Mansfield gym owner's relief as government confirms they can reopen when lockdown two ends

RS Fitness Studios had been campaigning for the government to reconsider their decision to close gyms during lockdown, so owners Ruby and Dom Witton were thrilled with the announcement that gyms could reopen when lockdown ends on December 2.

They are now hoping for a further u-turn to allow gyms to conduct small group exercise sessions.

Opening on Stockwell Gate in 2018, the fitness studio had been going from strength to strength until the pandemic hit.

Manager Dom Witton said: “We were at capacity and planning on expanding when the pandemic hit.

"We were devastated when the government closed gyms, as we know how important they are to our fitness community, but luckily we were already set up with an online training platform as that’s what we did before opening the studio.

"We have spent a lot of time and money on making changes to ensure our members felt safe, and we were really glad to reopen in July, but the closure again this month knocked us for six.”

Sanitising stations, floor markings and regular deep cleans between sessions meant that everything possible was done to make the gym covid-secure, so the couple were thrilled when the government announced this week that gyms would be allowed to remain open in all tiers.

Dom added: “We’re happy they realised they needed to change the rules, now we just need them to give us the all-clear to run classes – we’ve marked out 4 metre square workout spaces, so we know they can be run safely.”

With news that redundancies were being made in the town’s Leisure Trust’s fitness centres, Dom admits the future is uncertain for everyone in the industry, with membership numbers falling and financial strains of the pandemic meaning very few people will join in the usual January rush.

He explained: “We won’t see a January influx this year, which is understandable, but worrying for us.

"Our expansion plans are on hold, but we are doing everything we can to ensure our members can workout in a safe environment.

"We’re a close-knit community here and we just want to help people get through this.”

For more information on RS Fitness Studios, see their facebook page.

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