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In advance of reopening, gyms exercise caution

Planet Fitness trademarked the phrase "Social Fitnessing" to describe its way of creating additional distance between members as they exercise.Planet Fitness


Phase 2 of the state’s economic restart is underway, but fitness buffs may not be that pumped up about it: Gyms can’t reopen in Massachusetts until Phase 3, which will be no sooner than June 29. In the meantime, operators of health clubs, boutique fitness centers, and big-box chains are crafting safety guidelines that offer a glimpse of what it will be like when members can hit the squat racks and ellipticals again.

Companies such as Boston Sports Club and Planet Fitness have composed their own corporate playbooks, which will be adjusted to additional rules the state is expected to issue soon.

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New York-based Town Sports International Holdings Inc. — the parent company of BSC, which has 30 gyms in Massachusetts — shared its 37-page COVID-19 exposure-control plan with the Globe. At first glance, the process itself seems like a workout, of sorts.

When members enter a BSC facility, they’ll be greeted by floor stickers that look like stop signs leading to the welcome desk, where they will check in by scanning a barcode. Members will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging that they will follow safety guidelines.

At a nearby screening station, they will have their temperatures taken and be asked to complete a questionnaire about any health symptoms, recent travel, and other coronavirus risk factors. Members with a temperature of 100.4 degrees higher — or a questionnaire answer that indicates risk — will be denied access to the club and must wait 14 days before attempting to return.

Those who pass the screening will notice several posters about health and safety around the club.

Employees and members will have to wear face masks and maintain six feet between each other at all times.

The regulations at Planet Fitness, which has 74 locations in Massachusetts, will be a bit less stringent. They won’t require masks or temperature checks for members, although both will be required for employees. State guidelines, of course, could change that.

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As of Wednesday, New Hampshire-based Planet Fitness Inc. had reopened roughly 1,000 gyms in 38 states.

To adhere to distancing guidelines, several pieces of cardio equipment will be designated out-of-use with signs that read, “We’re Practicing Social Fitnessing.”

“Our clubs are very large and spacious, often approximately 20,000 square feet,” said McCall Gosselin, the company’s senior vice president of communications and corporate social responsibility. “We believe that we have the ability to adhere to capacity restrictions and allow our members to work out with ample space in between them.”

Planet Fitness will offer additional sanitation stations for members, marked with yellow flags for easier visibility, she said.

“It has always been our policy for members to wipe down equipment before and after use,” Gosselin said. “We are going to continue to reinforce that, and our staff will encourage our members to follow our policies and protocols to keep everyone safe.”

Operators of some of Boston’s smaller gyms say they are working on their own safety plans while they await further direction from the state.

Mark Rowe, general manager of Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs, said he purchased medical-grade cleaning products and is planning to limit capacity, require masks, and take the temperatures of members and staff. The company operates seven gyms in the Boston area.

“We have been on constant webinars with owners from states that have already opened,” he said. “We are doing a lot of things to make sure it is a safe environment.”

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Boutique studios have another hurdle to clear when they think about reopening: what to do about group classes.

Tatyana Souza, the owner of Coolidge Yoga, said instructors will probably hold classes outside, in Brookline parks. Dan Fitzgrald, cofounder of Heartbreak Hill Running Co., said his 1,000-square-foot, 20-treadmill studio in Cambridge is not on the priority list for reopening. For now, the running company is focusing on selling sneakers and apparel in its retail store, which is adjacent to the studio.

“We know it is going to be the last thing to open and the last thing people are going to want to go to,” he said of the workout area. “Is it every other treadmill, tons of Purell at every station, indoor running with a mask?”

But once gyms and fitness centers reopen, how many members will feel safe returning, even with stringent safety precautions?

And will part-time gym employees be able to enforce the heightened standards of cleanliness?

Meghan Lane-Fall, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said she worries less about whether employees get the science behind how the virus spreads and more about whether owners hold them accountable for cleaning.

“At some level, you don’t need people to understand exactly why they are doing what they are doing, you just need them to do it,” said Lane-Fall, a health services researcher who focuses on safety and behavior change.

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She added that reopening plans in all states don’t seem to recognize that people who live in cramped apartments might be especially anxious to exercise in a communal setting after months of being closed in.

“If you live in a small space, if you don’t have outdoor space . . . then the gym becomes that much more important,” she said. “The people making these decisions may be envisioning people in their single-family homes can just go outside.”


Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8 and on Instagram @anissagardizy.journalism.