Back to the gym

WHEN gyms reopened on October 11, many fitness trainers faced a harsh reality: virtual exercising had left gyms virtually empty. The covid19 pandemic took a heavy toll on gyms and forced many fitness trainers to reinvent themselves.

“There has been a gentle return to the gyms,” said fitness trainer Simone Gonzales. “Vaccinated people are coming back to Fitness Centre in Diego Martin. It’s not busy, but I do see people happy for the socialising aspect of training with other people – even though they have to wear a mask.”

Just how well the usual gym crowd did on their own during the pandemic lockdown remains to be seen.

“Physically, I think people did their best during the lockdown. People who are gym people tried Zoom classes,” said Gonzales.

Fitness trainers noted that during the lockdowns, gym buffs also searched YouTube for exercises they could manage on their own. They said they saw people experimenting with other exercises like walking and cycling when government allowed outdoor activities.

In the first week gyms reopened, Gonzales said she saw about ten per cent of her clients return.

When the pandemic first hit, Gonzales, like many other fitness trainers, took some time to adopt to virtual classes.

“I waited a couple of weeks into the pandemic and then realised this pandemic wasn’t going away quickly, so I offered exercise via Zoom,” said Gonzales. “I started with about ten per cent of my clients in Zoom classes. Over time, about 70 per cent of my clients joined my Zoom classes.”

Gonzales expects many of her clients eventually to return to the gym because they depend on her expertise to keep them injury-free.

“My clients are a mature group. They are aging, but aging well because they have been working out in gyms for a long time. I have clients who started exercising in their 40s so they don’t have injuries. You won’t find them falling. They want to maintain that level of fitness. The emotional and social aspect of being in a gym is especially important in the mature group.”

Before the pandemic, Jonathan George designed exercise programmes in schools and did training with clients in various gyms. During lockdown, he settled into Zoom classes and did home visits when permitted.

“Some people are scared to come back to the gyms, but some people want the social setting and the machines,” he said.

He feels about 60 per cent of people will return to the gyms eventually and the other 40 per cent will stick with the convenience of Zoom or private home sessions.

“Gym instructors will be there in the gyms once the clients are there, but some trainers are gravitating towards having their own home gyms and bringing the clients to them. Many people find their instructors’ home gyms are safer and more personalised.”

Before covid19, George estimates about 80 per cent of his clients went to the gym. He devoted about 20 per cent of his time to training his weight-training clients in their homes. That has changed drastically.

“Thirty per cent of my clients are training with me on Zoom and and 70 per cent are not with me any longer,” he said.

Financial problems have hit hard.

“People are trying to avoid paying those gym fees, and some just don’t have money for trainers.”

For gyms to make a comeback, George believes they will need to offer additional services to lure people back.

“They’ll need to offer a variety of classes, in-house saunas or other perks.”

Through his business, Empire Sports Vets, George will concentrate even more on coaching basketball and teaching children and adults to swim.

The demand for those skills is rising, he said because they don’t require a gym.

Damien Langlaise, a personal trainer who works in south Trinidad, said, “Gyms pretty much remained dead when they opened back up. People are sceptical because gyms opened and closed before and they feel safer outside in open spaces. There’s a joy in exercising outside now that people can be in public spaces again.”

Langlaise’s clients combine running and exercises at Alexander Hill and San Fernando Hill or go to the Brian Lara Stadium for training. Langlaise has a few Zoom clients, but most of his former gym members are doing his outdoor training programme for now.

He says his clients are nearly evenly divided with 30 per cent doing Zoom classes, 30 per cent wanting personal training at home and 30 per cent doing outdoor classes. Only ten per cent returned to the gyms when they reopened on October 11.

But, he said, “I think more clients will return to the gyms. For now, people have become comfortable not depending on the gyms. They are monitoring what is happening with the covid19 delta variant.”

One concern all the personal trainers have is the lack of understanding government has had of the importance of gyms. Fitness trainers said they understand government made decisions it thought was best, but many people depend on gyms for their physical well-being.

“Gyms do a lot of rehabilitation work,” said Langlaise, “and I think that should make them an essential service with proper precautions in place.

“People don’t just go to the gym to look hot and sexy. There are athletes who train in gyms, and doctors send patients to qualified instructors for physical therapy.”

There’s no denying personal trainers suffered in this pandemic.

“Many people have been affected,” said Langlaise. “Trainers and people working at the front desk, were put out of work. Those who followed the mandate to close gyms were hit hard. There’s no classification for survival. A lot of hearts were broken. There was loss of income, nowhere to run, nowhere to turn.

“What is the value of a human being and the profession they deal with?”

What physical trainers are most proud of is how fast most trainers adapted to technology – like Zoom classes – that they had not used before.

“Trainers became more creative,” said Langlaise. “We’re adjusting to the new norm, and things will never be the same.

“The question now is how gyms are going to survive at 50 per cent capacity as dictated.”

At Movement Mechanics in St James, Gregory Seale, a sports performance coach and corrective exercise specialist with a master’s degree in kinesiology, is seeing new clients coming to his gym. Well known for his work with professional athletes, Seale designs fitness programmes for many different types of clients.

“We have people who want to be fit and healthy, people who have underlying physical issues that need to be sorted out, and athletes,” said Seale.

As a kinesiologist, he focuses on human movement as it applies to health and performance. His work falls between physical therapy and physical performance.

“In other words, it is about getting you where you need to be physically when you are not there yet,” he said. “I identify where that person is at physically and generate a plan to address the issues and monitor progress in their exercises.”

During the national lockdowns, Seale faced many of the challenges that fitness trainers experienced.

“It’s been a transition, but everything has a cycle. Adapting to a new environment is the key.” Seale believes the fitness industry will need to rethink the role of technology in fitness.

“Are we going to be reliant on the technology, or use it to support what we do?

“The coach’s eye is so important. Being there physically with someone is necessary to give support and make corrections on movements. You can bring the energy to the technology, but it can’t replace a personal trainer or sports performance coach for what they can offer in person.”

So unlike many fitness experts, Seale doesn’t believe technology is going to define or replace the fitness industry.

“Once we get back to normalcy, you will see a decrease in Zoom classes. The key is using the technology as an option.”

He said about 25 per cent of his clients returned to Movement Mechanics when the gyms reopened.

“It’s growing gradually. New people are coming in. I would imagine over the next couple of months returns will increase.”

Seale said he survived the pandemic because much of his work is with athletes in professional sports.

“I focused more on professional sports, when things were low on the general side.”

He offered Zoom classes for all clients and did his usual travelling with sport teams. Now, he faces whatever the future has to offer.

In a tactile profession like personal training, the physical distance between trainers and their clients have posed a challenge during the pandemic. Many trainers and their clients adapted to online classes, some more reluctantly than others, but most people missed the interaction with people and the variety of exercises a gym could offer.

Now, personal trainers have no illusions. They know the process of reinventing themselves may never be over.