Action Potential

Covid Update: Nov 11

Public Statement Regarding the Operational Restrictions Across the Country In Response to the Escalating Covid-19 crisis:

At Action Potential Fitness, the health of our clients, our province, our country and our global community is our first priority.

Along with our continuous work in helping and supporting the physical, psycho-emotional, and intellectual needs of our members through training and workshops, and through fostering a deep sense of community and connectedness within our physical and virtual walls, we are also staunch advocates of public health on a larger social-advocacy scale.

We believe that health is a human right that should be easily accessed by all, and that we- as business owners and citizens- have a responsibility to do everything we can to help improve the health of all Canadians.

We actively work to reduce barriers of access for populations that have difficulty meeting their health needs, and continue to seek ways to role model responsibile and ethical fitness practices.

Covid-19 is a health crisis, the scale of which can not be denied. We mourn the lives lost, and send our solidarity and support to those who have been ill, have lost loved ones, and are otherwise adversely affected by this pandemic.

For the last 8.5 months, addressing this crisis within our business has been our number one priority. Not a day has gone by where we have not taken time to check updates, discuss our strategy, refine our policies, and challenge ourselves to do better.

We have, since the beginning of this crisis, been leaders in finding innovative ways to put people before profits.

We voluntarily shuttered our doors, two days before the government order to do so and have temporarily closed our facility twice more in the past four months as we felt that the risks of exposure in two specific situations were high enough to warrant waiting for negative results.

We have suspended all in-person social activities, providing multiple opportunities for virtual socialization and support. We have made these open to the public to help curb social isolation.

We have instituted penalty free cancellation policies, gone above and beyond in our cleaning practices and physical distancing requirements, created a "culture of care", where every member feels directly invested in keeping each other safe, and have fostered the belief that we can be "socially engaged, while physically distant."

It has been a difficult and often stressful process- not to mention a costly one- but watching our community rally around each other and continuously choose to do the right thing has been an absolutely beautiful sight.

Never before have we ever felt such a sense of solidarity, support and purpose.

We are grateful to be able to say that, to date, no member of our facility has tested positive for Covid-19.

However, we recognize that- as diligent as we have been- this is as much a matter of luck as it is of caution. With the numbers rising, we recognize that it is only a matter of time before the virus lands on our doorstep.

That is, of course, unless our Province begins to take matters more seriously and finds ways to curb the spread.

And, as a local business, we must recognize our role in that.

While our facility far exceeds the recommended safety protocols, we are increasing our vigiliance through increased measures effective November 14th, 2020:

- The facility is currently spaced to allow up to 20 bodies in it, while abiding by public safety practices. We will be voluntarily reducing that number to 12 bodies in the facility, at any given time.

- Maximum occupancy per space will be as follows: PT Studio (up to 4 bodies), Rack Room (up to 3 bodies), Group Studio (up to 8 bodies).

- Our group fitness studio is currently spaced to allow up to 8 participants with 3m of distancing apart. We will be reducing that number to 6 participants.

- In addition to our doorway sanitizing station, we will be implementing a mandatory hand sanitizing in the Training Pods that will be conducted at the beginning and end of each class. As always, individual hand sanitizers will be provided along with the symptoms checklist.

- We will be increasing access to High Intensity fitness classes online, specifially focusing on choreographed classes, in preparation for the possibility of these classes being suspended due to their higher risk level.

*Please note: we are closely monitoring the best practices across the country and may further restrict some activites in the future if it deemed necessary.

We are taking these measures not to be alarmist, but rather because we truly believe that businesses have a responsibility to do everything within their power to take personal ownership of their space.

While we hope and expect the government to take a strong stand on public safety, we are not limited to their recommendations and are opting to put our values and our mission at the forefront of our decision making.

Fitness for every body. Health for everyone.
It's about a lot more than just lifting weights.

AN OPEN LETTER TO YourAlberta (Government of Alberta)
RE: The future of the health and fitness industry in our province

Dear Premier Jason Kenney,

Like most Albertans, we have been anxiously waiting for updates as to the lifting of restrictions on Alberta businesses due to COVID-19. As a small Edmonton-based studio specialising in personal training and small group fitness, we were part of the first cohort mandated to close our doors back in March. Since then, we have been working virtually non-stop to find ways to sustain our operations until our doors can re-open, in a safe and sustainable manner.

For us, the past 7 weeks have been a careful balance of actively wanting to prioritize the immediate health and safety of our clients and fellow Albertans in regards to this pandemic, while simultaneously recognizing the critical role that studios such as ours play in the larger scheme of public health and social wellness.

Like many locally-owned and operated studios, ours caters primarily to populations that are unable to access mainstream fitness options for a variety of reasons. We also house Diversifit, a non-profit dedicated to supporting families of children with disabilities with their physical fitness needs and gross motor literacy. It provides free of charge workshops, education programs and fitness events to promote general health and wellness, and has been a vibrant part of Edmonton’s fitness community since it opened its doors. It is much more than a ‘gym’ to our members. Most small fitness studios are.

Throughout this crisis, the government has categorized all gyms, regardless of their size, as public recreation and/or leisure facilities, categorizing us alongside bars, nightclubs, recreational facilities, arenas and swimming pools. Under the current plan to lift restrictions, this would place all fitness facilities in the very last phase of re-opening, denying the public access to meaningful, in-person support for their physical health.

While this categorisation might well reflect the reality of some of the larger fitness facilities, particularly franchised or nation-wide centres, it simply fails to address the breadth and scope of the fitness industry as a whole, and ignores the differences between these large-scale operations and smaller ones that cater to more specialized populations and programs. Additionally, this classification belittles and disregards the very real role that exercise professionals play in public health. Exercise is absolutely recreation and leisure, but it is also a critical aspect of health care.

Exercise specialists, including Physiologists, Athletic Therapists, Corrective Exercise Specialists, Certified Personal Trainers, and Certified Fitness Instructors, provide ongoing exercise management of chronic illness, injury prevention/rehabilitation, and physical and mental health. Research has repeatedly shown us that ‘exercise is medicine’, and that the best way to ensure long-term protection against future flare-ups of COVID-19 and similar pandemics is to ensure an active and healthy population. Beyond this, a well-structured and supported fitness program is a powerful tool for combating stress, anxiety and mental illness, something which should be at the forefront of our considerations when exploring the long-term effects of the pandemic.

What this categorization fails to recognize is that those most likely to be negatively affected by COVID-19 are exactly those most likely to seek out exercise specialists to support them: seniors, those living with diabetes/asthma/cardiac and respiratory conditions, and/or other chronic health conditions placing them in the high risk categories. Many of these populations require very specific exercise prescriptions, as well as the support and supervision of professionals, to be successful in improving their health outcomes.

While online support is possible, and most facilities have worked hard to offer our services virtually, there are simply some aspects of our work that can not be done effectively over zoom calls or virtual classes. Movement and fitness assessments, especially with medically fragile or physically compromised people, really should be done under close supervision of professionals in order to prevent injury and minimize risks.

It is difficult to comprehend how services that cater to individual aesthetics and grooming are seen as a higher priority than those that literally provide life-saving and quality of life altering supports. We can only conclude that there is a misguided belief that most people are able to care for their physical needs independently. However, any thorough examination of public health literature will indicate that the vast majority of the population struggles with self-efficacy when it comes to their physical activity needs, and are already under-active by health standards. We have absolutely no reason to believe that this struggle will be lessened by COVID-19, and every reason to believe that it will be exacerbated.

It is our sincere hope that the government will reconsider its all-encompassing definition of ‘gyms’ to recognize that different fitness services require different levels of social contact and exposure. The same arguments that can be made for reopening massage therapy and reflexology should no doubt apply to one-on-one exercise training, and arguably even small group training.

What we are asking is that the government add the following to Phase 2 of its Relaunch Strategy, along with other similar industry models such as massage, reflexology and physiotherapy.

1) That Physiologists, Athletic Therapists, Certified Personal Trainers, Certified Corrective Exercise Specialists and Certified Group Fitness providers may resume services as long as they are provided in accordance with all health regulations and adhere to all physical distancing standards.

2) That exercise and physical fitness facilities offering one-to-one training and small group training of less than 10 participants may reopen provided that they adhere to the physical and social distancing regulations and measures in place, and do not exceed a total capacity of 15 people within the facility at any given time.

Should the government fail to recognize the nuances within our field, and the distinct differences between large centres and smaller ones, I believe that I can safely say that the majority small studios and fitness professionals will be completely wiped out by the time we are able to open. We are simply not able to provide the quality and types of services that make us distinct and vital contributing members of Alberta’s economy online or ‘curbside’. And while this would be a great loss for Alberta’s economic and business scene, it would be an even greater loss to our public health system and to those who rely on our professional services in order to maintain functional fitness and a baseline quality of life.

Sincerely,
Zita Dube-Lockhart (BA, DIP HS) CSEP CPT/ NASM CES/ AFAA GFI
Owner, Generate Fitness

Toni Harris (DIP HS) CSEP CPT/NASM CES
Owner, In Your Boots Fitness

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Action Potential Fitness is led by CSEP Certified Personal Trainers and NASM Corrective Specialists Toni Harris and Zita Dube-Lockhart. All programs are designed to be accessible to every fitness level, and inclusive of all people, regardless of their age, ability or background.

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