People itching to get back in the gym will have to wait at least a month for those facilities to reopen.


What You Need To Know

  • Gyms will not be included in Phase Two for reopening, a Cuomo administration official said
  • The state is still deciding on which  phase to place gyms and fitness studios 
  • Applied Fitness personal training is preparing safety precautions for its boutique studio in Williamsville

An official in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration tells Spectrum News that gyms have not yet been assigned to a phase in the state's reopening plan, but will not be included in the Phase Two.

The Western New York region began Phase One on Tuesday, with subsequent phases coming two weeks later if the region continues to meet requirements for reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phase Three could occur in mid-June, with Phase Four to follow. 

"We are the beginning of a data-driven, phased approach to reopening and continuing to evaluate which phase certain businesses and activities best fit," the administration official said.

The team at Applied Fitness, a small boutique personal training studio in Williamsville, has been doing its best to keep clients active and healthy during the pandemic.

"Without them being able to come in, it's been a challenge to help them from afar," said Brian Meisenburg, Applied Fitness owner.

They normally offer one-on-one personal training sessions inside their Williamsville studio to about 100 clients each week. But since late March, all the workouts have been through video chats and livestreams on Facebook and YouTube. Applied Fitness also offers nutrition and exercise information on its Facebook group and website.

"Most people have enough equipment at home to get a great workout, and actually the class has seen amazing results even with the social distancing," Meisenburg said.

However, he says many of his clients are anxious to come back in-person. Applied Fitness is taking precautions to make sure it's as safe possible — that includes checking people's temperatures and even their oxygen levels with a Pulse Ox device when they come in.

"So we will know if they are able to exercise and we'll ask them if they have any symptoms," Meisenburg said. "If not, we have facemasks available which are optional. We have workout gloves available."

Applied Fitness also has a sanitizer station, and will disinfect all mats and equipment between each half-hour workout. 

Since they offer private or small group, appointment-only sessions, they're hopeful to reopen in Phase Two as a personal service, different from larger gyms. 

Whenever they get the go-ahead, they say they're ready.

"A lot of clients at first were a little apprehensive but they could see all the different procedures that we're taking, the protocol we have in place and the majority of them are ready to come back and get back to normalcy," Meisenburg said.