Brownsburg Fitness opened Friday as part of Gov. Eric Holcomb's third stage in his "Back on Track" plan. (Samantha Horton)
Gyms, fitness facilities and community centers started reopening across the state Friday. One owner says he’s excited to open his doors, while also taking new safety precautions in response to COVID-19.
After being closed for months, Brownsburg Fitness saw a steady flow of members the first day it was back open.
Owner Matthew Serd says he had been preparing to reopen the past week, and worked some extra hours to be able to let members in after the governor moved up the timetable to reopen gyms.
Friday morning there were some people waiting outside when he opened, and a few new people signed up.
“I felt more excited today than when I purchased the gym and opened it under new ownership,” Serd says. “Today was way more gratifying to know that we could open back up and get our family back together.”
At one point some had to wait outside to adhere to the gym's 15 guest capacity, one of the many precautions Serd says are being taken at his gym.
Some of the policies he’s put in place include limiting the number of members allowed inside at a time, taping off every other machine to practice social distancing, and having staff members wear masks.
“When a member comes in, we are assigning them their own individual cleaning bottle,” says Serd. “So they have to take that with them, carry it around, clean the machine before, clean the machine after. And I think the biggest thing is I’m bringing in additional staff. So we are going behind people when they get off the equipment and we’re even cleaning behind them.”
Serd says he’s holding off bringing back group fitness classes and child care for now and will constantly be reviewing his policies to keep his members safe, but able to come work out.
READ MORE: Can Monroe County Really Impose Tougher COVID-19 Restrictions Than The State?
Monroe County is still in stage two of the reopening plan and under that, gyms are not allowed to reopen. Stage two extends until May 31 in Monroe County.
For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page here.
