After roughly six weeks of being ordered shut as part of a partial lockdown to combat the coronavirus, gyms and fitness studios reopened their doors on 11 January. But only 10 people are allowed in at the same time, including staff--a challenge for businesses.

Vitaly-Fit, Factory 4, Pain World, Just Move and CK Fitness have, as a result, decided to stay closed until measures become less strict.

At CK Fitness, the current rules would allow only 3% of its 9,000 members to work out at its facilities. “Our business sells the most important product during this time: health,” said Jos Horsmans, one of the group’s managers in Luxembourg, adding that the current rules don’t allow him to offer a satisfactory service to the gym’s members.

With four studios in Luxembourg, CK Fitness tried separating workout spaces with plexiglass screens to respond to government criteria. But these should reach from floor to ceiling--an impossibility in premises with ceilings more than six metres high in addition to the short delay to carry out the refurbishment.

The government a week ago announced the new virus measures, which were voted into law on 8 January.

CK Fitness continues offering virtual classes but says this is not enough to keep people moving. The start of the year is usually a time of good resolutions but bad weather outside, prompting many to pick up a membership.

Other gyms have found different solutions to the new restrictions. Ellipse Fitness in Kirchberg has put in place a reservation system for members to book one of the slots available and has waived membership fees for January.

Jims Fitness in Kirchberg has also put in place a booking system for slots of a maximum of 1 hour and 45 minutes. And it checks the temperature of customers as they arrive, a receptionist said.

Basic-Fit has reopened its ten fitness studios in Luxembourg but only to members living in Luxembourg. Some of its machines aren’t available to ensure distancing between customers and a reservation system is also in place, which already appeared fully booked for the slots available on Monday morning.

Other measures in place at all fitness studios include the disinfecting of machines after use and wearing a mask anywhere within the studio, except when operating one of the machines.  

This article was first published in French on paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.