Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, many people have been unable to go to the gym to blow off some steam thanks to health order restrictions imposed by the state. However, boutique gyms around Southern California are fighting for the right to reopen while maintaining all guidelines ordered by state and local officials.
CrossFit Crown City in Pasadena is owned and operated by J.B. Fitts, who told ABC 7 that his gym is ready to reopen and that he can do it safely.
"Everyday you wake up there's a different type of feeling in your stomach. Some days I just want to be sick, I'm so scared," Fitts told the television station. "To be shutdown during this time, it's not even the financial burden it puts you in, it just hurts not being able to work with your community."
CrossFit Crown City has remained closed over the last ten weeks thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Fitts says that his gym is better equipped to handle people who want to work out, thanks to smaller class sizes and the type of studio he operates as compared to gyms like 24 Hour Fitness.
Drew Girton, who owns Pendulum fitness, a separate studio, is teaming up with Fitts to help lobby state and local leaders and help them understand the difference between what crossfit gyms like his offer, and the larger corporate gyms.
"It's a smaller class experience. We don't see class sizes exceed 20, 20 plus, at least in my gym," Girton told ABC 7. "We can run more classes throughout the day and actually reduce class size. We can create 45 minute-classes with 15 minute sanitation periods in between classes. We can make that class exit before the next class enters. We have a lot of control on how we run this place."
The state's current health order restrictions do not allow gyms to reopen.
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