CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It's less than a week into the new year and fitness centers say they’ve seen an increase in the number of new members, but not as much as usual.
“It’s not the same as January’s past. It is busier than it was last month. There’s a noticeable uptick from where we were in November/December, but it is not the same volume as we saw in 2019 for example," said Matt Tilburg, Senior General Manager of Lifetime Fitness in Skokie.
Like many gyms, Lifetime Fitness has made major changes to keep up with coronavirus guidelines.
“We have temperature screening at the front door. We require everybody to wear a mask throughout. We have 15 sanitizing stations throughout the fitness floor with our disinfectant chemical, hand sanitizer and towels, and then every hour we have a team of personal trainers, operations, and managers that hits every surface area and every cardio machine throughout the weight fitness floor and cardio floors," Tilburg said.
Another change was in group fitness classes, which are now live streamed throughout the 100,000 square foot facility.
"We have stations set up all over the fitness floor where people can still come in and do those classes and use the weights and things you would need in that class, but still be safe, because you’re not next to somebody while you’re doing it," added Tilburg.
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It also means operating at only 25 percent capacity, but Tilburg expects memberships will continue to grow in the near future.
“People are getting stir crazy, they know their immune systems are compromised as it gets colder, they’re not able to workout outside so we’re seeing more and more people come in," he said.
Once gym-goers set foot inside, they're more likely to return more frequently.
“They see how safe it is here and they feel confident coming in. In our Chicago clubs we’ve had over 2.5 million visits, less than 148 confirmed positive cases which is a rate of .006 percent and I know that’s because of the hard work that our teams are doing to deliver a really safe place," Tilburg said.
For those still hesitant to go to the gym, there are other ways to stay fit at home. One-on-one personal training, nutrition coaching, and at-home workouts are just a few ways to make 2021 the healthiest yet.