Caistor gym prepares to reopen as lockdown restrictions are lifted

Gyms, as well as pubs and hair salons, were forced to shut in March when PM Boris Johnson put the UK into lockdown.

Now BFit Lincs Gym - along with many other fitness facilities across the country - have been given the all clear to 
reopen on July 25.

A statement shared on the BFit Lincs Gym Facebook page reads: “Wooooo Hoooo 25th July we will re-open!!! We will be ready and can’t wait!!!!”

Tracey Leanna Chuck, who works at BFit Lincs Gym, has given an insight into how Covid-19 has impacted the industry.

She said: “We knew lockdown was becoming a 
real possibility back in March, so we decided to get our thinking caps on as we understand how vital health and fitness is to many people in our local community.

“When lockdown was announced we had 24 hours to shut our doors for an 
uncertain amount of time, within those 24 hours we loaned our exercise 
equipment out to our members.

“Then we devised a 
timetable between staff.

“Each member of the team has set exercise classes to teach six days of the week from home using Zoom.

“We understood that not everybody could receive kit so we made sure to add 
bodyweight classes into our timetable too.

“Some of our team are qualified and DBS checked to work with children and so this is where our PE lessons were born.

“The first couple of weeks were a challenge for sure! We had our children at home and found we were having a few technical issues.

“The virtual members were ever so patient with us and after a few headaches we cracked it.

“We set up a booking system and have been successfully teaching classes ever since.

“We’ve currently got 38 classes running per week.

“When we reopen on July 25, the booking system will be in place to ensure only a set amount of service users are in the building at one time to adhere to Covid restrictions.

“We have also had many sanitiser stations built to be placed around the gym and plastic screens will be placed in-between machines so members and staff are kept safe.

“We understand that the initial opening for some will cause them to feel wary so we’ve done everything within our power to keep everyone safe and feel confident when on the premises.

“We will be steaming and disinfecting all equipment very regularly throughout the day on top of service users cleaning their equipment before and after every use.

“We have provided classes for around 80 different attendees during lockdown using Zoom.

“We all have our own favourite teaching spots throughout our homes.

“Some of our members are, of course, key workers and unable to make the classes they wanted to join so we made a YouTube channel and recorded some classes too.

“Our virtual members can access these at any time they like so they didn’t need to only rely on us being live to get their exercise in.

“The classes are split between six members of staff.

“We have worked really hard to keep some normalcy during lockdown as the feeling of unrest, de-motivation and mental health were a real worry for us.

“A lot of our guys don’t just come into the gym for a training hour, they come for the 
social side too.

“The team and the members were both fearful of the effects lockdown could potentially have on everyone.

“As the team leader at BFit Lincs Gym I’m very proud of what we as a gym team have achieved, the mental stability we’ve been able to provide, the physical wellness of not only our members but non-members also.

“We have been very busy during lockdown in the gym as we understood that the daily running of the gym would have to change.

“We’ve made many improvements - one being the extension of our studio so we can have a larger capacity during classes.

“Lockdown has pushed us to expand the way we do things and moving forward we will continue to teach classes on site and also continue virtually for those that don’t live locally or have challenging work times, or perhaps struggle with childcare.

“Some that don’t even live locally have been able to join in on our classes by going on our website and booking there.

“It’s enabled us to ensure people are still receiving that daily face to face chat - albeit through a camera.

“It would have been so easy to shut the doors of the gym at the beginning of lockdown and just accept defeat.

“That would have solved nothing and, indeed, helped nobody!

“Amy Atkins, the owner of BFit, is an amazing lady that is always one step ahead, always fighting to provide a service and keep people engaged, motivated and healthy.

“Our ‘virtual guys’, as we call them, are so grateful for what we have done.

“We are a very community based gym that really does listen to our members and any suggestions they have to make their experience in the gym better, so lots has been done during lockdown keeping those suggestions in 
mind.

“We’ve been busy not only teaching classes online to keep everyone motivated and mentally happy, but also within the gym itself getting everything, safe and usable, with Covid at the forefront of our minds.

“The gym is a lifestyle choice and quickly becomes part of your daily routine.

“Without it, it has been very testing and a tough pill to swallow.

“With the virtual classes and the kit loan we were reassured in the fact that we could offer that normalcy to those that needed it.

“Some people use the gym for their escape from the pressures of life, and to not have that was very testing, so we are over the moon to be able to reopen next week!

“The reopening can’t come quickly enough.

“The whole team are excited to get back to work, we are very secure in the fact that all precautions and safety measures are in place to keep us all safe and healthy.

“We can’t wait!”