HOUSTON – Starting Monday, gyms in Texas reopened their doors and many have made changes to keep their members and employees safe.
“Today I feel like it’s the first day back at school," said Jennifer Hubbard.
Hubbard started her day at Clockwork Crossfit on Westlake Houston in northeast Harris County near the Atascocita area.
She’s been working out at home, but glad now to be back inside the gym.
“It’s not the same when you’re pushing one another and you’re trying to beat your time, so it’s just a completely different environment than working out at home, no matter how hard you do it,” said Hubbard.
They’ve stopped using a lot of equipment and they’re sanitizing the equipment they are after each use.
“The pull-up area, what we use for pull-ups, since people constantly touching on the same areas, probably for a while we won’t use that,” said owner Sid Steen.
People were looking forward to returning to IronTribe Fitness in Spring.
“This place. They’ve gone kinda overboard as far as keeping everything clean. We kinda clean up before we get here and clean up when we leave. I feel good about it. I don’t think we’re gonna have any problems,” said Andy Blackburn.
Blackburn and Jimmy Reeves attended the first class of the day.
“We’ve been out for a long time. It’s been shut down. We miss the place. It becomes a way of life working out,” said Reeves. The members at IronTribe must remain in a 10x10 box, along with their equipment and cleaning supplies. ”The goal of it is to constrain them inside the box so we give the 6-feet distance between them,” said owner Jai Balachandra.
Drop Zone Fitness in Missouri City taped off machines and amenities.
“The X is telling us it’s out of order. You’re not ok to use this,” said Todd Tanner.
They’ll take members’ temperatures at the door, before giving them disinfecting tools, some gloves and a mask.
“We want you to go home to your family safe and make them feel secure about you coming in,” said Tanner. “We are not leaving any stone unturned. We’re making sure you know. There’s no excuse for you not to know what we expect out of each client and each member.”
Many gyms have limited hours, so it’s advised to call beforehand to be aware of the changes.
Some owners are continuing their virtual workouts for people who don’t feel comfortable walking into a gym.
