Join A Live Fitness Class From The Comfort Of Your Home
ROTHESAY – ForFitness and Athletics provides its members with opportunities to break a sweat and work off stress in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic through its online fitness classes.
“I started the idea of online classes when the idea of social distancing started to become more pronounced,” said owner and operator Matt Forgie.
ForFitness has been running online classes for more than a week now.
“It’s interesting because you’re still getting that community like feeling and we haven’t really lost too many members; it’s been cool to see it all happen.”
People who have a membership to the ForFitness gym, gym plus classes or a class pass can access all of the online classes. Members can then check the gym’s Facebook page and reach out to the instructors.
ForFitness also communicates with its members through the Team Builder app, allowing them to see what they need to do on their phones. Members and class pass holders are emailed a link to access the online classes, who can then follow along with the instructors and get their guidance.
“We have times of the day where people that are following their own individual programs can contact us and we have live discussions through the gym,” he explained. “It’s every day for an hour so we’re just waiting for people to call us or join into the live feed.”
All of the classes the instructors used to do in person are now run online; the classes currently offered are adult strength and conditioning (three times a day), kettlebell, mobility and strength and balance.
“The 6 am class has been a hit because the kids are still sleeping, so the parents can go into the class and they don’t need to worry about the children and by the time the children wake up the class is done,”
Three to four classes are held every day, with yoga classes on Monday and Thursday evenings added and a golf fitness starting next week.
“Our community is really enjoying it, they’re super pumped,” he said.
Forgie and two staff members are working to keep up with the class demand and have only lost one percent of their members since the coronavirus outbreak.
While class attendance is about 50 percent of the normal levels, a learning curve is to be expected while everyone tries to figure out the new normal.
“We’ve actually called every single one of our members and we’re asking them how they’re doing, making sure that they’re happy with everything, he said. “We’re essentially trying to do everything we can to keep up with their fitness goals with the tools they have.”
He also said adjusting to online courses was easier than they thought it would be.
“I have to thank my staff for making that happen, it’s definitely a huge team effort.”
Forgie’s primary concern is preserving the gym’s community, while also enticing new people to become involved in ForFitness. He plans to start offering free online classes next week and is in the process of uploading videos of all of the exercises they currently have to their YouTube channel.
For now, ForFitness will go with the flow, take it day by day and adjust as needed.
While gyms across the Maritimes are following a similar path of uploading classes online platforms such as Vimeo, ForFitness was ahead of the curve.
“Anyone I’m calling, I’m like, ‘guys this is what we’re doing, start doing it,’” said Forgie. “What I was telling my friends in Halifax is that people like to hear other people having fun and chirping and that interaction is actually pretty important for the class stuff.”