At Parc Sainte-Therèse in Gatineau, Que., a handful of neighbors began developing workout routines together in the early months of the COVID-19 restrictions. Karen Rauh, who biked to work and went to the gym at lunchtime, said the group boosted their physical and mental health. “When the pandemic started, we really felt this lack of physical activity, so this became a really nice alternative to that,” Rau said. “It’s really kind of built our community.” We couldn’t survive that long.—Katelyn Runions, Spark Street Fitness Some team members have already planned their return to the office around the Monday-Wednesday-Friday training schedule. Lise-Anne Melançon said she finds it more motivating than going to the gym — even if they would have to adjust their schedule to accommodate the commute again. “We’re all enjoying it and we’ve made friendships so we’ll want to continue,” he said.
Gatineau residents say the pandemic has pushed their workouts outdoors
Karen Rauh and Lise-Anne Melançon used to use gyms downtown, but said the pandemic has pushed their workouts outdoors, something they’d like to continue doing even when they return to commuting. This can be a challenge for inner-city gyms that have thrived on offering a convenient break for desk riders. Gym manager Katelyn Runions, a trainer at Sparks Street Fitness, hopes some of those old workout habits will return in September as more federal office workers return to downtown Ottawa. After all, Runions said people who work downtown two days a week don’t see the value in a monthly subscription. “A lot of our membership base has been people who live out of town and travel into town for work … we just haven’t seen them come back,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to survive that long.”
Without office workers commuting downtown, some Ottawa gyms say they’re struggling
Katelyn Runions, manager at Sparks Street Fitness, and Phil Green, owner of Bodies by Phil, say they’ve both seen memberships drop in downtown locations as the pandemic has kept people from moving. Phil Green, owner of Bodies by Phil in Albert Street, said the majority of his members live in the city center but the commuting clientele is slow to return. “We haven’t fully recovered from where we were before COVID in terms of our membership numbers, but things are — slowly but surely things are picking up,” he said. During the pandemic, Green began offering virtual live and on-demand workouts, and said that will continue for now. He also finds out that some of the customers he lost during the pandemic are signing up at the new Kanata location opening next week. Green said he’s optimistic that fall will see a resurgence in group fitness businesses as people try to establish new routines. Like Runions, Green said people can benefit more from a guided workout with the right equipment than anything at home or in a park.
