Kollectiv Cycle remains closed following the latest government public health measure update

By Chantal Wagner

some restrictions eased

Local gyms navigating through latest provincial rules

Mar 2, 2021 | 4:31 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Businesses, gyms, and municipalities in Alberta have gone through the closure and re-opening process several times over the last year.

And following the government’s updated health measures on Monday, some of them are about to go through it again.

Gyms can reopen, but there are several rules including restrictions on what types of workouts can take place.

Chat News looked into how some local gyms are navigating through the latest rules.

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For nearly a year, Kollectiv Cycle has sat empty.

23 bikes have been rented out for on-demand virtual classes

Sabrina Moore was hoping to get people back in the spin studio right away following the government’s announcement.

But Moore was left beyond frustrated after hearing high-intensity workouts including spin are still not allowed.

“I try not to get my hopes up a lot,” Moore said. “But this one seemed really promising because we made all the targets that we were supposed to in order to open up for Stage 2. And when they limited it to low-intensity training, that essentially meant spin is not going to be included in that.”

When it comes to what is considered high intensity versus low, the health minister offered this explanation on Tuesday.

“Here’s how I interpret it, if you’re out of breath it’s high intensity, if you’re not out of breath it’s low intensity,” Tyler Shandro said.

Moore however says their studio cannot pivot like other businesses. “But for us, it’s essentially a death sentence because we can’t. There’s no way that we can be in this room with our people and call it low intensity.”

On top of that, the province says gym operators should use their best judgment in determining what category their classes fall into.

A question the city’s director of emergency management says is hard to determine with the nuances associated with the regulations.

“Ask ourselves a question, is that something we’re willing to do, and if the answer is no, then we may stay the course,” Merrick Brown told Chat News.

The city is still going through the new rules and for now, there will continue to be no access to the FLC’s fitness centre except for one-on-one training sessions.

“Through a quick analysis of information that was provided, we don’t foresee there being any significant impact or change to our current operations,” Brown added.

Along with the government’s announcement, low intensity, individual, and group activities not focused on cardio can resume.

This includes activities like Pilates, light weightlifting, and yoga.

Studios in the city like Yoga You4ia are excited to open again but they are still dealing with restrictions.

Members must be 3 metres apart, which limits the class size to 6. Where in normal times they can have up to 30 participants.

“Yoga is really a group activity so we’re just happy that we can get into that group and we’ll just take what we can and make the best of it,” Yoga You4ia owner Salli Siewart said.

All indoor fitness activities must pre-register and no drop-ins are allowed.

Siewart says they’re fully booked for their first day back.

“So excited, my phone has been going a little bit crazy and people want to book it and they’re just so happy. They miss the people.”