relaunch UPDATE
A big question we’ve been facing since the announcement is “how do you guys feel about the Alberta Relaunch Strategy and what does that mean for Black Tusk Athletics”? As you all know, our personal opinions often spill into our business decisions; you will recall that our decision to voluntarily close at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis was a reflection of our values, wanting to ensure that the safety of our community was at the forefront of our decision making.
Everyday there is new information released on what is known and what is expected: medically, fiscally, socially. All we know is that we want healthy people happily earning a living at good jobs and enjoying their lives. We support all well-considered measures to make that happen. We are not here to complain about the government, talk about the unfairness of it all, or trot out a string of “we should” statements here. We believe that our leaders and decision makers are doing the best they can and what we can do is take those parameters and do our best as well. At this point in time, we accept that we are stage 3 in the relaunch process and thus will keep the physical gym closed until otherwise instructed.
What we know is that despite all the ongoing research, a vaccine will not be available anytime soon, which means that we can only expect that COVID-19 is not going away in the foreseeable future. We can also appreciate the economic viewpoint, where it is not viable for us all to stay home forever, which means business’ must be reopened, individuals must go back to work and we will be exposed to the virus, increasing the risk of contraction.
We always hope for the best and plan for the worst so that we are prepared for anything. We have accepted that someone we, as a collective, know will likely come in contact and possibly contract the virus at some point given what we’ve outlined above. We, of course, do not want this. It is not ideal but accepting that it will likely happen is a realistic expectation. Another reasonable expectation we have is that all our athletes will practice their best judgement, hygiene and safe social distancing both inside and outside of the gym. We are in this together and we expect that NONE of our athletes will be selfish in their personal lives, putting the rest of the BTA community at risk.
Best case scenario? No one gets COVID.
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
We know that our best shot at combating COVID-19 is to keep our immune systems as healthy as possible
We continue to ensure social distancing and above all else practice safe hygiene including washing our hands and Implementing protocols to disinfect equipment we come in contact with
We know that comorbidities (having more than one health condition simultaneously) will make COVID-19 worse
Our bodies stand a better chance against COVID if that is the only thing our body has to fight or worry about.
How can we align ourselves with the facts above and put ourselves in the best possible scenario given the circumstances? By prioritizin our exercise and diet. This is not news to our members but if you are not a member, you can still take steps to reduce the risk of conditions that will contribute to the complications of COVID. These steps can be as simple as getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days, eating vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and whole grains, limiting saturated fat and excess salt in your diet, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.
We want all members of the fitness community, both BTA and extended, to continue working out and making beneficial diet and nutrition choices. This is the reason we have worked so hard to provide tools via BT @Home, Challenges and Nutrition Coaching and other alternatives to ensure we are exercising and eating well. We understand that it has been challenging for everyone, ourselves included, to stay motivated working out in our homes.
For some of us, saying that working out from home has been challenging is a huge understatement! No childcare, home schooling, work from home programs and social isolation have conspired to make this tough! We have experienced it too. We realize that most of you are excited about the idea that we can get back inside the gym, see our friends and familiar faces, touch a bar again, lift something heavier than the weight you’ve been tied to for the last 9 weeks. At the end of the day, we want to continue being here to support you in any and every goal you have. We want to be here to help give you the best chance at fighting COVID.
This is why we will continue offering our Black Tusk @Home Program.
We are prepared to open our doors when the time comes with the Alberta Relaunch Strategy. We are prepared because we have decided to implement changes to the way we operate the structure of our group classes. As with all of the changes we have implemented through the years, these changes too have been decided on very intentionally.
At present, to keep all our members safe and healthy, we have decided on the following changes for our GROUP CLASSES (Subject to change as per government guidelines):
Class Structure
Capacity will be reduced to a maximum of 5 participants per class to ensure that we are able to maintain appropriate social distancing measures
Duration of classes will be reduced to 40-minute classes to ensure:
Ensure there is adequate transition time for our members to arrive and leave with minimal overlap
Allow disinfecting the space and equipment between scheduled classes
Structure of the classes will be focused sessions of EITHER strength OR metabolic conditioning (“WODS”), not both.
Memberships
Membership options will change (again) to address the need to supplement the physical gym classes with @Home classes
Punch passes and drop-ins will be suspended indefinitely. This is to ensure that all our respective “bubbles” stay small.
Reoccurring Memberships will be capped to ensure that our members will have access to classes, given that the class sizes will be reduced.
Practicing safe social distancing measures will include:
Closure of the rear shoe and bag storage area
Closure of shower area
Water is NOT to be filled in the gym (BRING A FILLED WATER BOTTLE)
Removal of chalk usage in its entirety
Personal items permitted into the space are: indoor shoes, keys, water bottle and minimal wallet
We will also continue to offer a la carte services, including Personal Training, Nutrition Coach and Habits Philosophy.
As we receive more direction from the government, we will be able to draw on their knowledge and expectations of us, to provide you with additional clarity to what we have outlined above. The best part of this plan is that we are all simply continuing to prioritize our health, both mentally and physically.
We are excited to have you all back in the gym, just a slightly modified version for the time being. As always, if you have any questions at all, please reach out to us thefolks@blackuskathletics.com