Fitness, wellness and sports centres were most affected during the peak and post-Covid-19 and the current restrictions. Many had to close down, while some found ways to restructure and start teaching, coaching and training in new ways.
Youth Observer spoke to a few fitness and wellness centres about the new way of working out and rebuilding the relationship between instructors and clients.
****
Coach Mothilal Jayathilake (Coach MJ) CrossFit Colombo
Q: How has the business restructured post Covid-19?
A: CrossFit (CF) is the biggest fitness and health revolution in the world. CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance. The program works for everyone — people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years.
The CF Colombo community stays loyal due to several reasons.
Workouts - The magic is in the movement. CrossFit workouts are different every day and can be modified to help each athlete achieve their goals. The workouts may be adapted for people at any age and level of fitness.
Lifestyle - Off the carbs, off the couch. The CrossFit lifestyle — a combination of sound nutrition and exercise — is the key to fitness and long-term health
The community - Your support network. At thousands of affiliates around the world, people encourage and motivate each other in every class as they work toward their goals. Start training with friends. Make new friends. The fun is in the community.
Constant Variation - Different every day, CrossFit workouts are tailored to the individual. Functional movements - CrossFit uses safe, effective, and efficient movements similar to those you use every day in life.
High Intensity in CrossFit workouts, intensity levels are adjusted to challenge the individual and safely improve fitness.
The good news is that we can reverse our health and rapidly improve our resilience to infection and disease through just a few simple lifestyle changes to our diet, how we exercise, sleep and reduce stress.” Highlighting how conditions related to excess body fat affect the immune system and explaining why poor metabolic health can be equated with poor immune health. The work has to happen every day, but the incentive is clear: do the work every day of your life and you will have more days of life.
Q: Some of the most hit businesses are fitness centres, studios and gyms. What precautions have you taken?
A: To reduce the risk of getting infected, CrossFit Colombo has lowered class sizes to a maximum of eight people. Also bought a sanitizing machine to spray the building with and set up hand-washing stations to keep everything clean and safe. The new protocols every two weeks can be challenging, however, we adapted to provide a safe environment for our athletes.
CrossFit Colombo adheres to all local health guidelines and regulations. Should there be a discrepancy between government requirements and CrossFit standards, any staff members or coaches identified as having Covid-19; must isolate in accordance with CDC guidelines and local health requirements. Known contacts of any infected individuals will be notified and encouraged to quarantine and/or undergo testing in accordance with CDC guidelines and local health orders.
Q: Post lockdown, how hard is it to get back to business?
A: CF is easy to promote. The gym was open on and off for months over the last year, over that period we stripped our gym bare, rented it all out to our members and provided home workout programs both with and without equipment. I’ve witnessed strong relationships built during this time; with a great community of like-minded people who are continuously improving themselves and supporting each other. Many of our members were grateful for CF, as they were keeping fit paired with a supportive community during a very isolating period.
Q: Your advice to those still hesitant to go to the gym?
A: Everyone needs to be more educated on the matter. People who tend to be sedentary were far more likely to be hospitalized from Covid-19 than those who exercised regularly. We promote CF, affiliates credentialed expert coaches will help you improve your health. The program is modified for each person to help him or her safely become healthier and fitter. Regular Exercise May Help Protect Against Severe Covid-19.
****
Nare Bandaranayake - founder, Barressential
Q: How has the business restructured post Covid-19?
The business had to undergo a complete restructuring post-Covid-19 as our model was fully based on in-person classes. Recognising the risk we closed our studio a week before the country officially shut down. We had to quickly pivot, we moved fast and launched our virtual offering a day before the first lockdown started.
Our instructors upskilled themselves to be effective in an entirely new teaching format. We also recognised that cash conservation is the key to survive this pandemic and renegotiated our fixed cost base. Further, we needed to keep connecting with our community, educating them on the dangers of the pandemic and reminding them of the importance of staying healthy via their regular workouts. It took some time to gain traction as virtual workouts were a novel concept to most Sri Lankans but we pushed through the initial resistance. Now, our hybrid business model benefits from the best of both worlds: virtual and in-studio classes.
Q: Some of the most hit businesses are fitness centres, studios and gyms. What precautions have you taken?
A: From the very start, we understood our primary responsibility was the safety of our clients and our team. One of our differentiating factors is that we are heavily science-oriented and this helped us during the pandemic. At a time when people were dismissing Covid19 as the flu, we understood this was a much more real threat. We were the first to close down and the last to re-open our studio in the first lockdown.
We have been industry leaders on pandemic safety within indoor spaces: our strict protocols haven’t eased for the entirety of the pandemic regardless of case counts.
Our understanding of the disease mechanics means we take the right precautions: prescreening of clients, ensuring adequate ventilation, masking at all times, sanitisation with industrial level equipment, over six feet distance between clients and operating at a 20% capacity.
Q: Post lockdown, how hard is it to get back to business?
A: If we were laxer on our protocols, it would be easier but this is a tradeoff that we are not willing to consider. As such, it has been a very challenging 19 months. After every closure, it takes time to gain back the pre-closure momentum.
However, we understood from the start that this was going to be a two-year event at best so we set ourselves up mentally and financially to ride these waves in the safest way possible. At this stage, people are fatigued, they have fallen out of their regular schedules, they’ve got kids to look after whilst working from home - it’s not easy.
However, one of the ills of a pandemic is the other diseases that begin to crop up from this sedentary lifestyle we are now leading: heart disease and back pain to name two. So it’s important to get moving. Our advice to our prospective clients is to make the most of the virtual option, book in for a class with our lucrative intro offers, roll off their bed and onto the mat and move their bodies. If anything this pandemic has shown us all the priceless nature of good health.
Q: Your advice to those still hesitant to go to the gym?
A: My advice would be to stay virtual or find a fitness studio like ours that takes Covid-19 seriously and has plenty of precautions in place to optimise the safety of clients and staff. This includes requiring mask-wearing, severely reduced numbers at the studio at any given time, thorough cleaning protocols in place and a general concern of the wellbeing of the community as a whole. If your gym doesn’t take any of these precautions, please reconsider visiting as it only drags this pandemic out further. We ask our clients to hold us accountable for our safety protocols - ultimately it’s their loved ones we are protecting.
****
Dr. Miuru Jayaweera - Founder, Myrus Yoga & Fitness
Q: How has the business restructured Post Covid-19?
A: More than a ‘business’ Myrus Yoga has been able to help individuals as a ‘service-oriented offering’ during Covid and post Covid periods in Sri Lanka and overseas. Most of the meditation and Breathwork sessions were given free of charge for those who were Covid positive and were at the risk of contracting the virus. Post-Covid, the service is stronger than ever, still on the Myrus Digital Platform. And its clients have no qualms about classes not being held in physical locations as yet.
Q: Some of the most hit businesses are fitness centres, studios and gyms. What precautions have you taken?
A: If you take the world statistics, Fitness and Wellness come at the top of the list to have benefitted out of the situation. Through diversified methods such as opening services online, the industry saw a seamless transition into a new business extension. Myrus Yoga & Fitness for the first time expanded to the Asian, European, Australian & Middle Eastern markets as well as gained popularity among Sri Lankan expats around the globe during the pandemic.
Q: Post lockdown, how hard is it to get back to business?
A: It is not hard. We are very busy as it is.
Q: Your advice to those still hesitant to go to the gym?
A: You do not have to step out of the house for a workout. A small undisturbed space in your garden, garage, hall or bedroom is more than enough for a good, sweat breaking, satisfying workout. Myrus Yoga & Fitness has touched many lives through mind and body activity through products such as Vinyasa, Hatha and Yin Yoga classes for adults (male/female) Fitness Sessions for adults (male/ female)
Kid’s Yoga & Fitness Sessions, Personal Training (Medical Yoga) Sessions, Meditation and Breathwork sessions, Myrus Fat Loss Programme to name only a few.
The world has now welcomed the new normal. I think it is now time to earnestly think about going fully online which would be more cost-effective, convenient and time positive to both the service provider and the client.
****
Ashanthi Soris - Founder, Breakthrough Studio
Q: How has the business restructured post Covid-19?
A: Post Covid-19, we’ve created an online platform, called Breakthrough Online, where clients workout from the comfort and safety of their home.
 Ashanthi Soris |
Breakthrough Online offers, Live, unlimited workouts five times a week, at three to four different time schedules, two in the morning and two in the evening. The wide range of times offered gives the clients flexibility to join at the time or times most convenient to them.
The sessions are live, which means that the coach is NOT working out with them, but coaching them while watching them live, correcting their technique, encouraging them to complete their workouts, and motivating them in the process.
The sessions are Unlimited, so if a client wants to more than one session a day they can. Five different workouts on all five days! to burn tone and lose fat faster. Mondays are Tabata workouts., Tuesday pure body burn, Wednesdays circuit training, Thursday is abs and core and Friday is functional Friday. The schedules are created weekly and no schedules are repeated at any given point, keeping it challenging, not repetitive and interesting. Schedules are created specifically to burn, tone and lose fat!
The coach will also attend to new clients one on one, with extra videos and tutorials to improve the technique and understand the workouts better
Q: Some of the most hit businesses are fitness centres, studios and gyms. What precautions have you taken?
A: Temperature checks and hand sanitization.
Sanitisation of the studio twice a day Sanitisation of each piece of equipment before and after each class. Reducing the number of clients at the gym per session. Also each member has access to their own bottles of sanitizer, which they can use at their preference.
Q: Post lockdown, how hard is it to get back to business?
A: It’s been a challenge post Covid, to get back to business, clients have got used to a different routine, home schooling. Mums have to spend more time at home, plus most offices are working from home online, so yes it’s been challenging to get clients to get back to the studio, because their habits and lifestyles have changed.
Q: Your advice to those still hesitant to go to the gym?
A: Fitness is an essential part of building your immunity against the virus. If you have never worked out before now would be a great time to start. There is nothing more important that one’s health, and an integral part of a holistic lifestyle, is being fit and healthy at any age.
****
Tarja De Silva - Founder, T&A fitness
Q: How has the business restructured post Covid-19?
A: It is still a struggle as we faced numerous lockdowns and restrictions throughout 2020-2021. We started our business initially online during the first Covid outbreak, therefore we had our online platform to keep us going steady.
Q: Some of the most hit businesses are fitness centres, studios and gyms. What precautions have you taken?
A: As mentioned above, it was the online platform that saved the day!
Q: Post lockdown, how hard is it to get back to business?
A: We never stopped pre-post Covid, but it was hard to get people back into the studio as Some have settled into the online life and others are still reluctant to come into the studio.
Q: Your advice to those still hesitant to go to the gym?
A: As for T&A fitness, we always make sure our patrons are safe and comfortable in our space. We limit the number of people per class and take all necessary health and safety precautions. My advice would be to trust the establishment you go to, take all necessary precautions and go get your workout! And if that is impossible, at least workout online as there are so many options available now.