GREAT FALLS — On Friday, May 15th, Montana gyms, fitness centers, and recreation facilities can officially resume their operations following weeks of COVID-19 closures - with some re-shaping of their sanitation and workout practices.
Under Governor Steve Bullock’s guidelines, gyms can reopen at 50 percent capacity with strict sanitation and social distancing guidelines. Employees must sanitize equipment, and machines will be kept six feet apart to ensure members keep their distance.
While pools and locker rooms can be used, group fitness classes are not allowed which means some fitness centers that rely on group-based fitness classes won't open until a later date.
Some of the facilities reopening Friday include Big Sky Crossfit, Access Fitness, and Hi-Line Climbing Center.
However, several gyms, fitness studios, and recreation centers will wait to reopen until Monday, May 18th, including Peak Health & Wellness Center and the Great Falls Community Recreation Center.
Still, many others will continue providing virtual services instead of reopening their doors, like Studio Barre Great Falls and Planet Fitness.
Below is a list of the dates and locations of gym and fitness center re-openings:
Friday
Big Sky Crossfit - 327 9th Street South
Access Fitness - 715 13th Avenue South
Hi-Line Climbing Center - 608 1st Avenue South
Monday
Peak Health & Wellness Center - 1800 Benefis Court
Community Recreation Center - 801 2nd Avenue North
Staff at Crossroad's Fitness in Helena can't wait to be back to work. "We are so excited. We're ready. We miss our members. I know members are missing us. They've reached out to us personally, they reached out to us on our Facebook page," said Crossroads account executive Whitney Gerleman.
Though the next time people set foot in a gym, things will look a little different in terms of sanitizing protocols and equipment available. “We've been shutting down every other piece of equipment. We've taken out some of our bikes in our cycle room. Of course, we aren't allowed to have classes indoors quite yet, but we are talking about some outdoor classes that we will offer," said Gerleman.
Though it's not required, Crossroads employees will also be taking the temperature of all people that enter the building as a way to help keep members and their minds at ease.
"For the first couple of weeks, especially," said Gerleman. "Just because we are so happy just to be opening, we are still in phase one. So of course, this is going to be a learning curve for everyone."
Though gyms do have increased sanitizing protocols in place, Gerleman also said if clients are unsure if a piece of equipment is clean, there will be plenty of sanitizers in each room of the gym.
