Health And Hygiene Tips When Managing A Fitness Facility

Every gym and fitness facility must implement these crucial health and hygiene tips to keep their clients safe during the COVID pandemic.

If you run a gym or fitness facility, you’re probably usually most focused on facilities, services, business strategy, and overall management.

However, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, undoubtedly your members’ health has risen to the top of your list of priorities, as well as, of course, your staff’s health and safety.

After all, your team spends more time at the gym than your members, so you must be vigilant in looking after their health.

With the second wave knocking at the door, health and hygiene have become more important than ever.

Health And Hygiene Tips

Let’s take a look at these critical health and hygiene tips for fitness facilities:

1. Strive For Exemplary Cleanliness

Never compromise on your hygiene standards: fitness facilities, as indoor spaces that have a lot of different people moving through, are the perfect breeding ground for viruses and bacteria.

Since members use the same equipment, germs can be easily passed between members, as well as staff.

It is absolutely essential to clean machines and equipment after every use.

This will increase your overheads, but members are smart enough to pay more if they know that strict hygiene measures are in place.

After gyms opened following the first COVID wave, cleanliness became the top consideration for members.

Facilities without adequate cleanliness and hygiene policies in place not only put their members at risk but are likely to lose them as people cancel their membership and sign up elsewhere.

2. Don’t Let Anyone Enter When They Are Sick

Your members are unlikely to come for a workout if they are unwell, but make sure that you don’t let sick staff members come to work until they recover.

Common cold and flu strike hard as winter sets in, and even if your staff does not have COVID, you don’t want them infecting others with even the common cold.

This puts your members and other staff members at risk, so it is better to have a strict policy that unwell employees must stay at home.

3. Optimize Hygiene-Friendly Design

If you are setting up a new facility or redeveloping an existing one, place close attention to the ventilation.

In all facilities, you should install humidifiers and ventilators to promote better air quality.

You should also install high-quality sanitizer dispensers throughout the facility so that members and staff can regularly sanitize their hands.

Do not forget that policies and processes are only as strong as their implementation and some members may not take hygiene rules seriously. Reinforce them with reminders, such as clearly visible signs and instructions in locker rooms, bathrooms, and around the equipment.

If you put up enough posters and signs, it will make it difficult for careless members to forget or ignore the rules.

4. Communication Protocols

Set strict communication protocols between members and staff.

Clearly inform all your members about communication protocols while educating them on how important contactless communication is, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An effective strategy is to offer a free mobile app to staff and members. This strategy not only ensures contactless communication but also allows you to keep your clients update with timely notifications and emails.

5. Showers And Locker Room Procedures

Locker rooms and showers are often overlooked even when the rest of the facility is properly cleaned. Conditions in the shower speed up the growth of bacteria and viruses, so these areas are particularly important.

Make sure that locker rooms and showers are cleaned several times a day and consider investing in a ventilation and drying system.

You should also encourage your members to wear shower shoes and avoid reusing wet towels or share personal equipment.

6. Be Ready For Tough Situations

As much as you can prepare, the truth is that you never know what is around the corner. Therefore it is important to prepare for anything.

You can prepare by implementing processes such as:

• Increase the frequency of cleaning.
• Increase facility hours and reduce capacity to 75% by following a schedule that gives all members access while avoiding crowding.
• Make it mandatory for members to wash and sanitize their hands before touching the equipment.
• Encourage members to bring and store personal mats and weights if they want.

Don’t Take Anything For Granted!

Even after setting strict policies and procedures, this doesn’t mean you can relax. You need to keep up to date with the latest government regulations. You might even see gyms closing temporarily.

This is the time to compete and gain a competitive edge by letting your members keep fit while staying safe.

New procedures and hygiene protocols may frustrate members initially but in the long run, they will appreciate your efforts.

After all, these measures are all designed to keep them safe and healthy!

Do not hesitate to freeze or even terminate memberships if members refuse to follow the rules. You cannot put other members’ health at risk while trying to please one or two members who are not willing to cooperate.

Such hard decisions will ultimately spread a strong message that you are more concerned with members’ safety than your profits.

Hopefully, you’ve already implemented most of these health and hygiene tips into your gym facility, but if you haven’t, it’s time to take action!