Gym owners, trainers in GB Nagar resort to online training, selling equipment - Hindustan Times
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Gym owners, trainers in GB Nagar resort to online training, selling equipment

Jun 24, 2021 11:45 PM IST

Noida: With gyms and fitness centres across Gautam Budh Nagar remaining shut for nearly two months, several gym owners and trainers said they are struggling to survive as their savings have dried up

Noida: With gyms and fitness centres across Gautam Budh Nagar remaining shut for nearly two months, several gym owners and trainers said they are struggling to survive as their savings have dried up. They are now resorting to online training and selling their equipment to earn money.

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Rahul Negi shut his gym in Greater Noida West and put up the equipment for sale online. “Last year, my landlord had waived rent for the first two months of the lockdown and I somehow made it through the year on my savings. But this year, things were different. So, I have decided to shut the gym and sell the equipment which will help me meet my family expenses and pay off a few debts,” said Negi.

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Negi has now turned to online fitness training. “While there are not many takers for online training, I’m grabbing any such opportunity coming my way,” he said.

The gyms and wellness centres have been closed since April 30 when the partial Covid curfew was imposed in the district in view of the second wave of Covid-19. Though the curfew restrictions were eased on June 7, gyms were asked to remain closed until further orders.

Yogesh Parweha, who runs a gym in Noida’s Sector 51, has started taking up personal training assignments. “I have taken two to three personal training sessions since the curfew restrictions were eased. I have received the first dose of the vaccine and I follow all Covid protocols during training sessions,” he said.

After reopening in the last week of August 2020, after the lockdown imposed in view of the first Covid wave, gym owners said business only picked up in January and just when it was getting better by March, the second wave put paid to their earnings.

Chirag Sethi, vice-president of Delhi-NCR Gyms Association, said, “Every day, we are getting at least three requests from Noida regarding resale of gym equipment. That means a number of small-scale gyms are shutting in the district.”

Owners of big gyms are also finding it difficult to pay staff salaries, rents, and other fixed charges, Sethi said. “A large-scale gym in Gautam Budh Nagar, with an investment of over 2 crore, has to pay at least 3 lakh a month in rent. Besides, we have to shell out at least 30,000 on fixed charges and 18% GST as well. In the past 14 months, gyms have been allowed to open only for six months and gym owners are getting buried under debts,” he said.

While several small-scale gyms have shut down, corporate gym owners say their staff are looking at other career options.

Ankur Arora, owner of La-Fitnesse in Sector 18, said the fitness industry has been badly hit. “The staff at our gym are looking an uncertain future -- we are not sure when they can return to work after we reopen. They are now looking for jobs in sales and marketing,” said Arora.

He also said keeping gyms closed is unfair. “Liquor shops, restaurants and shopping malls have opened, then why not gyms? Exercise and workout is the best way to maintain immunity and fitness,” he said

Nikhil Kakkar, chief operating officer at Gold’s Gym India, said gym owners are also facing uncertainty due to fear of a third wave of Covid-19. “Though there is a possibility of a third wave, people are positive about visiting the gym in cities where they are open -- like Gurugram, Faridabad and Mumbai,” he said.

Pinning hopes on July 1

Gaurav Sharma, who runs the branches of Anytime Fitness in Noida’s sectors 30 and 108, said they have vaccinated all of their staff so that clients feel safe when gyms reopen. “Not just our staff, we will also encourage clients to get themselves vaccinated,” he said.

Umesh Kansal, who runs the sector 30 and 104 branches of Gold’s Gym, said their staff have also been vaccinated. “We hope that from July 1, gyms will be allowed to reopen. From the security guards to cleaners to personal trainers, all have been vaccinated and we hope that people will trust our gym enough to consider it a safe space,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UP Fitness Center and Gyms Association has written to the chief minister regarding the opening of gyms in the upcoming unlock phase.“We request the CM to please consider our request and please allow the gyms in the upcoming unlock phase,” said Chirag Sethi who is also a member of the association.

Caution is key, say experts

Medical experts said while gyms do promote a healthy lifestyle, they can also be breeding ground for infection. Dr NK Sharma, president of Indian Medical Association (Noida chapter), said, “The government has been gradually opening up establishments as it is necessary to exercise caution, especially since the possibility of a third wave is there. Gyms are considered hot spots of Covid-19 infection as a large number of people use the same machines. No matter how many times the gym administration sanitises the place, the chances of an infection are higher in closed spaces.”

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Ashni Dhaor is a correspondent with Hindustan Times. She covers crime, education, health, politics, civic issues and environment in Ghaziabad city. She graduated from Delhi University in 2015 and has since been working with Hindustan Times since.

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