Gyms around the world have taken a huge hit as a result of the dreaded COVID-19 and new isolation rules, but for some of them, they are taking the new challenge in their stride and are innovating to support their staff and their members.
While the news of closures in many countries around the world is devastating on the businesses, it is also tough for all of the members who rely on that space for their physical and mental health. Gyms become communities over time and many people rely on that social interaction.
That is why Australian studio Flow Athletic, Sydney’s leading fitness and yoga studio is doing their best to keep their community connected with FaceTime Personal Training and live stream classes.
Classes are awesome, but many people like to have their own time with their trainer and for their workouts to be personalised.
The week before we all were shut down, one of my members was in isolation after returning back from overseas. He asked me if I could do his training session with him via FaceTime. It was the best idea ever because then a few other members asked for it and now it is a service we provide.
While we are all physical distancing, it is important that we don’t lose all social connection. Being stuck at home is fun for a day, then it gets tough. It’s important to get as much interaction with people as possible for your mental health, especially in these stressful times.
Considering we are all physical distancing because of our health, it makes sense that we should try to keep healthy while we are at it. Being stuck inside means less incidental exercise for most of us so it is important that we schedule some extra time to workout in to help boost our immunity and keep us physically and mentally strong
We are also live streaming our group classes to keep people interacting with eachother and to keep our personal trainers working. We are actually hosting 60 live classes a week covering strength, yoga, Pilates and even spin. In fact, we loaned all of our bikes out to members so they could keep up their classes from their living rooms.
We have 4 x channels on Facebook live with each class so members can interact and chat with eachother on the page to stay connected
We are not the only ones who have been affected by this. So many trainers all over the world are out of work. If you want to keep up your training, we suggest FaceTime as it will not only be good for them but also good for you.
Ben Lucas director of Flow Athletic www.flowathletic.com.au