POW! Gym Chicago is a member of the Illinois Fitness Alliance. Owner, Katalin Rodriguez Ogren sits on the Board of Directors for IFA. POW! pledges to comply with the Business Reopening rules of Chicago to help minimize the transmission of COVID-19.
One role of the IFA is to help curate reliable research and content to help educate our community. Here are a few new statistics that demonstrate that the fitness industry is self-monitoring.
There is no evidence that health and fitness facilities are contributing to the spread of COVID-19 differently than other businesses that continue to operate. Health clubs across the country have implemented some of the most robust COVID-19 safety protocols that exist, and they are doing an excellent job keeping their members and employees safe. The latest scientific research and our own member usage data supports this conclusion:
- According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), in a survey of 135 clubs with 3,443,123 total check-ins, fitness industry consultant, Blair McHaney of MXM/Medallia, reports that there were 0.004% of positive cases reported as of June 30.
- Research from the University of Oslo found no COVID-19 transmissions associated with fitness centers in a randomized trial of reopened fitness facilities. As a result, Norway reopened its gyms nationwide. (This stands in stark contrast to reports in May 2020 of COVID cases emanating from gyms in South Korea. In fact, these reported cases were from February 2020 – prior to COVID cleaning and safety measures being implemented – and at locations that were small, inadequately ventilated and densely populated for many consecutive hours of intense dance training.)
Gyms have members, not customers. This distinction is very important. Like employees of a club, members who regularly use facilities can be trained on safety protocols and cleaning expectations, unlike the less frequent visits by customers to other businesses. Health clubs also can better contact trace than most businesses. Because clubs have usage records, they can determine when and where the member was, and whom they may have encountered during their visit. Equally relevant is that our members are already health-conscious in the first place. As a result, they are far more likely and willing to comply with protocols to avoid the spread of COVID-19. There may be no other business where patrons are wired to act as responsibly as in our clubs.
