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By Alison Sandstrom

Fitness

Pandemic putting a damper on January gym membership jump

Jan 6, 2021 | 8:00 AM

It’s the season of new year’s resolutions and fresh starts, but Prince Albert gyms aren’t experiencing the surge in new members they usually do.

SaskPro Crossfit owner Scott Gardiner told paNOW his facility saw an influx of people since Christmas, but significantly less than they would in a normal year.

He estimates the number of people making inquiries about starting Crossfit at the gym is down 50 per cent compared to a normal January.

Gardiner said he thinks COVID-19 has made people tentative about being a group setting, even with stringent cleaning and distancing measures in effect.

“Even though we do have all the protocols in place and people are in their own squares and masked and everything, I think people are just a little leary with COVID still out there,” he said.

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Gardiner explained traditionally many new members who join after Christmas end up staying on longterm, so the effects of a slower than usual January will be felt throughout the year.

“We get people going at that time of year and they usually stick around,” he said. “It’s certainly going to hurt business all the way through.”

Classes at SaskPro Crossfit normally have 15 participants, but current provincial guidelines have cut that number down to a maximum of eight.

For some facilities, the new cap on class size has made in-person operations untenable.

The Spin S2DIO shifted their offerings online after the new regulations came into effect in November.

Owner Desiree Hesson said they rented out around 25 bikes and are offering classes on-demand though a platform “almost like Netflix.”

“We’ve got a small group, not as big a group as we would normally have attending in-studio live classes, but it’s working,” Hesson said. She added they have around 50 subscribers for classes on and off the bike.

As for people looking to embark on a new fitness goal, Hesson said her best advice is just to start.

“If that means walking outside for 10 minutes a day, then that’s a start,” she said. “Maybe just eating more green vegetables today than yesterday, that’s a start, just go for it.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom