WHEN gyms reopened on October 11, many fitness trainers faced a harsh reality: virtual exercising had left gyms virtually empty. The covid19 pandemic took a heavy toll on gyms and forced many fitness trainers to reinvent themselves.
“There has been a gentle return to the gyms,” said fitness trainer Simone Gonzales. “Vaccinated people are coming back to Fitness Centre in Diego Martin. It’s not busy, but I do see people happy for the socialising aspect of training with other people – even though they have to wear a mask.”
Just how well the usual gym crowd did on their own during the pandemic lockdown remains to be seen.
“Physically, I think people did their best during the lockdown. People who are gym people tried Zoom classes,” said Gonzales.
Fitness trainers noted that during the lockdowns, gym buffs also searched YouTube for exercises they could manage on their own. They said they saw people experimenting with other exercises like walking and cycling when government allowed outdoor activities.
In the first week gyms reopened, Gonzales said she saw about ten per cent of her clients return.
When the pandemic first hit, Gonzales, like many other fitness trainers, took some time to adopt to virtual classes.
“I waited a couple of weeks into the pandemic and then realised this pandemic wasn’t going away quickly, so I offered exercise via Zoom,” said Gonzales. “I started with about ten per cent of my clients in Zoom classes. Over time, about 70 per cent of my clients joined my Zoom classes.”
Gonzales expects many of her clients eventually to return to the gym because they depend on her expertise to keep them injury-free.
“My clients are a mature group. They are aging, but aging well because they have been working out in gyms for a long time. I have clients who started exercising in their 40s so they don’t have injuries. You won’t find them falling. They want to maintain that level of fitness. The emotional and social aspect of being in a gym is especially important in the mature group.”
Before the pandemic, Jonathan George designed exercise programmes in schools and did training with clients in various gyms. During lockdown, he settled into Zoom classes and did home visits when permitted.
“Some people are scared to come back to the gyms, but some people want the social setting and the machines,” he said.
He feels about 60 per cent of people will return to the gyms eventually and the other 40 per cent will stick with the convenience of Zoom or private home sessions.
“Gym instructors will be there in the gyms once the clients are there, but some trainers are gravitating towards having their own home gyms and bringing the clients to them. Many people find their instructors’ home gyms are safer and more personalised.”
Before covid19, George estimates about 80 per cent of his clients went to the gym. He devoted about 20 per cent of his time to training his weight-training clients in their homes. That has changed drastically.
“Thirty per cent of my clients are training with me on Zoom and and 70
