The Tamil Nadu government allowed gyms to re-open in Chennai from August 10.
After more than four months, people in Tamil Nadu's Chennai can finally return to hitting weights and doing workouts in their favourite gyms after the government allowed their re-opening in the third phase of unlocking amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The re-opening of gymnasiums and fitness centres since Monday comes as a welcome relief for many, even though they have to be extra-cautious and follow certain guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Saravanan, an IT professional, was back at his gym after more than four months. He said he was upset that his fitness had gone for a toss during the lockdown, but now he is happy to be back on track.
The Tamil Nadu government allowed gyms to re-open in the capital city from August 10 after they were closed in March like other businesses, when the nation went into a lockdown.
Standard Operating Procedures have been issued to gym owners, who have had to re-design their centres. They will need to follow new rules such as limiting the number of people allowed to work out and equipment being disinfected after each use. The gyms have been allowed to offer services only to people aged up to 50 years. People with co-morbidities and children under 15 years of age have not been allowed.
Gyms are required to provide four square metre space for each member, while many centres have made wearing face shields and shoe caps mandatory.
Equipment are being kept at a six-feet distance at many centres so that people can easily maintain social distancing.
The SLAM Fitness studio in the city has installed transparent plastic curtains between different treadmills and other equipment to ensure distancing. Senior vice-president of the studio Anirudh Ram said: "To restrict crowd, we are giving one-hour slots so people book appointments and come in. In between, we have a 15-minute break during which we sanitise (the area)."
S Aditya Rajan, an entrepreneur, said: "It was quite hard to work out at home. Now, I am happy to workout at gym. It is clean and safe here."
Some fitness coaches said opening up of business means they can go back to work again and earn a living. Kadir, a coach, said: "It was difficult to survive (during the lockdown). But our company provided provisions."
There are around 3,500 gyms in Chennai.
Dismissing concerns that the fitness centres could trigger a spike in COVID-19 cases in the city, Commissioner of Greater Chennai G Prakash said: "I don't foresee any problem. This will only aid in improving health of general public."
Tamil Nadu, the second-worst affected state in India by the pandemic, recorded 5,914 new COVID-19 cases and 114 deaths on Monday. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 3,02,815 including 53,009 active cases, 2,44,675 discharged patients and 5,041 deaths. Chennai has recorded a total of 1,10,121 coronavirus cases till now.
Meanwhile, some gym owners feel that the re-opening of their centres with restrictions and limited number of customers will only aggravate the financial stress.
Prashanti Ganesh, co-founder and senior coach of Strength System said: "When we had shut down, we had no income and less losses. Now we are forced to spend high (amount of money) for air-conditioning, maintenance, salary... even though our revenue has come down by 80%. The closure was better."