How We’re Keeping Our Members Safe
Somehow, caring about other people’s safety has become a controversial and political issue in 2020. Concern for our coaches and athletes, and their families, is not even a question for us. It’s the most important thing, period. Nobody is expendable for the sake of our business.
From day 1 we have been proactively working to make sure our members are safe. We originally closed the gym a week before the MN state mandate, when the school districts around us closed. We quickly pivoted to online classes. We loaned out all our dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, rowers, bikes, and more to our members for free. We offered free 1 on 1 coach check ins for all our members every week. We pulled out all the stops to keep our members moving.
In June we resumed limited in-person classes. However, we hold these classes exclusively in our outdoor workout space next to the building.
We limit the classes to 4 athletes, so each person has at least 12 feet between themselves and their classmates on either side. Equipment gets sanitized between classes, with extra time between sessions. The coaches are required to wear masks at all times and maintain social distancing. Since we’re outdoors in a well-ventilated, sunny space we do not require our members to wear masks once the workout starts. Before and after class, and if going inside to use the bathrooms, masks are on. Our policies are created and updated based on the latest research available, CDC guidelines, and in consultation with some of our members who are health care professionals.
We’re also leaving buffer days in between class days, to further decrease the risk of contaminated space or equipment. M/W/F we run classes online via Zoom, while T/Th/Sat we’re outdoors at the gym. For the folks who aren’t ready to be back in person yet, we’re keeping the online schedule going as long as we need to. Our members still have our dumbbells and kettlebells at home, so they can continue using them to get fit as long as possible.
We are offering personal training indoors, in our air-conditioned studio. The coach and athlete wear masks and maintain social distancing at all times. We also leave at least 15 minutes between athletes to ventilate the space and sanitize the floor and equipment.
The way we’re doing things is definitely not the norm right now within the local fitness scene. Lugging 1000lbs worth of equipment outside multiple times per week is inconvenient, but it’s worth it to make sure we’re able to give our clients a great workout in the safest in-person environment we can give them. We’re confident we’ve got the safest possible mix of options available to our clients, while still getting them great workouts and results. And it’s working.
