CREATING an equipment library for members to use during lockdown has been a popular move for one Northwich gym, with an international rugby star taking them up on their offer.

Super League player Sonny Bill Williams has been working out with kit from Your Sports Therapist, the gym and clinic owned by Hartford couple Chris Wood and Charlotte Merrick.

The pair opened the gym at Denton Drive last September to complement the therapeutic side of their business and had to think fast about how to keep things up and running when the pandemic forced them to close their doors.

Chris, 29, said: “In some ways we were lucky that we opened when we did because we already had an established business and had built up a supportive membership. It would have been awful to have just got up and running and then been forced to close.

“Leading up to lockdown we were doing really well, so when it all came round it was a bit of a shock. But as things started escalating, we realised how it was going to affect us, so we knew we had to start contingency planning very quickly.”

Like others in the industry, the couple has taken to running live online fitness classes for members and decided to enhance their experience by lending out gym equipment.

Charlotte, 24, explained: “When we launched the gym we invested really heavily in good quality equipment, and we knew that was just going to be lying unused during lockdown. So, we said to members who wanted to keep their membership live that they could loan out some equipment.

“We’ve been darting around with pieces of kit trying to keep everyone fit and lending them the equipment they would usually have access to – all done with public health guidelines in mind.

“It’s been really well received. We’ve even loaned some to Sonny Bill Williams who Chris has been doing some clinical work with. He’s an absolutely lovely guy.”

In addition to the exercise classes and equipment library, experienced sports therapist Chris is also continuing to provide a telehealth service to help people with any injuries they may have sustained, or to continue their rehabilitation.

He said: “The clinical side of the business has been a bit more of a challenge as that work tends to be more hands on. We do a lot of massage or mobilisation work, for those patients struggling with injuries.

“Our telehealth service, which runs a little bit like Zoom, is helping us continue treating patients. We design a bespoke rehab plan, run through that with the patient over the camera and correct them where they need it. In this area the nature of the job has changed from being hands on to using more of our communications skills and coaching.”

One thing the couple has noticed during lock down is that people are picking up more injuries or suffering with aches and pains due to being more active, but they have some helpful advice.

Chris said: “Try not to Google your symptoms! You tend to find it throws up the worst-case scenario but in the grand scheme of things probably less than five per cent of all injuries that we see in clinic are what we’d class as severe pathologies.”

Charlotte added: “Most symptoms can be dealt with at home with some self-care or with some advice from someone like ourselves or another health care practitioner.

“If in doubt, have a rest for a few days see if it settles, and if it doesn’t we’re still available for appointments and are more than happy to give advice to people and guide them as to how they can manage their symptoms during this period.”

While Chris and Charlotte can’t wait to get back to the gym and run business as usual as possible, they’re aware things will run in a different way.

Chris said: “This scenario will change the whole face of the industry. The way we are now working was in the pipeline for a while, but this kind of service is going to become more the norm. The health and fitness industry won’t be the same after this but we’re looking forward to what the future holds.”

Find out more about what Your Sports Therapist has to offer yoursportstherapist.com

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