Fitness buffs worried about muscle atrophy during the three-month lockdown can now hit the gym after the government allowed the reopening of exercise centres starting on Monday.

The political agreement was made over the weekend as part of Phase 3 of Denmark’s gradual reopening following the Coronavirus Crisis. Besides gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports are also allowed to reopen after their closure in mid-March.

“I am really glad that we can now open up for the Danes to again come out and do sports and move around. We need to get started again and it is good that we can do so in a healthy, responsible way,” said the minister of culture, Joy Mogensen.

Bring your own equipment
Gyms however need to follow several guidelines from the Ministry of Culture to reopen. These include requirements to clean machines and workout equipment after each use.

Fitness centres would also need to count the number of people entering their facilities to comply with social distancing rules. People need to keep a one-metre distance from each other, while for activities that involve “physical exertion”, the ministry recommends a distance of two metres apart without providing details.

Yogis and fitness buffs also need to bring their own equipment such as mats and boxing gloves.

Fitness World not yet reopening
Denmark’s largest gym chain, Fitness World, said on Sunday that it would not yet open on Monday as it was awaiting the guidelines from the authorities.

It made the announcement before the Ministry of Culture published its guidelines.

Fitness World, which has more than 470,000 members, said it would reopen soon. It stopped charging fees as of May.