HUMBOLDT — Local fitness facilities are taking to the digital world to keep community members active.
While the physical locations of Anytime Fitness, Synergy Strength and Curves Humboldt are closed because of COVID-19, they are all taking advantage of their online presence to motivate and engage with their clients and the community to keep everyone moving.
Ashley Silvernagle with Anytime Fitness said they are using both Facebook and Instagram to post daily workouts, including live workouts that everyone can join.
Developing a relationship with individual members is difficult when you aren’t talking with members face to face, she said. Even just asking about their day and checking in on their needs while they’re working out offers that opportunity to engage with your members, Silvernagle said, so not having that makes online engagement a challenge.
“You’re not up to date with how they’re doing mentally or physically or being able to help them out with some of their needs. We’re still able to help them out with certain things to an extent, but that’s the biggest challenge.”
Silvernagle and other Anytime Fitness coaches are still available to answer questions via phone and messenger and have lent out their equipment for people to use at home.
People have the opportunity to engage with Anytime Fitness as well as they continue to post pictures and tips from their own workouts.
Chad Benko, a chartered professional coach with Synergy Strength, said working to get communities active while in isolation is his biggest goal for himself and his coaches.
Everyone is welcome to join online Zoom classes where coaches lead a workout for clients with workouts being available later through their gym app, SugarWOD.
Programming is available for every level and equipment availability, Benko said, with five-year-olds to a 75-year-old taking part.
Humboldt’s Synergy lent out their 170 equipment packages to ensure everyone had the chance to fill their equipment needs.
“Knowing that at home people aren’t going to have a lot of equipment, we have bodyweight versions and dumbbell or kettlebell versions of our workouts, even just assuming you have one type of equipment.”
With four gym locations in the province, including a location in Humboldt, Benko said their engagement has been pretty wide-reaching. A recent post promoting their Just Move program has reached 12,000 to 15,000 people. It’s a pretty cool reaction, Benko said.
During this time, people’s mental and physical wellbeing is going to be taking a hit, he said, so everyone needs to focus on engaging with others and staying connected, he said.
Danielle Saretsky has been keeping her Curve Humboldt clients busy with five live workouts a week on the Curves Facebook page, including both a low impact workout and a high impact workout to address a range of abilities. Last week was the start of a water drinking and workout challenge to keep all her members hydrated as well as encouraging members to work out for 30 minutes a day.
Members can use MyCurvesOnDemand, a workout portal that gives members access to all the workouts that they’d normally find at Curves, and a high-quality resistance band that can be used to mimic all the Curve machines.
“We have boxing, cardio, yoga, high and low intensity, all through the portal that once you sign up you have access to. That is becoming really popular.”
Saretsky is connecting with her clients and members are lamenting the fact that they are sitting at home missing their families with nothing to do and yet they are still not getting their workouts in, she said. The goal for her, especially with the challenges, is giving her clients a goal to focus on.
“We all know what exercise does; it boosts our mood and spirituality and we just feel so much better after we do a workout.”
Saretsky still encourages all her members to keep track of workout goals and progress which is doable from home.
