Boise Gyms Can Re-Open Saturday; Here’s What to Expect

Yesterday, Governor Little gave the green light for Idaho to move into "Stage 2" of the Rebound Idaho plan starting Saturday, May 16. 

It'll be the first time in nearly two months that Idahoans will have the opportunity to sit down for a dine-in meal at restaurants, get their hair cut or colored and workout at a gym. If we had to guess, probably 1/3 of you are really excited by this news, 1/3 of you think it's way too soon and 1/3 of you are kind of undecided.

For those of you who are undecided about going back to the gym, I pulled together some changes the two gyms I belong to will be implementing as they re-open to help ease your fears. I belong to both the Axiom on Parkcenter and CycleBar at the Village at Meridian. From reading through the e-mails these businesses sent members, I can tell you a lot of work and thought went into these plans.

In fact, Axiom has gone as far as to temporarily convert their women's only workout areas into a senior's only 60+ area Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. to give members who may be at a higher risk for coronavirus an area where they feel safe and comfortable.

Axiom Re-Opening Changes (Complete list HERE)

• Every other piece of cardio equipment will be placed out of service to encourage social distancing practices
• Free weight benches will be minimized and/or bolted down to maintain proper social distance
• Kid's club, group personal training, showers, pools, hot tubs, dry saunas, steam rooms and court spaces will be closed
• Adequate hand sanitizing and sanitizing wipe stations, additional bottles of spray disinfectant
• Limited capacity in locker rooms and other small areas
• Reduced hours
• Personal workout towels are mandatory
• Members will use self-scanner upon arrival
• Members returning from travel outside of Idaho are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days before using an Axiom facility

Members will not be required to wear masks or gloves. Axiom asks members who are feeling ill or have a fever to NOT use their club. If you're not comfortable coming back yet, you can choose to freeze your membership for an additional 60 days. Information about group exercise classes will be released shortly after re-opening.

CycleBar Re-Opening Changes (More details HERE)

• Classes sizes reduced to 19 to accommodate proper social distancing guidelines
• Members and staff will undergo temperature checks upon arriving at the studio. Those above the CDC's recommended threshold of 100.4º will not be allowed to attend class
• Check-in will now be done on through an app you can access on your own smartphone
• Staff will not fill water bottles. It's suggested you fill your bottle before arriving.
• Showers will not be available. Bathrooms will be open, but they suggest taking care of that at home to minimize time in shared spaces.
• Riders may not enter studio more than 20 minutes before class begins. This will give the staff the time to deep clean the studio before the next ride starts. It will help with social distancing.
• No walk-ins. Reserve your ride online. The booking window has been shorted to 7 days in advance.

Members are not required to wear masks, but it's suggested that they do so until they're seated on their bikes in the theater. The staff will be following that practice for your protection. With reduced class sizes, Cyclebar did offer members the opportunity to rent one of the out of service bikes for their own home. The number was limited, but I'm thrilled to have Bike #8 at my apartment until June!