Before I reveal our plan for the next few weeks, I want to give you some insight into how we plan our training schedule at Free Spirit. Half way into the month, the next month’s sessions are already scheduled and agreed by all with small tweaks and alterations made on the last week of the month. Unfortunately, we were not made aware of the government’s plan to further ease the lockdown rules from next week onward. We’ve thus assumed and planned to continue with zoom training for all our clients in June. This lack of notice is disappointing as it gives small businesses, like ours, almost no time to plan ahead.
After last night’s news, I reached out to the team and we have made the decision to continue with June as was originally planned: we will only be training you online. I know this must be disappointing for some of you, but there are several factors at play here. The first being that Zoom sessions are going so well that we feel that taking extra risk/extra contact seems unnecessary – especially when figures for new cases/deaths are still high. The second is that we would be limited with social distancing and so less able to support you as we used to, nor could we share equipment with you. The third is that with the timetable planned for Zoom sessions, there is little to no room for travel time in the current June schedule and attempting to change this now would be quite a feat.
We want to see you and miss training face to face as much as you. However, we also do not want to do too much too soon and contribute towards a second wave of COVID-19. That said, we feel that if the stats keep going in the right direction and restrictions keep easing, we would be happy to do some outdoor sessions with those of you who are not in the “high risk” category (or living with someone who is) in July. Please note we will be following the NHS guidelines to establish whether you fall under this category or not. If you do, I am afraid we will need to keep training online to keep you safe. If you are deemed as “moderate risk”, please reach out to discuss options.
Some of you are loving training online and so are happy to stay with it for now. If you are considering opting for garden training, then please be sure to consider that the following guidelines MUST be followed:
1) We must have direct entry into your garden as we cannot enter your house.
2) We must maintain 2m at all times. This means that we cannot spot you if lifting heavy weights, we will need to stand back! Trainers and clients can choose to wear masks if they wish.
3) We will not be bringing equipment to you for the time being so we can only use what you have.
4) Trainers will avoid touching your mat or equipment so will talk you through any set up needed!
5) If you start training and it rains then we cannot go indoors and will have to continue outside. If you don’t wish to continue training in the rain – please note that you will still be charged for the full session.
6) You can discuss with your trainer before the session whether working outside is a viable option on the day: Zoom can always be the back up!
Things may well change again by July and so we could enjoy training together in a less regimented fashion, but this is what we would have to abide by if things stay as they currently are.
I know some schools and businesses are returning to the “new normal” this month so there is lots of change for people as it is. Have a think about what you would enjoy best over the summer and let me know so I can factor in potential travel time 🙂
Thank you so much for your patience and support – stay safe,
Victoria and the Free Spirit Team xx
