Area fitness centers plan changes to accommodate distancing, cleaning

By now, everyone is familiar with the term “social distancing,” but have you heard of “cardio distancing” and “social fitnessing”?

Those are two of the trademarked concepts Planet Fitness will be promoting when it reopens its Cape Girardeau location in a few days.

“We are looking at an opening on/around this Friday, May 15,” Becky Zirlein, senior public relations manager at Planet Fitness’ corporate offices, told the Southeast Missourian in an email Tuesday.

Planet Fitness temporarily closed its Cape Girardeau facility in mid-March — as did Cape Girardeau’s other major fitness centers, Fitness Plus and HealthPoint Fitness — as the COVID-19 pandemic spread into Missouri.

HealthPoint reopened its locations in Cape Girardeau and Jackson last week while Fitness Plus at Saint Francis Medical Center has not set a reopening date.

Adam Smithey of McClure, Illinois, works out on machines placed on a basketball court Tuesday at Southeast HealthPoint Fitness in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

“We are closely monitoring local COVID-19 data as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Danielle Torbet, marketing director at Saint Francis.

“At this time, we have not determined a date to safely reopen Fitness Plus,” she continued. “We have a plan in place and a time frame to reopen. This information will be shared as that time gets closer.”

In an email to its members last week, Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau said the company’s location in Cape Girardeau’s Town Plaza Shopping Center will have several changes when it reopens including a “touchless” check-in system using the Planet Fitness mobile app and “relentless cleaning efforts.”

In addition, he said Planet Fitness is introducing what it calls “cardio distancing” in cardiovascular workout areas and “social fitnessing” by asking members to put “an imaginary treadmill or two” between themselves and others.

Both Planet Fitness and HealthPoint Fitness are encouraging their members to pay additional attention to personal hygiene such as frequent hand-washing and sanitizing.

At HealthPoint, certain pieces of exercise equipment are temporarily not available in order to increase distance between members. In addition, the number of group exercise class participants are being limited with designated spacing marked on the floor of exercise classrooms.

Swimming lessons at HealthPoint have been canceled for the time being and lap pool use is currently limited to one person per lane with a one-hour use limit.

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