Fitness industry could revive with care, better technology

New Delhi : Though India has entered Unlock 3.0, the pause in the fitness industry is likely to last longer. The new normal is here to stay as gyms will not be re-opening to the world as they used to be.

It has become important for the fitness industry to be very careful, maintain proper hygiene and use technology to avoid any contact that could lead to the transfer of the virus. COVID-19 has created a 'new normal' everywhere and the focus has shifted to health and safety like never before.

As the industry heads towards this new direction, the fitness enthusiasts are sitting on the fence - anxious to return yet nervous. "Gyms will have to reassure their members that they have taken all the preventive measures to safeguard them from unnecessary exposure. In Unlock 3.0, a contact less gym experience with integrated technology at the core of reopening strategy is the only way forward to reduce the risk of any transmission," says Amaresh Ojha, Founder & CEO, Gympik.

Every gym irrespective of their scale needs technology for a safer phased exit from the lockdown. "We have upgraded our software Traqade by Gympik to offer a contactless all-in-one gym management SaaS solution to our clients. Be it app-based slot booking, contactless member check-ins to touchless payments and virtual training, we are committed to supporting our fitness partners to bring back members safely- with minimum upheaval and complete peace of mind. We have also recently released an e-book- 'Gym owner's playbook to survive the Covid-19 challenge' to help the gym owners sail through the crisis," adds Ojha.

While gym owners wait for the official guidelines from the government, many of them have modified their SOPs and trained staff on all Covid proof safety and sanitization plans.

Ankit Sachdeva, Gym Owner, Ilift Fitness informed "we have also limited the length of the training sessions and have put a cap on the number of members that can workout at a time through an app's slot booking feature so that our members can get back to their workouts safely socially distanced".

But getting back to the business at this time may seem like starting afresh, feels Arun Chaudhary, Gym Owner, Sweat Fitness. "We support stringent safety standards at the gym. We have put in place a lot of protocols with the help of technology right from slot booking with the App, online payments and contactless member check-ins instead of biometric to ensure social distancing is maintained and each member gets a healthy workout space."

"Things have changed completely for us in Unlock 3. Unlike earlier, members can't simply walk into the gym."

Viraj Ramesh Trivedi, Gym Owner, Mickey Mehta's Gym Borivali conducted by V.R. Fitness, said: "Another major change that we have done to create a safer workout environment for our members is that we have eliminated the biometric access control with a simple touch less QR code-based mobile check-in via our member app."

[ This was first published in IANS Life ]