By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS
Gyms just want to help people stay healthy.
They also want to survive.
“I am trying to stay full of hope that this is not a long term thing and will continue to fight with all I can to make sure people have the ability to have health and wellness as a priority so they can battle diseases and this virus,” said Melissa Smith owner of 3 Peaks Crossfit in Madras.
3 Peaks is one of several small gyms around the state worried about not only its clients’ physical and mental health but also how gyms can stay in business.
“Gyms can’t continue to shut down,” Smith said. “We can’t. I know for a fact a good handful of my friends that are affiliate owners throughout the state who aren’t going to make it through another four-week shutdown.”
Governor Kate Brown announced Wednesday that indoor gym activity will remain closed after the two-week freeze ends on December 3rd.
Outdoor gym activity can happen with a max of 50 people.
Shandi Taylor, a Certified Medical Assistant with St. Charles, at the Madras Family Care Clinic has been a part of 3 Peaks for almost four years.
“When we were able to come back to class, I felt very safe,” Taylor said. “Obviously I have been around tons of COVID, working at the clinic and the hospital, but (at the gym) we are able to stay six feet apart, washing our hands before entering the building.”
Even while working 10-hour shifts, swabbing patients who might have COVID-19, she still keeps an active lifestyle, working out five days a week.
Smith feels like gyms have no voice when it comes to state COVID restrictions.
“When it comes to being able to have advocates for us as a fitness industry in the state, most of us feel like we don’t have that,” she said.
After the announcement was made, Smith said she will have outdoor and online classes, but is worried for bigger gyms not being able to bring equipment outside.
