It has not been an easy year for companies in the business of keeping people fit and healthy. In fact, by the end of the third quarter of 2020, 15 percent of U.S. gyms, health clubs and studios had permanently closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). […]
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It has not been an easy year for companies in the business of keeping people fit and healthy.
In fact, by the end of the third quarter of 2020, 15 percent of U.S. gyms, health clubs and studios had permanently closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).
The start of a New Year is typically a busy time for gyms as people make New Year’s resolutions — a popular one, of course, is to shed pounds.
However, New Haven area gyms still face months of uncertainty as the pandemic rages on and vaccine distribution is still in its early stages. Health clubs have adopted virtual classes and enhanced safety measures, taken to the outdoors, or provided other alternatives to in-person exercise to stay afloat and keep members engaged.
Gov. Ned Lamont ordered gyms to close in March, then allowed them to reopen in June at 50 percent capacity (25 percent capacity for fitness classes). That created a need for quick thinking.
MActivity co-owner Burch Valldejuli relied on her professional background with the Yale School of Public Health to keep her gym members and staff safe. The New Haven facility on Nicoll Street is five years old and has a new HVAC system with increased airflow. Safety protocols have also been put into place but they haven’t been enough to bring back a majority of members.
“People were very fearful. We hemorrhaged — we’ve lost three-quarters of our membership. We went from 1,800 members to 750,” Valldejuli says. A Paycheck Protection Program loan helped get the gym through to a mid-June reopening, but it's only seeing about 150 members visit daily.
“What is interesting is that our elderly members have stayed. They know that if they don’t exercise, they’ll get sick. The group that we have lost is those who are working and with children. Kids are at home doing online school, you’re at home doing online work and there’s just no time,” she says.
In addition to the gym, mActivity has a conference room, wine bar and museum gallery.
In March, to subsidize income, she began offering virtual classes with the gym’s instructors and access to on-demand fitness provider WellBeats, including meditation and nutrition services.
“This is the wave of the industry now. Virtual platforms are what’s holding the industry up,” she says.
“My prayer is that as more people get the vaccine, consumer confidence will increase,” Valldejuli said. “We have not had a single COVID case at the gym. We’ll just keep taking it one day at a time.”
No replacement
Paul Milano runs Resilient Training Lab, a personal training group that operates within North Haven’s Revolution Fitness Club, located on Washington Avenue.
When gyms were closed, he began to host free virtual seminars to educate viewers on nutrition, fitness and strength training. He created an app with habit-building programs to help clients reach their goals. He also launched a blog and podcast and hired two additional coaches. When gyms reopened in June, the trainers switched to a semi-private/hybrid/remote model. Groups of three to five members come in for a half-hour workout.
“That way we can manage traffic a little bit better and we can keep everyone on a personalized program based on their goals, training history and injury history,” he says.
As one group warms up and gets started on their workout, the next group comes in and follows suit, rotating through the gym to allow members to socially distance.
Once the world returns to normal, Milano said he plans to establish another location. In the meantime, through the start of the New Year, virtual services will be expanded, including a virtual mentorship program that trains budding entrepreneurs how to be a health coach and run a business.
“The 12-week program was one of our big focuses in the lockdown — we needed to develop and create some alternate revenue streams,” he says. “It’s open to all trainers. We had people from all over — Amsterdam, Brazil and Australia. It was nice to see the international reach.”
After the initial shutdown, The Edge Fitness Clubs began to live-stream online classes free to the public.
Jenn Kuehn, The Edge’s national director of group exercise, says offering free classes is part of building a community atmosphere during these unprecedented times. It also aims to keep members not ready to return to the gym floor engaged, so they will come back — and pay dues — once the pandemic fades away.
“Nothing will ever replace the personal in-club experience, but for those who are not ready to come back, the virtual classes are an option,” she said. “It could be a revenue stream at some point.”
