Santa Barbara gyms reopen with move to red tier
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — There’s no more excuses for being a couch potato stuck at home.
With Santa Barbara County’s move into the red reopening tier, gyms are allowed to operate indoors for the first time since June.
“It’s good to have it back since it's different,” Gold's Gym member Lane Tank said. “It's not a trail, not a bike, it's great to get back in the gym."
Gold's Gym’s three nearby locations — Santa Barbara downtown, Santa Barbara uptown & Goleta — officially reopened this month.
"We're super excited to have the gyms open,” Gold's Gym general manager Cindy Capra said. “It’s great that we're able to provide indoor services again.”
To allow for adequate space for physical distancing, half of the cardio machines are disconnected.
Within the fitness facility, everyone must wear a mask at all times.
The gym is also only allowed to operate at a reduced 10% capacity.
“People are adhering to these rules,” Capra said. “I think they're really conscious of that."
“The distancing is perfect, the sanitizers they've got work out great and the masks are necessary nowadays,” Tank said.
Across town at Fitness 19 within the Turnpike Shopping Center, combatting COVID-19 is a constant battle.
The staff works around the clock to constantly deep clean the entire facility.
"We also have wipes throughout the gym that we reestablish every half hour,” Fitness 19 assistant manager David Leon said.
Most members value the gym’s stress on health and safety.
"Absolutely appreciate the precaution,” Fitness 19 member Heather Woelk said. “We definitely need to do this because who wants to get sick, no matter the low infection rate."
Although it’s far from normal, being back at the gym has allowed everyone to sweat out their stress.
"I did a lot of cardio over that six-month period,” Woelk explained. “So I'm a little bit weak coming back but it's great to be back."
"Exercising whether they're running, lifting weights, or seeing some of their buddies, it's distressing a lot of them,” Leon concluded.
