While exercise can help with that anxiety many are feeling, gyms have been shuttered across the country ever since numerous stay-at-home orders were put in place. Chris Rondeau, the CEO of Planet Fitness, told Cheddar, "All our gyms are closed throughout the entire country... we closed ours down about mid-March."
Gym-rats may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, however. On Thursday, President Trump unveiled his phased plan to reopen America, which could allow some gyms to return to business with strict physical distancing and sanitizing protocols.
What might that look like in practice? Rondeau told Cheddar that it may mean unplugging every other piece of cardio equipment, to ensure more space between users and a reiteration of its existing cleaning policies and procedures.
For those not eager to rush back into gyms that could become crowded, Planet Fitness is partnering with iFIT to launch at-home streaming workouts, a decision made before the pandemic,
"We realized that the trend is going to [digital fitness]. I don't see it as a way that it replaces a gym membership, but it enhances their ability to work out when they can't go to the gym that day," said Rondeau.