If you work in the fitness industry, you’ll be familiar with the annual New Year rush. According to Statistica, exercising more is the most common New Year’s resolution in the UK, and every January, usually without fail, people flock to gyms and sign up for membership. But will gyms see the usual New Year’s rush at the start of 2022? Currently, amid rising fears around the Omicron variant, it’s difficult to say. Many people may opt to start their New Year fitness regime at home, amid concerns that gyms could be hotspots for virus transmission.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
We worked with a fitness club based in Tunbridge Wells, énergie Fitness, to help them create a safer environment and reduce members’ anxiety around returning to the gym. As a result, énergie Fitness attracted new clients and raised membership back to pre-Covid levels. And we can do the same for you.
Key to our success is that, once we have assessed your level of risk and helped you minimise it, we also enable you to demonstrate to members and staff that you’ve done so. Here’s what we did:
- We conducted a full venue-specific AirRISK assessment, looking at what would happen if a person with Covid-19 walked into énergie Fitness and did a full workout, using all the gym equipment.
- We then recommended a series of measures, including changing circulation paths, increasing air exchange rates, and installing an air purifier. énergie Fitness installed our own AirVSAFE2000 air purifier, which uses a combination of powerful UV light, anti-septic bio-wash, and a high-throughput fan to inactivate virus pathogens in the air. The presence of the AirVSAFE, running quietly in the background gives members confidence.
- Once énergie Fitness had put all our recommendations in place, we issued them with a ‘green’ AirRISK certificate. This is an independently verified air safety certificate, much like a food hygiene rating, which reassures customers that they’re safer in the facility.
Staff and members alike are impressed with the measures énergie Fitness has put in place. Michelle Barnett, Fitness Instructor, commented: “When I instruct Pilates in the main exercise room, I know that my classes are strengthening their core and their breathing, but the sanitiser is easing their mind.” Meanwhile, énergie Fitness gym member, Janet Ross said: “I was nervous about returning to the exercise classes I love but knowing there is such a high-tech system to keep the air bug-free is very reassuring in such an enclosed space. I might have not come back yet without it.”
Because the AirVSAFE2000 runs constantly, it significantly reduces the viral load in the studio. Additional safety precautions have permitted larger gym classes in the studio, enhanced the members’ experience and reduced staff sickness as well as commercial loss for the gym owner.
Why not make a New Years’ resolution of your own for 2022 – and make sure your gym is made as safe as possible for members? It’ll give you the best chance of winning back clients, keeping your business healthy and helping everyone to get their fitness back on track.