Medical experts advising fitness club members to be super carfeful
Working out at the gym can possibly lead to coronavirus exposure. Medical experts are offering safety tips that can help prevent infection of covid-19.
There’s nothing like a good workout to combat coronavirus-related anxieties — but are trips to the gym safe amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?
While there’s no need to throw down the dumbbell for good, some gyms are closing as a precautionary measure during the ongoing outbreak. Read on for a list of national chains and fitness studios that have shut their doors (for the time being) to fight the spread of the virus.
24 Hour Fitness
On Monday, 24 Hour Fitness announced that all locations would be temporarily closed.
Until facilities reopen, the gym is encouraging people to download their 24GO app and stay active with its “hundreds of digital workouts."
Equinox
Luxury gym Equinox posted a short statement to its website on Monday evening announcing its temporary closure. (iStock)
Luxury gym Equinox posted a short statement to its website on Monday evening, explaining that all club locations and showrooms have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
Gold's Gym
On March 16, Gold’s Gym announced in a statement that all company-owned locations in the U.S. have been temporarily closed, tentatively until March 31, in a bid to slow and stop the spread of the coronavirus.
"This is not a business decision but a humanity decision. We want to protect our community and people of all ages by doing what we can to flatten the disease's curve,” said CEO and President Adam Zeitsiff. “To fight this virus, we have to stand firm with everyone who is working to contain the spread. We are truly stronger together."
Describing exercise as a critical part of good health and supporting the immune system, members and non-members of Gold’s Gym have been granted free, premium access to the company’s digital personal training app, GOLD’s AMP, through May 31.
LA Fitness
To help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19, LA Fitness closed operations at all facilities as of March 16. (iStock)
To help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19, LA Fitness closed operations at all facilities as of March 16. The gym’s hundreds of locations will be closed until “at least” April 1, the company detailed on their website.
All memberships will be extended to make up for these temporary closures, LA Fitness said. In addition, the gyms will continue to be cleaned.
“During this time, we will continue to have maintenance and janitorial crews on duty so that when we reopen, we will know we have done everything to ensure our clubs are ready for your return,” the statement said.
WAYS THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK COULD END, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS
Life Time
Citing guidance from local, state and federal government authorities on the coronavirus pandemic, all Life Time gyms have been temporarily shuttered, the company said.
All clubs closed on Monday night, Bahram Akradi, founder and CEO of Life Time said in a statement shared to Instagram. Active memberships will receive a prorated credit for the amount of time the club is closed.
“Our entire organization is committed to your health and well-being… We are tirelessly working to see how we can help you and our communities in any way we can, including whether we can repurpose our facilities to become a resource or service centers for our members,” Akradi said.
Orangetheory Fitness
With “mixed emotion,” Orangetheory announced on Monday that all corporate-owned studios would be closed after the last class.
Franchisees were instructed to check in with advisers to make a decision on operating policies during the pandemic, and “many” chose to close for the time being.
However, as this situation continues to evolve rapidly, we believe that temporarily closing is the right thing to do. Our goal is to reopen March 31,” the gym said in a statement.
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Planet Fitness
No membership? No problem. Planet Fitness is offering free workouts on Facebook Live to get moving and beat stress during the ongoing outbreak. No equipment is needed and workout classes will be 20 minutes or less, the company said in a statement shared with Fox News.
Planet Fitness members with questions about the operating status of their local gym given coronavirus concerns are advised to turn to the company’s gym map for specific instructions.
SoulCycle
All SoulCycle locations have been temporarily closed worldwide, the cycling studio announced on Monday.
“Never did we imagine a day where we’d have to close the doors to 99 studios and countless riders who turn to SoulCycle for a safe space. But what makes Soul so special is not our studios — it’s our people,” SoulCycle interium CEO Sunder Reddy said on Instagram. “And during this critical time, keeping our riders, instructors, and studio teams safe is our absolute top priority.”
Expiration dates on class series have been frozen until at least April 30, Reddy said.
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As of early Tuesday afternoon, the novel coronavirus had infected at least 189,386 people around the world, while the death toll had risen to at least 7,504.
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