EAST GRANBY, Conn. — There are a dedicated group of fitness fans who come to Amped Fitness each day.
The popular gym in East Granby is much better off than they were just over two years ago when classes were relegated to Zoom and Facebook Live sessions. However, 2022 has begun with another hurdle – the COVID-19 omicron variant.
Myles Cecchetelli, the director of programming at Amped Fitness said that typically, after the New Year, fitness clubs see a boost in business, but omicron has created more issues.
“It doesn’t help you obviously,” said Cecchetelli. “This is when leads pick up and we get to see some new faces in here and with everything going on, that hasn’t been the case.”
Amped Fitness had five locations before the pandemic hit in March of 2020, they now have three. Still, they say, they have a loyal following at all of their locations.
“You have to have the ability to pivot and move on so if we do get another variant, we just keep working through it,” said Trainer Tim Smith, a former Army Paratrooper.
Kate Karadimas, a managing partner at Amped said there are selling points for fitness clubs – especially during these times where COVID-19 continues to create problems.
“We think that getting in and working out is the best thing that you can do for your body to prepare for it and help be successful to ultimately beat this,” Karadimas said.
Lifting weights, running in place, stretching and lunging, a spirited class of more than a dozen gym goers was in full force at Amped, working out to begin the week.
Karadimas offered some Monday motivation and optimism for the year ahead: “We call ourselves ‘Amped Nation’ and our motto is never quit and we’re going to keep showing up every day for one another.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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