Well make it work any way we can, and well keep it as safe as possible, Lawyer said.

Lawyer and Grohs, while not necessarily in disagreement with the hold on Phase One in Richmond, said they viewed the timing of the announcement just hours before the reopening was set to take effect as tough.

All of our plans are in place and pushed back, Grohs said Thursday evening. We know how we will softly reopen when we are able. We will do it slowly and when its safest.

Some centers, BOHO Studios and the Midlothian Athletic Club included, have offered remote fitness classes over the past several weeks to make up for the lack of in-person service. Both have had positive participation numbers Galleher said some of the Midlothian Athletic Clubs Zoom classes have averaged more than 100 members. So those will continue to be an option as things begin to reopen.

But the Midlothian Athletic Club, located in Chesterfield, will also be among the facilities administering outdoor classes, the first of which was scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday. The center has already hosted outdoor instruction in the past. It has held spin classes around its outdoor pool, and plans to use its large parking lot for high-intensity training classes. The Huguenot Park running trail is behind the facility, too.

Not all gyms have such space luxuries, though, which is among the challenges as Phase One reopening arrives.

The Hot Yoga Barre, which has Willow Lawn and Midlothian locations, reached out to a number of parks and outdoor venues, founder Angie Hardison said, but didnt heard back.

Hardison also said that the particular experience that The Hot Yoga Barre offers cannot truly be achieved outdoors anyway. The studios use an infrared heating system that can provide various health benefits, like boosting the immune system, she said.

If you take a studio that needs certain types of equipment, or a studio like us that relies on the heat for their experience, you just cant provide that for your clients outside, Hardison said.

Theres also the basic factor of weather. Hardison said The Hot Yoga Barre tried to schedule several outdoor classes last year, between March and June, but faced cancellations because of rain.

But The Hot Yoga Barre, like others, has begun to offer online services, with more than 100 on-demand videos and one live stream class per day.

For now, gym owners and operators will simply have to continue to wait for that time when they can offer more services and welcome clients back into their facilities. What the response will be like when that happens is to be determined.

Hardison suspects that there will be people on both extremes those who cant wait to get back and those who will choose to stay at home for a while.

And then well have the people in the middle who are cautiously optimistic about it, she said.

In the meantime, the facilities will try to make due with the parameters available to them.

Like everybody, we would love life to be back to what it was weeks ago, Grohs said. And unfortunately were just not at that point. So were all just kind of navigating week by week.

Read the original post:
Richmond-area fitness centers navigate restrictions as Phase One of reopening begins - starexponent.com

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Fitness » Richmond-area fitness centers navigate restrictions as Phase One of reopening begins – starexponent.com