Joe Anderson told government "gyms are safer than supermarkets" but claims his concerns were shot down.
As gym closures come into affect from midnight on Wednesday, many people across the Liverpool city region have slammed the specific aspect of Merseyside's new lockdown restrictions.
It was announced on Monday that gyms would be closed alongside bars, pubs, betting shops and casinos under the government's Tier Three system.
But the move to close gyms has received significant backlash with many saying it is unnecessary and will have a detrimental affect of people's health over the coming months.
Prompted by a Twitter follower, Mayor Anderson said that he brought up his concerns to government during talks over the weekend but he was shot down.
He said: "Me on Saturday to No 10 officials 'gyms are safer than supermarkets, more COVID-19 transmissions come from our schools and retail than gyms'.
"Response - 'we are not closing schools or restricting retail, so we can only go for hospitality & leisure.'
"Government decision not ours."
Almost 80,000 people have signed a petition in just 24 hours in an attempt to get the government to remove gyms from the lists of businesses that must close.
Gym owners across the Liverpool city region have also said that closing their business would be "catastrophic" for the area.
Connor O'Brien, who owns Absolute Body Solutions, has gyms based in the city centre, Speke and Manchester. He says the news is "heartbreaking" for the thousands of people who work within the industry and urged leaders to reconsider.
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Speaking to the ECHO, he said: "We are devastated that we have to close, and the impact on the Liverpool City Region’s fitness businesses as a result of this forced closure will be absolutely catastrophic.
“The thousands of people who work in the fitness industry here face having no work in the run-up to Christmas, and that is heartbreaking.
“Our gym environments are highly controlled. We specialise in one-on-one training that sees each piece of equipment cleaned after one use, all clients are temperature checked and sanitise their hands on arrival, and since reopening we have had zero cases traced back to our gyms.
“According to all the science and data we have seen, the number of cases traced back to gyms as a whole is incredibly low versus other sectors of the economy, and does not justify this closure.
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“Gyms have never just been about physical health. They’re not just for the super-fit minority. They’re for everyone, and we welcome people whatever their shape and size.
"They’re vital to people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. Removing them from people’s routine is going to have a huge negative effect on the region’s holistic health.
"As we approach the winter months, this will limit training and exercise that can be done outdoors making gyms more critical than ever.
“We’d ask the leaders of the City Region to reconsider the closure of gyms, with the aim of reopening gyms at the earliest possible opportunity.”
