BC Gyms Are Reopening This Week & Your Workout Won't Look The Same

Anyone tired of their home-workouts is about to get a big break. B.C. gyms are opening next week and with a ton of new safety measures in place, your workout will look completely different. If you've been missing the elliptical, then you already know that working out two metres apart is better than nothing.

Many gyms across the province were ordered closed by their local health regional authorities on Friday, April 2, with most of the remaining open private gyms shut down in the following days.

But after B.C. Premier John Horgan announced plans to reopen the province on Wednesday, May 6, the regions are ending their closure orders and gyms will start springing back soon.

In time with B.C.'s entry into "phase one" of reopening, gyms and fitness facilities are opening their doors in the Fraser Health, Island Health, and Interior Health regions on Tuesday, May 19 — as long as they can meet the province's requirements.

And by "gyms and fitness facilities," wrote Fraser Health in a release, they mean everything including "weight training, gymnastics, and martial arts facilities, yoga and dance studios."

Regions opening gyms include Vancouver Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, Abbotsford, and many more.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Coastal Health — including Vancouver, Richmond, and North and West Vancouver — never ordered gyms to close in the first place. As long as they follow guidelines, you could hit the gym in Vancouver next week.

According to the Interior Health Authority, for example, gyms will need at least one staff member to always be present, to enforce social distancing guidelines. 

And, to help with distancing, it is recommended that gyms use a booking system that visitors can use to sign up for  "appointments" with different timeslots. Staff can then scrub down the gym in between appointments.

Gyms like GoodLife are already planning to do this.

They'll also be limiting the number of people allowed to use the gym, screening visitors for COVID-19 symptoms, giving gym goers disinfectant and paper towels to wipe down equipment, and more.

If you head to the gym next week, make sure you're keeping at least two metres from other gymgoers, according to B.C.'s guidelines.

Even though there are tons of online classes to get your heart pumping, they just don't feel the same. But with gyms finally open again, we can finally go out and give our muscles the workout they've been waiting for.