Brian Rawlings with FITLIFE shares the importance of combating pandemic fatigue for the overall safety of your club’s members.
With the pandemic approaching the year mark, we’re all feeling the pandemic fatigue of complying with and enforcing safety protocols in the club industry. Even as the vaccines rollout, it is important that fitness facilities be vigilant in upholding and reinforcing healthy measures for all members and guests as well as maintaining cleanliness and equipment.
Reinforcing Safety Protocols
To ensure social distancing is maintained in general fitness areas, clubs have been limiting the number of people who can be in the facility at a given time. In addition to restricting capacity at any one time, clubs are also implementing other means to facilitate social distancing such as signage, floor markings, barriers and rearranging or removing equipment to achieve a six foot distance.
As gym goers become more comfortable visiting their clubs, they naturally start to become lax about cleaning equipment after use and adhering to social distancing guidelines. Staff should be on the lookout for members ignoring signage and using machines that have been taken out of service for social distancing purposes. Reinforcing healthy measures for all and maintaining cleanliness should be a club’s top priority.
‘Socially Distanced’ Equipment Needs Rotating
With fewer pieces of equipment on the floor to maintain social distancing, the risk of excessive wear and tear is much greater, especially for equipment that sees heavy usage. Every 30 to 60 days clubs should rotate in-service equipment with the equipment that’s been placed in storage. Not only will this extend the lifecycle of all equipment, but it will also afford time for deep cleaning and any needed maintenance, lessening the potential for mechanical issues that could cause injury.
Over time some social distancing restrictions such as capacity may ease, but it is still critical to limit the opportunities for members to gather at any location — on the fitness floor, in the pool area, around group exercise areas, at the front desk or lobby, in locker rooms or other communal areas, and to continue to provide situations where members can maintain at least six feet of distance. Equipment rotation and proper sanitizing go hand-in-hand with social distancing to help ensure member and guest safety.
Good “booster shot” article regarding combating pandemic fatigue. I especially noted the comment on members getting “lax” regarding sanitizing equipment before and after use. Members can’t lose their focus on the importance of equipment surface sanitizing. Let down your guard and you run the risk of letting COVID in (into your body)!! Staff can’t let down their guard either. See something, say something. If members are getting sanitizing-lax, continual reminders of proper protocol (and demonstrations of the proper sanitizing techniques) are a must. Equipment sanitizing is a TEAM SPORT! If everyone’s not doing their part the results can be health-harmful and potentially deadly!! We are not even close to being out of the woods, yet! Stay the course, fight the fight, and, SANITIZE THE EQUIPMENT!!