'Real cause for optimism' – Delighted Burnley fitness trainer says re-opening date gives people hope

Josh Kennedy, who along with brother Jaime, runs FX Fitness in the town said he could not wait to re-open after Boris Johnson announced on Monday that gyms could welcome visitors again from April 12th, if strict conditions are met.

Josh said just having a date to work towards was a huge lift, adding that he hoped this would galvanise people whose general wellbeing had suffered during lockdown.

"We can’t wait to re-open, and get back to helping people to take control of their health and fitness, so first and foremost, we’re really excited for April 12th," he said.

"Having a clear date is an essential first step for us, so although it’s further away than we would like as a business, it gives us some level of clarity for the first time in months.

"Beyond this, I’m hopeful that having this date will help people to see the route out of lockdown, and start to focus again on their overall wellness. There’s real reason to be optimistic here.

"However, if for any reason this timescale isn’t met, that would obviously add huge amounts of pressure to our business, and to the overall wellness of our community.

"For us, a key aspect of our ability to have a solid plan for re-opening is to fully understand the level of restrictions placed upon our services, so we can ensure we’re doing all we can to protect our community, whilst offering them the opportunity and support to improve their physical and mental health.

"What services will be available, and to what level? Clear guidance around maximum safe capacity of facilities, group fitness, and other key areas need to be fully clarified before we can have a complete plan to re-open."

Only last week, the brothers told the Express they were concerned that continued Government neglect of the fitness industry meant the country was walking towards a national health disaster.

Josh is glad this is no longer the case.

"Overall, recognition by the government of how important fitness facilities are to the health of the community is welcome, and we’re glad to see this industry is no longer pushed to the 'back of the queue' as seemed to be the approach in previous lockdowns.

"Our goal is to help people to live healthier, happier lives, as it has been for the previous 10 years.

"To achieve this, we’re looking to do everything we can to make our services accessible to help support the physical and mental recovery of our local community, including a brand new membership option for when we reopen, giving people high levels of personalised guidance and support, in addition to access to our safe, highly regulated facility to help people to take back control of their health and fitness.

"A big question again for businesses like ours is financial support, and our recovery (and indeed the recovery of this industry which is so integral to the health of our community) is depending on what level of support is made available.

"Our business will have been closed for over eight-and-a-half months of the past 12, with serious restrictions on our services during the three and a half months we’ve been able to open the facility.

"There is no doubt that the support so far has helped our business to make it to this stage, clearly it has only been partial support, and there is a long road to full recovery ahead."

For anyone looking to get back into fitness after a long break, Josh had these top tips:

"Your body will have made changes due to less activity. This means getting back into exercise won’t be a case of 'pick up where you left off'.

"You’ll need a considered approach to help you to get back feeling great as soon as possible.

"Remember the first step is around improving daily habits, exercising regularly with appropriate workouts, and managing sleep, stress and lifestyle factors as much as possible.

"Give yourself time to work back to previous fitness levels, and improve daily habits. That’s a key first step, and you can start it today!"