Bendigo gym returns to online classes through Victoria's latest Coronavirus lockdown

With Victoria’s latest Coronavirus lockdown forcing the closure of gyms and fitness facilities, Bendigo’s 3T Fitness has returned to offering online classes for members.

Indoor and outdoor physical recreation sites had to shut from Friday as part of the Victoria’s seven-day Coronavirus lockdown, a move VIC Active spokesperson Tim Schleiger described as “a monumental kick in the guts to all Victorians”.

Adapting to the fourth Victorian lockdown, 3T Fitness owner Sophie Hawken told the Bendigo Advertiser that gym owners were just starting to recover from previous lockdowns when they were forced to close again.

Trying to be positive about the changes and moving to stay engaged with members online, Hawken “you can't be a whinger.

"You just have to take action because we've all done it before. We quickly implemented the Zoom classes and live classes, and I've just tried to motivate everyone."

Hawken said her business was only just starting to recover when lockdown hit, telling the Bendigo Advertiser “we're very worried about an extended lockdown. I don't want to think like that.

“We already thought people would flock back but we were still down 45% when we went back into lockdown.

"It's taken so long to build it up again and this will give us a huge dive down. It's hard, but we'll be right."

TKO Fitness owner Ryan Jeffrey said the lockdown had been expected but "frustrating”, adding “you start to rebuild again and this thing happens.

"There's not too much you can do about it."

Jeffrey said the Bendigo community had rallied behind his business and others, going on to tell the Bendigo Advertiser “we have a pretty tight group of members that have been really good the whole time.

"We do an online program and try to keep in touch with everyone.

"Mental health can be more important than physical health right now."

3T Fitness has a private Facebook group for members  where it holds live and recorded home workouts (via Zoom and Facebook live) as well as nutrition and other training materials.

Image credit: 3T Fitness/Facebook.