Equinox gyms reveal coronavirus reopening plan with scheduled workouts, reduced hours
Gym members can expect health checks, PPE and contactless-checkins.
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Equinox has enlisted a task force of medical and infectious disease experts to help strategize its reopening plan during the coronavirus pandemic.
A woman wearing a mask walks with her dog in front of an Equinox Sports Club location amid the coronavirus pandemic on May 7, 2020, in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Members of the luxury gym can expect health checks, personal protective equipment, contactless checkiins, limited hours and heightened sanitation and cleaning once the fitness club reopens, Equinox posted on its website.
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Club members will no longer be able to pop by the gym whenever they please -- workouts must be booked in advance using the Equinox app and will be limited to three, 90-minute appointments per week, the guidelines state. Additional workouts will be available for booking on a standby basis depending on the club’s capacity.
Gym classes like pilates or other group workouts and personal training sessions will be booked for enrolled members only, and there will be a 30- minute wait period between group fitness classes for cleaning.
Gymgoers will also be asked to use hand sanitizer upon entering the club and sanitize personal devices like cellphones under contactless UV-C stations. Clients will also be asked to wear face masks at all times except while exercising and will be given a plastic bag to store masks in during workouts. Saunas, the kids' club, pools and spa facilities will remain closed temporarily.
The reopening plan comes as a number of gyms begin reimianging their new normal with some starting to reopen in select states. Last week, Equinox-owned spin studio SoulCycle announced its reopening plan with similar sanitation measures for health and safety, including socially distanced workouts, temperature checks and closed locker rooms.
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Gyms in at least 45 states closed in mid-March when the virus broke out in the United States, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).
Big-box gym 24 Hour Fitness is also planning contactless checkins, and fitness machines inside the gym will be spaced between 6 to 8 feet apart for social distance. Its clubs may also start rolling out capacity limits beginning at 25 percent and amenities like the spas and saunas will also stay closed.
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Gold’s Gym -- which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week -- meanwhile have reopened 23 of its locations in Tennessee, Wyoming and Georgia with social distancing measures in place. And Orangetheory fitness will reopen some of its franchised locations in Georgia next week requiring members to wear masks when they work out.