RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Friday that some COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted for people who are fully vaccinated, and one industry that will see some relief is the fitness industry.

What You Need To Know

  • Gyms and fitness studios can remove their COVID-19 restrictions for people who are fully vaccinated

  • Many businesses can adjust the precautions as they see fit

  • Owners of Shred 415 say they may keep capacity restrictions and still limit equipment sharing

Shred 415 opened in downtown Raleigh right before the pandemic hit, but then capacity and mask restrictions forced the small boutique fitness studio to close for about six months. After Friday’s announcement, they’re excited to see restrictions ease, but they’re not quite ready to flip the switch just yet.

“I think that is something everyone is looking forward to is I would like to go to the gym and get on the treadmill and not have to wear a mask,” said Beth Burant, one of the owners of Shred 415. “We’ve been joking with our clients, 'just imagine how great of shape you’re going to be in when the masks come off.'”

Burant says Shred 415 may not be ready to jump on board right away.

“What’s important to me is to be able to learn together how to find a new normal. I think we would be remiss to think we’re going to be able to go back to exactly what we were doing in February 2020,” she said.

Burant says a timeline or even a 24-hour warning would be better than immediate changes.

“It’s going to feel a lot different and a lot more chaotic than if it was Monday at 5 PM and we knew exactly what to prep and plan," she added.

She says luckily small businesses like her’s have the ability to decide how they want to move forward.

“Get on the same page with our staff and with our teams on what do they feel comfortable with and what do we feel comfortable with as business owners,” Burant said.

At the end of the day, she’s in the health and wellness industry and that’s what this all comes down to.

“It’s important for us to continue to provide stability, options and safe place for anyone who wants to come and workout with us,” Burant emphasized.

Burant also says the pandemic has taught them that they have the ability to do more things than they first thought. For example, they started hosting outdoor classes because of the pandemic, and they plan to continue hosting them in the future.