California Gym Introduces a Bizarre Social Distancing Setup for Safe Workouts

• Personal pods made of shower curtains and pipes were built inside the gym, each pod can accommodate one customer at a time.
• The pods each have a bench, a set of weights, and sanitizing equipment.
• Gym-goers have to book their appointments to guarantee their spots.

After the long lockdown, businesses around the world that temporarily ceased operations are starting to open up, with their own safety measures in place to abide by social distancing rules.

Gyms, given their capacity to spread viruses easily, are one of those businesses that may have difficulties creating social distancing setups. However, this one in California may have solved the problem once and for all.

In Redondo Beach’s South Bay Fitness, personal pods were built inside the gym, with each pod accommodating one customer at a time.

The pods were created using shower curtains as clear dividers and pipes as frames to hold everything up.

Inside the pod, there’s a bench, a set of weights, and sanitizing equipment.

This allows clients to workout in their own little space and have everything they need within reach, cutting off the need to go around the gym and prevent spreading germs.

As for the machines, each has been sectioned off by the same pipe and plastic pod, so clients can still use them safety.

Pete Sapsin, the gym’s owner, said that they were forced to close operations for three months because of the pandemic.

“It’s been really tough, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to reopen again. But because now that we’ve come up with this solution, it’s a lot more affordable and, now, we can reopen back up a little more safer and healthier for our clients,” he said.

The gym can operate at only half of its usual capacity, as per social distancing policies. Only nine people are allowed inside the gym at once. This means the establishment cannot accommodate walk-ins and gym goers have to book their appointments to guarantee their spots inside.

Aside from all these, Peet and his staff have to keep a distance of at least six feet from each other and to their clients. They have to wear face masks and use hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes all the time.

Still, some parts of the gym cannot be reopened yet. The saunas, hot tubs, and steam rooms remain closed because these can be breeding grounds for bacteria.

Gyms around the world now have an idea on how to adapt to the effects of the coronavirus on their businesses. Hopefully, they can keep their establishments open and earn enough to stay afloat at least.