GYM owners say they feel futile while their services remain shut across Victoria in the face of a massive secondary health crisis shaping up amid the pandemic.
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They want a chance to help more people get moving, at least in regional Victoria where cities like Ballarat some of the highest levels of chronic disease in the nation.
But gyms remain shut with Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday calling for patience and flagging the potential for regional Victoria to move forward in eased restrictions without Melbourne.
This comes after regional Victoria has been in step three for three weeks with no mystery cases and a 14-day new case average of 0.4 with four active infections, including three in Mitchell Shire north of Melbourne.
Ballarat Body and Soul Genesis owner Mel Tempest is part of the Vic Active lobbying group. Ms Tempest said - business concerns aside - it was completely disheartening to see widespread lack of motivation and interest in well-being bubbling across the community.
Take-up in free, online classes through her gym, also available to non-members, dramatically dropped with clients citing it too hard to be motivated. They were "rolling over in bed every morning".
Ms Tempest said for some people, the gym was a mental outlet and offered a sense of belonging. For others, it was the routine and the challenge in the workouts.
She said the industry was often misunderstood for being just "huff and puff or big weights" when it had evolved into a flexible space with lots of offerings that would do more good than pose a risk amid the pandemic.
"When we do have people coming back to the gym they will be deconditioned and more prone to injury," Ms Tempest said.
"Now we're educating people about fighting off chronic illnesses we're now more susceptible to because of the lifestyles we've led in 2020."
Victoria University's Professor Rosemary Calder, who leads Australia Health Policy Collaboration, flagged early in the first lockdown exercise was vital to prevent a wave of preventable chronic illness. Professor Calder also pointed to chronic disease as putting people at a higher risk for needing hospital should they contract COVID-19.
QuickFit Delacombe gym owner Nick Prince said gyms were based on community membership and it was hard to fathom why other indoor spaces, such as restaurants, or beauty salons, with close contact to clients, could operate when gyms could not.
The secondary impacts on health as a result of COVID-19 will be huge, and the pain and emotional toll many have endured to bring the case numbers down.
- Nick Prince, QuickFit Delacombe Town Centre
"The secondary impacts on health as a result of COVID-19 will be huge, and the pain and emotional toll many have endured to bring the case numbers down," Mr Prince said.
"All due to fundamental errors in risk management planning when we were at a stage of suppressing the virus to manageable levels back in June."
Mr Prince has been part of the International Foundation for Red Cross and Red Crescent's pandemic preparation team in the Asia-Pacific.
He said gyms played an important role in reducing the onset of osteoporosis, slowing progressive impacts of neurological disease like Parkinson's and benefiting people with multiple sclerosis or arthritis. Gyms in Ballarat also help veterans in managing post-traumatic stress.
Mr Prince feared all these people were falling through gaps. While some can have exemptions for gym exercise, there was still the isolation once inside.
IN OTHER NEWS
Premier Daniel Andrews told regional media on Thursday he understood it was frustrating for those wanting change but he would likely have more to say closer to the October 18 target date for Melbourne to step forward, depending how metropolitan cases behaved.
Health experts have reiterated regional Victoria remains at COVID-risk while there were thousands of essential workers legitimately travelling from Melbourne each day.
Federation University social psychologist Ashley Humphrey said it was undoubtedly frustrating and challenging for regional Victorians to feel constricted by stringent regulations when data showed the virus all-but gone.
"It's frustrating but it's about taking the small wins and embracing as much as we can," Dr Humphrey said.
"There is also a shared trepidation - we had normal back in June and it was grasped from us, we don't want that this time. It's about controlling the controllables and things we can do better ourselves."