On Wednesday 13th May, the government gave the go-ahead and published guidance specifically for personal trainers returning back to working face-to-face with clients.
This was very exciting news as there is nothing more fulfilling for me than coaching clients in-person, especially after a two month hiatus and moving solely to online services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there have been many considerations to be planned in the past week for me to be able to decide on if and how I would ensure it is safe to do so for my clients at SP.
Because of these considerations, the decision has not been easy - but i'm confident with strict procedures in place, I can begin phase one of re-opening the facility from Monday 25th May.
All existing 1-1 clients have been notified of how the sessions will be running, and the decision will be up to them if they wish to return upon re-opening, or wait however long they feel they need to, for themselves and their families.
Anyone with symptoms will not be able to train and advised to stay home, inline with government guidelines.
Key Considerations & Procedures
All sessions will be outdoors. Shade/cover will be provided regardless of weather.
Equipment will be minimal, but still highly effective to whatever the goal of the client.
No sessions will overlap, nor will clients cross paths. There will be a minimum of 10-minutes between sessions to throughly clean equipment with antibacterial products.
Each client will either wash or sanitise their hands both before and after each session.
As a coach, I will remain at least a 2-metre distance away at all times. Wearing appropriate PPE for further safety.
Initially, there will be limited availability of sessions to ensure all procedures are upheld.
What Is The Plan Going Forwards?
With government guidelines and restrictions being updated daily, I am keeping a close eye to ensure that I provide as safe service I can for those who wish to train in-person again. This may even mean services move back online if restrictions are put back in place temporarily again.
'Phase 2' will be training clients indoors, and 'Phase 3' will be group training.
As it stands, I have no timeline on when these will be implemented as there has been no mention of this yet, but I assume there will be some kind of announcement at the beginning of July that will give better direction.
Just know that when restrictions are gradually lifted, the same careful planning and implementation will be given.
If you have any questions on this announcement, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.