After almost four months closed because of Covid-19, July was finally the month where gyms and indoor pools began to open in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and they have now been given the green light to open at the end of August in Scotland. So important for our physical and mental health, these sports facilities are striving to adhere to public health guidelines and this means that we have seen a host changes to how sports and fitness facilities and classes are run.
Social distancing
If you’ve ventured back to your local gym or pool you’ll have noticed that it is a much different experience to the flexible and at times, hectic pre-Covid times. Gone are the days when you could simply show up for an unplanned gym or swim session. Now everything must be booked and paid ahead of time and exercise sessions adhere to a strict time limit. All this means that numbers of gym goers are regulated and there is less opportunity to socialise. On the up side, you no longer have to queue for machines or squeeze into an already crowded lane in the pool.
Taking it outdoors
During the past few months, you’ve no doubt seen personal training sessions and socially distanced yoga classes or boot camps appearing in parks across the country. Even as gyms reopen, many people still don’t feel comfortable exercising indoors where people are perspiring and breathing heavily during workouts. Covid-19 has resulted in a boom in outdoor exercising and classes. Exercising outdoors in wide-open areas or swimming in open-water avoids the problems of space and ventilation that gyms have to deal with and allows for slightly bigger class sizes.
Put on your virtual trainers
During the height lockdown many exercise studios went virtual, offering yoga, Pilates, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and strength training classes over Zoom, Instagram Live, Skype, and the like. Although virtual classes don’t provide exactly the same experience as going to your local fitness studio, they allow social distancing and are a perfect fit for many who work from home or have erratic schedules. Plus, they give you with the opportunity to try a class in a neighbourhood that would normally be too far away or difficult to get to.
Whether you’re a professional trainer, a yoga teacher, a swim instructor, or a gym goer chances are you won’t be using cash anymore. Why not try Ordo? It’s a fast, easy, low cost contactless form of payment that can be used anywhere, whether you’re teaching a Pilates class in the park or offering a training session over the internet. Give Ordo a try for free today at https://ordopay.com/business/ and score a home run for your income!