Gym owners in Wales were delighted to open their doors to returning members on Monday with fitness fans returning in their droves.
Gyms, fitness facilities, spas, and swimming pools were allowed to re-open from Monday after more than four months of coronavirus lockdown.
And despite it being the third day of a bank holiday weekend with bars and restaurants allowed to open outside (even if the weather wasn't that great ) people have found the motivation to return to the gym and owners have reported a fun and positive atmosphere.
Alex Bodin, director of One Gym in Newport, said: "Today it has surprised me how many people have returned already. We have had 246 people in since this morning and for a bank holiday that is really good.
"I think opening on a bank holiday was a good decision as people are off work so have been able to come throughout the day."
Alex said gym owners like him have spent the last few months twiddling their thumbs and waiting for an announcement on their return.
Speaking from the gym's front desk, where plenty of activity was audible in the background, Alex said seeing people happy to return to the gym had given him and others the motivation to keep going, with a long financial recovery ahead.
"It has given us the motivation to spur us on and keep pushing to keep us going. We know it is going to be a couple of months recovery from this.
"But it is nice. When people are leaving they are stopping and saying how great their first session was."
However Alex said he knows there will be some people who will struggle with the return so they are keeping some online classes available until people see the success of those other customers who have made their way back already.
"We are creating a six-week programme too, for all our members, just to get them started again. People have been inactive for so long they need that help and guidance. I think it is good – it will give people some structure back too.
ION Strength and Conditioning gym owner Robin Sowden-Taylor shared the same sentiment about re-opening.
Speaking from his gym in Cardiff at lunchtime Robin said: "It has been fantastic this morning. Obviously it is a bank holiday Monday, usually hours are a little bit more restricted, but we have had classes on the hour back to back since 6am.
"They have all been full classes. We have our afternoon classes coming shortly. I think everyone is just glad to finally be back in the gym and seeing each other with smiles on their faces."
As a class-based venue Robin explained the restrictions are a little tight but they had an idea of what restrictions to expect when they re-opened this time around based on coming out of the initial lockdown.
"After the first lockdown we were pretty aware of how things would look – we had to change the way we operated. We are a class-based training facility so we implemented a socially distancing throughout our facilities. Every member has their own set training area.
"There have been a lot of positives on that same front. I think it makes it less intimidating coming into a new training facility when you know exactly where to go, where all thee equipment is. It is obviously a lot safer from a health perspective. We will continue with this manner obviously in the short term but also further down the line," Robin added.
Customers were also pleased to be back with ION member Iwan Morris saying: "It is fantastic to be back. I've got Mickey Mouse equipment in the house – nothing compares to the proper thing.
"I was doing a bit of gym work in the house – lifting light weights, squats – and I was walking an hour and a half to two hours a day just to try and keep fit. I've been doing a lot of exercise – I'm sure if I wasn't it would have affected me mentally.
"It is great to have the whole family back again – it is really good."
Another person to return to ION was John Edwards who said while it had been great doing circuits on Zoom classes in his living room nothing compared to the equipment at the gym.
"It's having all the kit – it is all laid out and I don't have any of this stuff at home so it is much better. You've just got access to more things and being in a class with other people just motivates you more.
"I think this will be the last of lockdowns, at least until the autumn/winter time, so I think we have a nice few months or so."
One key issue those campaigning for gyms to reopen have focused on is the mental health aspect of exercise and that is one thing Lindsey Sian White, a personal trainer from Swansea, said she had noticed in returning clients.
Lindsey owns a fitness studio in the city and has been running classes since 6am on Monday. "I am fully booked for the week. I'm having half a day on Friday but I say half day – I will be starting at 6am. I even had new people inquire over the weekend," she said.
She trains women in classes and one to one and said she has found that for women in particular the last 13 months had made it hard for them to keep training at home as they have seen an increase in other responsibilities such as caregiving and home schooling.
"A lot has gone on in the last five months. I think this lockdown has been a lot more challenging – a lot of people have lost their jobs, home life has not been easy. I think people haven't been putting themselves first so it's good to get back to the classes.
"I've been doing classes on Zoom throughout and it has been quite nice actually to focus on the technique instead of the lifting. When we are in the classes women want to lift heavy stuff so it has been good to take them back to the basics and show them the correct techniques.
"The women who have been doing the classes online have been skipping out of their cars to get in here."
