People’s choice to exercise at home weighs heavily on gym owners:...

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 30th

Despite the fact that city gyms have started welcoming guests back, over time, home workouts have become the norm for personal fitness. Instead of going to gyms, people either appoint personal trainers or rely on digital sessions. This has put a heavy toll on the incomes of hundreds of people who run fitness centers for a living.

As part of the unlocking phase, these were reopened in August after a break of more than four months. While the fitness centers, including gyms and yoga facilities, put a smile on enthusiasts’ faces, owners are still trying to find their feet.

Himanshu Chaddha, owner of Neo Fitness, adapted to the Covid blues, saying, “Since the pandemic began, everyone, be it a fitness enthusiast or a health conscious person, has experienced effective virtual workouts in their own living room and relied on fitness programs for themselves too food. Exercising at home has therefore become an essential part of staying healthy. This has had a direct impact on gym attendance as people are still waiting for the pandemic to ease their grip. “Currently only 40-50 percent of his regular customers have turned up, apart from a few new additions. Hence, the road to profit seems too far and the frequent disinfection and other measures have only increased costs.

Likewise, many people bought bicycles and home fitness equipment to keep them fit. This is also one of the main reasons people have avoided the gym. Chaddha added, “There used to be a lot of local people over 50 years old in the gym, but the virus forced them to stay at home.”

Abhishek Pandit, a fitness enthusiast, said, “I think the online subscription to home workouts is cheaper than the gym fee. That’s why I haven’t visited mine and wouldn’t start until after December. ”

Only if it is neat and clean!

While facilities are still coping with the losses they have suffered and struggling to attract new customers, Gold’s Gym owner Sumit Sharma says the only new thing observed in his place is distancing, face protection, disinfectant, and so on. Rest everything is the same. “We have started attracting new customers and around 70-80 have rejoined. With safety in mind, people prefer to only visit the gyms where proper hygiene is observed. They don’t mind spending extra money. Those who have gained weight during the lockdown are choosing centers that have hygiene and more space to avoid contact with strangers, ”added Sumit.