As various businesses around the country begin reopening, people have been wondering when their local gyms will open their doors again. If you are in Kern County, California, then it seems you’ll be able to get back to training soon, but only if you have a Planet Fitness membership.
Planet Fitness is a gym franchise with a mixed reputation in the fitness community. For some, it provides a different environment for people looking to begin their fitness journey, but are intimidated by the meat heads at traditional gyms. However for those who are already far along with their training, particularly those who can lift heavy weight, these gyms can cause problems that lead to them being kicked out of the facility.
Despite what you may think about Planet Fitness, they undeniably got a massive win in Kern County, California. This county has begun to reopen businesses following shut down for the global pandemic, but gyms are yet to be allowed to open their doors. However it seems that the purple clad fitness chain was able to score the classification of being an essential business, allowing them to open their doors again before other gyms.
“At Planet Fitness, we know one of the best ways to stay healthy is to stay active and access to an affordable, high-quality fitness experience is important to the Bakersfield community,” Planet Fitness spokeswoman Becky Zirlen said in an email. “In reopening our locations, we have taken a number of steps to protect the health and well-being of our staff and members, which include enhanced cleanliness and sanitization policies and procedures, physical distancing measures in our spacious and well-ventilated clubs, mask requirements, touchless check-in and more.”
This is a big win for Planet Fitness, who will using strict social distancing measures for their members, as well as the other safety guidelines needed to let people in to train. Apparently this was an effort that had been taking place for several months, with advocates pointing to the fact that there have been no issues with the other locations which have reopened in other locations in the United States. They believe that the standards they have put in place will be more strict than those that are even set up by government officials.
This is obviously a massive boost for Planet Fitness, which will at least give people somewhere to train. Hopefully if all goes well, this will give reason for locally owned gyms to open up soon too.
