Business owners continue to find ways to stay viable during these trying times of isolation. Gyms, and trainers like Meg Caprio, have become creative with their clients.
Burnin’ By Ray, with locations in Belmont and Boston, is one of many gyms working virtually with their clientele, creating classes for groups to attend via Zoom.
“Typically, we walk in, first thing we all do is we hug each other, right before the class starts,” said Antoinetta Carboni, who is a regular at Burnin’ By Ray. “We’re all like ‘Hey, hey!’ You know, a fist-bump or a hug.”
All that changed with the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, classes are being conducted through laptops and cellphones from all around the region.
“Doing Zoom calls and FaceTime and all that was a little bit off-putting,” said Caprio, who works part-time with Burnin’ By Ray and also runs her own personal training business. “They didn’t really like that idea, but then, I think generally people started to get used to it from having to talk to family and friends, not in person, and then the idea of, ‘We’ll give this a try.’”
“The community being with Zoom, we all Zoom in with each other and we can all see each other working out so we all push each other,” said Carboni. “It’s great.”
Meg also works one-on-one with a handful of clients, including me, and the reality in that regard has changed dramatically in the last few weeks.
“It’s good. This is a decent substitute,” said Caprio. "But there’s nothing like being able to communicate with someone eyeball to eyeball."
I asked her if she sometimes wants to jump through the phone and say, “NO! Do it this way.”
“Yeah. Right. Very much,” said Caprio. “Stand Up Straight!”
So stuck in the house, whether with groups or one-on-one, Meg and hundreds of other trainers are adapting and pushing ahead, though some instincts remain the same.
When I asked Meg what’s the first thing she’s going to do when she’s actually able to go out and see people, she said, “I’m going to give everyone hugs. Hugs for everybody!”