COVID-19 is Changing the Fitness Landscape

With many apprehensive of public places, Coloradans are changing the way they are working out.

Traffic on Santa Fe Regional Trail

“It’s a constant parade all day,” says Nic Ponsor, owner of Criterium Bicycles in Colorado Springs, describing the traffic on the Santa Fe Regional Trail by his shop.

In March, Colorado’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 included closing gyms around the state. But even as gyms reopen with limited capacity and social distancing, many Coloradans are changing their approach to exercise.

Impact on Watercraft Sales

“This year everyone went out online to buy some kind of watercraft, anything to do with the outdoors,” says Jacob Figueroa, owner of SUP Colorado Springs, the only watersport-equipment rental company in the Springs that works with the local parks division.

COVID-19 restrictions forced SUP Colorado Springs, which has provided equipment rentals at Memorial Park and Quail Lake for six years, to postpone their normal opening from May to June, and an algae bloom closed water sport access to Prospect Lake this summer, but at Quail Lake, rental demand has exploded. “We’ve been sold out since we opened,” says Figueroa.

The enthusiasm is not limited to outdoor sports. Home gym equipment sales have also increased as working out becomes a daily routine. Ray Burget, store manager of Fitness Systems, a home exercise equipment store, says that home exercise equipment sellers have been shocked by the increase in demand. “The industry could probably handle it if demand doubled, but it has probably increased fivefold,” he says.

Burget says that, since March, the store has received two shipments of dumbbells, each of which sold out in a day. While he wishes COVID-19 were not the cause, he says, “We can’t deny this has been a big boost for our industry.”

Chris Rohlfs, a software engineer and rock climber who lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, would normally rock climb regularly in a gym. But this year, he says, “We have been a little apprehensive about returning to the gym.” So Rohlfs, who scaled the Matterhorn in 2016, purchased a treadmill this May.

Worldwide Bicycle Shortage

While home gym equipment sales boom, other industries have struggled to keep up with COVID-19-related demand because of the disease itself. Ponsor says that bike-producing factories were closed for three to four months after the pandemic began, and even after reopening, many factories are operating with limited staffing. The result? A worldwide bicycle shortage.

“Instead of getting 50 bikes a month, I was getting five or zero,” says Ponsor. Because of the lowered supply this summer, Criterium Bicycles did not sell enough bikes to reflect the increased demand.

Ponsor points out that despite its toll on the industry, for many amateur riders, the shortage is not a limiting factor: they already have an old bike they can use. “Anecdotally, we have seen an enormous number of those type of bikes that haven’t seen the light of day coming in for repairs,” he says. On some days, he says, as many as 70 or 80 bikes have been brought to Criterium for a tune-up.

Figueroa says amateur outdoor enthusiasts present unexpected land-use challenges. “Normal outdoor enthusiasts understand ‘leave no trace,’” he says, but this year’s expansion of outdoor sports has led to an increase in park misuse and littering throughout Colorado.

Working Out at the Gym Safely during COVID-19

As the weather cools, many Coloradans will return to socially-distanced gyms. Amy Anderson, General Manager at VASA Fitness on North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs, says her staff has been preparing to help their clientele continue their fitness journey in a healthy, safe environment.

Anderson says staff at VASA, which offered free online classes during its closure, “were hard at work developing safety protocols according to local and state mandates that would allow us to re-open while keeping our employees and members safe.”

Anderson is hopeful that the protocols developed during this time will be a success, allowing VASA clients to exercise safely. Rohlfs and his wife want to return to the climbing gym for their working out regiment. This season, Rohlfs says, “I’m hoping…we’ll be able to get back into the gym and feel comfortable about it.”

But while Rohlfs hopes to return to his gym, Burget reports that many people do not intend to go back to their normal exercise routine. “We have a lot of people say, ‘Even when the gyms open, we’re not going back.’”

The Maverick Observer, or “The Moe” as we affectionately call it, is an online free-thinking publication interested in the happenings in our town. We launched in February 2020 to hold our politicians and businesses accountable. We hope to educate, inform, entertain, and infuse you with a sense of community.