Fitness clubs on the fence about easing restrictions

Ülemiste City branch of  MyFitness in Tallinn.
Ülemiste City branch of MyFitness in Tallinn. Source: MyFitness

After the ban on using outdoor playgrounds and sports facilities is lifted from Saturday, group fitness workouts can be organized outdoors again. Fitness clubs, however, aren't finding much joy in the restricted conditions.

The government is from Saturday lifting the ban on using outdoor playgrounds and sports facilities, which had been closed for several weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The use of indoor gyms is still forbidden. Outdoor sports facilities can be used by a maximum of ten people at a time from Saturday.

If conditions are complied with, it is once again possible to organize group workouts. Fitness clubs are, however, on the fence - sessions with ten participants don't seem to be economically sustainable.

21 sports clubs operate under the MyFitness chain. CEO Erkki Torn says the government's decision does not bring quick relief.

"What is positive is that we can then do a bit more, offer a bit more. We have thought hard about what can we do, how we can do it, when we can do it. And we hope that we can offer the first training session for our members this Sunday, but we aren't completely sure yet," Torn admitted to ERR's online news in Estonian.

During the emergency situation, MyFitness has carried out training sessions online. Both that and possible group fitness workouts outside are regarded as social projects by the company.

"We haven't definitively decided whether we are going to charge people for outdoor sessions or not. Even if we decide to do it, we don't want this fee to be high," Torn said.

"This will bring out the entrepreneurship skills of each trainer - who can make themselves more attractive to people," Karl Sults, group fitness trainer at MV Spordiklubi, told ERR.

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Editor: Anders Nõmm

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