Workout Facilities during Pandemic

By Halli Henninger

Throughout the city of Chattanooga, workout facilities are changing their normal routines due to Covid-19. 

The current modifications are the unusual hours, up to date cleaning precautions from CDC, and employees are taking on new roles. All of these steps are put in place to make members feel at ease going into the building.

SportsBarn, Kyle House Fitness, Workout Anytime, Gold’s Gym, and UTC’s campus Recreation have put out information on their websites about what is happening in their Chattanooga buildings to keep everyone safe. 

Each facility asks that members wear masks walking around. The masks are not required while exercising, swimming, or showering yet all social distancing rules still apply.

A retired UTC golfer, Rhegan Hall, has enjoyed attending workout classes at UTC’s Aquatic and Recreation Center doing HIIT workouts and Body Pump. 

Hall says, “It is nice to be able to have the opportunity to workout in a place outside of my apartment and with a group of community next to me. The fact that UTC is following CDC guidelines when it comes to workout classes makes it even better.”

There are still some of those who are apprehensive about going to a facility so they have made decisions to subscribe to online apps. 

A mom of four, Elizabeth Henninger, finds time for herself to get a workout in the busyness and inconsistent schedules. She uses the peloton app. 

Henninger says, “I am being super precautions because of the family members I am around weekly. I have found myself enjoying runs and walks outside but as it is getting colder I wanted something indoor so I use the Peloton app. I do indoor cycle classes, strength classes, bootcamp classes, and stretching.”

Henninger does at least one class a day and mentions that one of her favorite parts is “I can do it anywhere because all I need is myself and the app.” 

Gold’s Gym CEO, Adam Zeitsiff, makes it clear that proper social distancing and proper cleaning measures are happening in Gold’s Gyms across the country. 

“We are taking an intermission every day at 1:00 local time so that we can actually have people stop checking into the club and we can do a full clean of the club with our team and then of course overnight we are having a detailed cleaning…” Zeitsiff explains. 

If you want to learn more about Gold’s Gym protocol during the pandemic, click this link.