SAN ANTONIO – Once Governor Greg Abbott announced gyms and exercise facilities could reopen, the preparation to meet all state and local restrictions began.
One of the biggest changes you may notice when you head back to the gym are less people due to the 25% capacity rule. Also, give yourself more time to head back home to get ready because locker rooms and showers are off-limits. Both restrictions are state-mandated.
One of the most popular gyms in San Antonio is Gold’s Gym. According to their Senior Vice President of Operations Justin Ghadery, in San Antonio, Gold’s Gym has more than 25 locations and serves nearly 100,000 people.
Gold’s Gyms and other fitness businesses have been working to change many of their procedures to abide by the health protocols established by the state.
According to Ghadery, all Gold’s Gym locations have installed step and pulls and a foot-operated door opener to avoid anyone touching door handles.
“We’ve installed additional signage throughout the gym to keep our members and our team members informed on additional cleaning supplies; additional cleaning stations, both for our members and for our team members to utilize,” Ghadery said. “We’ve also implemented a touch-less check-in process for our members.”
One of the most frequent questions among those seeking to hit the weights again is if they’ll be required to wear gloves or a mask while at the gym.
“Gloves and masks are not required for our members, but highly recommended,” Ghadery said. “We will be requiring masks and gloves for all of our team members as an extra safety precaution.”
Other added measures of safety include new hand sanitizer stations and more frequent cleaning rotations.
“We have zone-cleanings that are happening all throughout the day, every hour on the hour,” Ghadery said. “We also have an additional third-party commercial cleaning company that comes in overnight.”
Popular San Antonio fitness clubs to reopen following shutdown due to coronavirus
If your workout is usually around lunch time, the reduced hours at Gold’s Gyms could affect you.
“We will have a daily intermission from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. to allow us to restock all of our supplies and conduct the deep cleaning with our team members,” Ghadery said.
Yellow signage posted across the facility will let you know what is currently off-limits, including water fountains and some cardio equipment.
“We've also marked off some of the different weight equipments to make sure, again, that we have a minimum of six feet distancing,” Ghadery said.
Although amenities such as pools, saunas, showers, lockers, smoothie bars and others are currently closed, Gold’s Gym said they plan to make them available in phases and in accordance to state and local orders.
To ensure all members are on the same page, they’ll be required to sign a new code of conduct ahead of their workout. The code of conduct is available online now.
“We've asked our members (to sign) an updated code of conduct to ensure that they're cleaning their equipment and returning all their equipment to the same place,” Ghadery said.
Some of these standards could be implemented in other fitness centers throughout the country.
“Different executive teams, myself, (and) our CEO, have been involved heavily with different executive teams from other fitness companies, both inside the industry as well as outside,” Ghadery said. “It's not just to determine and interpret the legal language and estate guidelines, but also how to really implement these best practices and make them operational for our team members.”
For a checklist on guidelines gyms and fitness facilities must follow according to the Texas Department of State and Health Services, click here.
Officials allow Uvalde gyms and salons to open, against Gov. Abbott’s order
