Richmond Hill fitness centre offers virtual ‘outlet’ to get you through coronavirus

#futureofwork: Local kids’ gym goes virtual to keep homebound kids away from bouncing off the walls

Yorkregion.com
May 29, 2020
Sheila Wang

A small-business owner in Richmond Hill gets her business online and delivers boredom-busting activities straight from her living room to cooped-up kids at their own homes.

Karen Davies, who co-owns and teaches at two children’s fitness centres, has been trying something new with her long-established business for two months, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to shut down the physical locations in Richmond Hill and Markham.

“Like everyone else, I’ve been working from home. It’s just that my work from home involves singing, dancing and jumping,” Davies said.

My Gym launched an interactive live gym program in mid-May to keep the families with kids entertained at home as schools and playgrounds remained closed in York Region.

The fitness centres experienced significant losses due to the pandemic even before the mandatory closures ordered by the province, the business owner said, and she had to lay off two full-time employees.

After closing the door after the last in-person class on May 14, Davies and her husband -- who is also her business partner -- decided to find creative ways to continue to service the kids from six months to 10 years old.

They packed up the equipment from the fitness centres and took them home, designed new curriculum, and created My Gym LIVE, a brand-new program providing online classes.

Families with kids can livestream interactive instruction to smart TVs, laptops, and tablets at their own homes to stay connected and active.

“My house has been turned upside down. There is a large area that looks like a gym. I think we’ve adapted very well,” Davies said.

In the first couple of weeks, Davies said many parents shown hesitations about the effectiveness of a virtual class without in-person communication, partly because the concept was new at that time.

The virtual program has seen “a bit of growth” over the past three weeks as more clients seem to have warmed up to the online option, she said.

“I think this is really the next best thing,” Davies said, noting the kids can be engaged and exercise in a 30-minute session on a regular basis.

As a mother of three, she said she fully understood the frustration from some parents with kids jumping on the bed and bouncing off the wall due to boredom during the pandemic.

There is no pre-recorded video, Davies said, and kids can have one-on-one live interaction with the instructor during the virtual class.

My Gym also offers virtual birthday parties for kids from one to 10 years old who can invite friends to celebrate together virtually with dances, games and other live entertainment, she said.

The only part missing was the equipment that kids can climb, crawl and jump on, Davies said, but she helps parents DIY and make use of whatever is available at their homes to keep the kids busy.

“It provides an outlet for the family with kids to get through the day,” the business owner said.

Davies said she’d like to keep the virtual program as an option in the long run as My Gym and numerous other local businesses in Richmond Hill prepare to reopen following Ontario’s gradual and staged approach.

Having been through H1N1 and SARS, she said My Gym has always had rigorous standards for cleaning and safety.

It’s of critical importance for the businesses to have sufficient personal protective equipment to the customers and employees in a public health crisis.

Richmond Hill Board of Trade has put together a “definitive guide” to obtaining local supplies of protective gear such as hand sanitizers and masks.

In addition, the local board has created a dedicated COVID-19 page to offer advice for businesses to mitigate the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, local business owners are encouraged to visit Richmond Hill’s website for information on local, provincial and federal relief measures for businesses.