AusLeisure

With Victoria’s latest Coronavirus lockdown forcing the closure of gyms and fitness facilities, Bendigo’s 3T Fitness has returned to offering online classes for members.

Indoor and outdoor physical recreation sites had to shut from Friday as part of the Victoria’s seven-day Coronavirus lockdown, a move VIC Active spokesperson Tim Schleiger described as “a monumental kick in the guts to all Victorians”.

Adapting to the fourth Victorian lockdown, 3T Fitness owner Sophie Hawken told the Bendigo Advertiser that gym owners were just starting to recover from previous lockdowns when they were forced to close again.

Trying to be positive about the changes and moving to stay engaged with members online, Hawken “you can't be a whinger.

"You just have to take action because we've all done it before. We quickly implemented the Zoom classes and live classes, and I've just tried to motivate everyone."

Hawken said her business was only just starting to recover when lockdown hit, telling the Bendigo Advertiser “we're very worried about an extended lockdown. I don't want to think like that.

“We already thought people would flock back but we were still down 45% when we went back into lockdown.

"It's taken so long to build it up again and this will give us a huge dive down. It's hard, but we'll be right."

TKO Fitness owner Ryan Jeffrey said the lockdown had been expected but "frustrating”, adding “you start to rebuild again and this thing happens.

"There's not too much you can do about it."

Jeffrey said the Bendigo community had rallied behind his business and others, going on to tell the Bendigo Advertiser “we have a pretty tight group of members that have been really good the whole time.

"We do an online program and try to keep in touch with everyone.

"Mental health can be more important than physical health right now."

3T Fitness has a private Facebook group for members  where it holds live and recorded home workouts (via Zoom and Facebook live) as well as nutrition and other training materials.

Image credit: 3T Fitness/Facebook.

Related Articles

28th May 2021 - Fourth COVID lockdown ‘a monumental kick in the guts’ for Victorian fitness operators

27th May 2021 - Fitness Australia urges locked down Victorians not to forget the importance of physical activity

27th May 2021 - Victoria Government announces seven-day lockdown

26th May 2021 - Les Mills International shares advice on ways clubs can convert digital fitness fans into members

21st May 2021 - Save Victorian Events founder slams Victorian Government’s lack of support for business event sector

26th April 2021 - Victorian Government extends support for Clubs, Associations and Leagues

21st April 2021 - Victorian Government releases $633 million ‘roadmap’ funding to boost tourism and major events

2nd March 2021 - VIC Active continues to highlight the safety of fitness centres

19th February 2021 - VIC Active calls on Victorian Government to fulfill its promise of financial assistance

15th February 2021 - Boutique gym brand REVL reports membership rise

11th February 2021 - ActiveXchange market intelligence shows members quick to cancel unused memberships

3rd February 2021 - New fitness platform MoveMii launches to connect members with personal trainers

16th December 2020 - Survey finds online fitness no replacement for real life connection

2nd December 2020 - Australian Institute of Fitness predicts top industry trends for 2021

23rd November 2020 - VIC Active questions remaining caps on Victorian gym operations

15th November 2020 - VIC Active calls for immediate unrestricted opening of Victoria’s gyms

8th November 2020 - VIC Active looks to fitness reawakening after ‘COVID-19 imposed slumber’

6th November 2020 - Australian gym goers spend an average of $79 a month on memberships

19th October 2020 - Reopened fitness clubs see more than two-thirds of members return

24th September 2020 - Aquatic, fitness and sport facilities headed for membership crisis

15th June 2020 - Survey suggests Australian gyms facing massive membership decline

7th April 2020 - Two-thirds of the world’s fitness clubs are currently closed

31st March 2020 - With clubs closed fitness providers go online

15th June 2017 - Ballarat fitness club owner wins IHRSA Institute Scholarship

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.