Today was a highly-anticipated day for Montreal fitness buffs, as gyms reopened in red zones across Quebec.
MTL Blog asked gym owners to give us a first look at Quebec's provincewide return to fitness.
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Alessa Mattia, co-founder of REBL UNION — a boxing-inspired cardio and strength gym in Griffintown — told MTL Blog the first day back "went great."
She said pretty much all available spots were booked up throughout the day and that the gym could legally accommodate eight people at a time based on its square footage to ensure social distancing.
Nadia Verchinskaia, who owns the Sud-Ouest location of 30 Minute Hit said, "it has been incredible to be back after six months of closures [...] people are extremely excited" — and, according to her, clients are also happy to follow protocols like wearing gloves and staying four metres apart.
Kamila Bryla who owns Goplana, an Eastern European street food restaurant down the street, appeared in a video eating a donut outside the gym: "Guys, 30 Minute Hit is open. We can eat more donuts," she said, laughing.*
In terms of occupancy, Gym St-Henri posted on Facebook at around 7:30 a.m. to let members know "Gym traffic is OK," and as of 6 p.m. no Nautilus Plus locations near Montreal were at full capacity, based on its real-time tracker — Centre Rockland and Bois-Franc were both around 30% full.
*This article has been updated.