WITH gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities on track to reopen next Saturday, health and fitness specialists are counting down the days to welcoming the public back to their premises.
Amongst those excited to greet members at their Northwich gym and clinic are Chris Wood and Charlotte Merrick from Your Sports Therapist who spoke to the Northwich Guardian before the Government’s latest lockdown easing measures.
Instead of being frustrated at not being able to open at the same time as pubs and restaurants earlier this month, the Hartford couple used that extra time to finesse their reopening plans for their gym and clinic to make it as safe and welcoming as possible.
Charlotte said: “It’s certainly been a challenging few months and of course when the lockdown easing started it was frustrating that we weren’t able to reopen.
“But we chose to look at it as a way to just fine tune things even further to make sure our staff, personal trainers, therapists and members felt happy and confident about coming back to us.”
During lockdown the pair ran an equipment ‘library’ where they loaned kit to members and offered training and therapy sessions online. All the while they were bust making plans to ensure their fledgling business was ready to reopen once lockdown restrictions were lifted.
In the past week, the clinic’s team has been open for appointments and there are heightened cleaning and safety procedures such as therapists wearing PPE, and clients wearing face covering.
Extra hand sanitizer units have been installed throughout the building and on entry and all rooms are disinfected after each session.
And when it comes to the gym, a booking system is now in place, all equipment is set apart by at least two metres, a one-way system is in place and numbers are limited in accordance to Government and UK Active Guidelines.
Charlotte said: “We really hope people will appreciate the lengths we’ve gone to. In some ways we’ve been even stricter than what the guidelines state, but we want to make sure that all our lovely clients feel happy and safe to come back to us.
“It’s going to look a bit different but will be just as highly effective and motivating and will ultimately ensure everyone is safe.”
She added: “We are really looking forward to welcoming people back and want to thank everyone who has supported and stayed with us through the past few months. It means the world to us.”
Find out more about the changes and guidelines at yoursportstherapist.com
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