Kiwis hit the gym under tougher rules at Level 2

After three weeks without access to a gym, members of Recreate Performance wasted no time getting in the door.

By 5.30am on Thursday the first class was underway, only 15 people showed up but it was still full.

That’s because the Delta variant has put social distancing front and centre at Alert Level 2.

“At the moment, we’re right down at 10 or 15,” said Reece McCaffrey, who co-founded the gym with wife Monique.

Numbers depend on “what type of class it is” and “what equipment needs to be used”, according to Monique.

Thursday morning’s class would typically host between 20 and 25 gym-goers.

The couple set up Recreate Performance in December 2019, just months before our first nationwide lockdown.

This time around, they’ve been able to put most of their memberships on hold as alert level restrictions gripped much of the nation.

“We had a handful of members that were able to keep paying us their membership fees over lockdown,” Monique said.

“But it’s been pretty tough financially.”

However difficult it’s been for members, Recreate Performance made sure they didn’t have to face lockdown alone.

“Reece and some of the team were able to do online Zoom workouts with our community.”

“So there was interaction, people were still able to get some exercise into their new norm.”

Now under Alert Level 2, these are the key new rules for gyms:

Crucially, masks don’t have to be worn while working out as people should already be socially distanced.

Instead, masks should be worn while moving from station-to-station.

At Recreate, coaches will wear masks full-time, following advice from Exercise New Zealand.

“It was a bit touch-and-go there the last couple weeks, and not knowing where we were at with alert levels,” Reece said.

“They want to get in, they want to get it done. I think they’ve missed their normal routine, so it’s good to have them back.”