Want to open your gym safely? Here are 7 tips you’ll need

Blog – Usai Tech

Tell me if this sounds familiar

The members of your gym or fitness centre are hesitant to return. COVID-19 and the shutdown have devastated your finances. Your employees are worried and your bills are piling up.

You’re not alone.

Fitness Australia notes that over 90% of multi-service gyms and fitness centres have suffered a decrease in demand. Worse, ongoing costs like insurance, rent and salaries continue to stack up for over 95% of businesses.

Intimidating, isn’t it?

But there are ways to deal with this if you take the right steps.

First, let’s understand the problem.

The Threat of COVID -19

Health and Safety issues are always a concern. Injuries are always a possibility when you’re pushing your limits.

Your members are in the gym to improve their health, but improper practice can be damaging. They can get hurt if they’re not careful, but you’re used to keeping your members safe.

COVID-19 adds an extra dimension of danger.

Most gyms are indoors.

Yours likely is too.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 is far more likely to spread indoors. A study from Korea shows that indoor spread increases during intense exercise. 112 people were infected because of fitness centres. (Link)

There is some good news. COVID-19 cannot spread through sweat. But, surfaces touched by many people remain a concern. Shared gym equipment, showers, locker rooms and water dispensers are a serious problem.

This is why governments are insistent on caution and will shut you down if you make mistakes.

This is why your members worry.

You need to earn their trust. Prove that you’re ready to keep them safe. And that you are aware and active in the fight against COVID-19.

This guide is here to help you get them back to the gym safely.

Here are the things you’ve got to do:

Follow Government Policy
Frequent Sanitisation
Maintain Social Distancing
Regular Hand Washing
Careful Scheduling
Temperature Screening
And Tracking employees and members.Let’s take a detailed look at each of these tactics:
1. Follow Government Policy Your local, state and national governments are going to have mandatory requirements. Most of them are sensible precautions that we’re going to cover. However, there are likely particular requirements that they will insist on. Check out thelinkfor what the Australian government suggests. Follow them to reduce the chances of being shut down or facing liabilities 2. Sanitisation Sanitisation is crucial. COVID-19 spreads through droplets. When people breathe or speak, a burst of virus-laden droplets spread around and float in the air. When inhaled, these droplets infect people. But that’s not the end of it. After landing on a surface the virus can live for days. (Link) Systematic sanitisation of all used equipment is a necessity to prevent spread. Some steps to take:
- Increase time between classes for a thorough sanitisation of equipment and workout areas.
- Minimize shared surfaces. Consider if areas of the gym like the water fountains and showers need to be open.
- If you choose to have them open, be certain to clean them regularly.
- Hire professionals if needed for cleaning services.3. Regular Hand Washing Touching the nose, mouth or eyes after contact with an infected surface is a risk. COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for a long time. Sanitisation helps, but no method is absolute. Encourage your employees and members to wash hands with soap or sanitiser between exercises. Also, ensure that they sanitise before entering and after leaving the gym. 4. Maintain Social Distancing Studies have shown that maintaining distance and wearing masks are among the most effective ways of limiting spread. To learn more check out these studies onSocial Distancing andMask Use by the CDC. This is critical indoors. Follow these tips and the recommendations from your governments carefully.
- Keep your equipment spaced apart.
- The droplets that people exhale are the number one method of spreading COVID-19. During intense exercise, they are likely to be even more dangerous as proven by this
- Maintain a distance of at least 2 meters, but stretch it out further if possible.5. Scheduling Careful scheduling is important. By controlling the number of people in your gym you can reduce the strain on your employees. Plus, it will make sanitising the facility easier. Keep track of the people entering your gym and manage appointments with caution.
- Avoid overbooking.
- Work at off-peak timings or 24/7
- Limit the sizes of your groups.
- Set time limits for members
- Keep things flexible.
- Let your clients cancel if they feel ill or if they worry about someone in their family.Don’t make them worry about missing out on an appointment blog – Usai Tech. That’s a minor worry compared to the worst-case scenario. Most of all, be honest and tell your clients if you need to cancel an appointment or reduce their time in the gym. It’s difficult to tell your clients this, but you’ve got to keep them safe. 6. Contactless Temperature Screening A fever is a common symptom for those with COVID-19. It is also relatively easy to detect. Checking it is a necessary precaution. A temperature measurement gun is a commonly used tool. But can you risk your employees and your members? Queues are common. And it will expose your employee to hundreds over a week. Keep your members and employees safe with a kiosk that can automatically scan for temperatures and store the data.
- No need for long lines or keeping one of your team members busy on a risky job. Set up theSmart Entry-13 Contactless Temperature Scanner and relax. It takes less than a second to record the temperature with incredible accuracy. Plus, you can modify this system to enhance your security after COVID-19 is eradicated. 7. Smart Tracking You never know when the worst can happen. If someone turns out to be infected, you need to act. Fail to do so and you lose the trust you’ve earned through years of work. Your revenue will drop and government intervention becomes a concern. Smart Tracking lets you answer the important questions:
- Who entered your gym?
- What time did they leave?
- Who was there with them?The first step is to track entry and exit times. Something that needs a temperature scanner. Then, you’ll need to figure out who else was there with the infected. An impossible task without the right system. With a Smart Entry system, you can support your customers and let them know if they should take precautions. Smart Entry -13 and itsEmkeysystems can help greatly with this. The attendance management system is especially useful. Learn more. Conclusion There is no one method, trick or device that can keep your members safe. But it is possible. Develop the ideas discussed in this article. Study and apply those suggested by your local and state governments Not an easy task, but the rewards are worth it. We can help you with that. Call us at {Number} or email us at {email} for more information. Notes:
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  1. Open Gym Safely, Gym Safety, steps for gym safety
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