With the coronavirus affecting schools and a lot of businesses, a lot of them are closing down temporarily. Big box gyms are considered to be a hot ground for this sort of thing because you might have 50 or so people from who the heck knows where breathing heavy and sweating. Group exercise classes can be the same.

However, my personal training studio is considered semi-private/small group personal training. Sometimes it’s one on one, sometimes it’s one on a few (5 at the most). I don’t have a ton of people, it’s the same people (no walk ins) and I also know where they’ve been, so the risk is considered low.

And until I’m forced to, I’ll stay open and am doing what I can to stay on top of it so as to minimize any kind of spreading. Here is a list of what I am doing.

-Any personal training client that doesn’t feel well or simply just wants to make sure are instructed to just stay home for a bit.

-Prior to training, wash your hands. Do this at the end also.

-Equipment that will be used will be disinfected both before and after use.

-Hand towels will be replaced with disposable paper towels.

-Evening hours will end by 8pm because the mandated curfew. Though I don’t know what difference that makes.

– A general cleaning (mopping with disinfectant) will be done twice a week at the minimum. This depends on how many people train during the week. The disinfectant is also at a higher concentration than normal.

-The free trial membership will be temporarily suspended unless by referral from a current personal training client. The reasoning for this is that I don’t know who they are and whether or not they may have been in contact with someone infected. At least with regular clients, I can determine the likely risk. And with referrals from current clients, we can discuss whether or not whoever they are referring will pose an unnecessary risk.

I’m also open to suggestions about how to keep everyone healthy and safe.

I believe with all of these in place we can minimize risk, continue getting people healthy (which goes a long way to fighting the disease) and do our part in containing it without compromising the former.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Stay healthy, strong and safe everyone.

Eric Moss is a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, motivational speaker, and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey, is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville and Parsippany New Jersey.