Noelia Navarro: “We hope to resume our activity at full capacity in September”

Noelia Navarro Caro runs the Vital Fitness Center in Tomelloso, specialized in the physical well-being of women, and now also some men, who value the service, its programming and the level of the facilities. The head of the gym analyzes in this interview how the pandemic has influenced an increasingly important sector, as well as the reopening. He receives us as soon as one of the sessions is over, in a pleasant reunion between the journalist and the interviewee. He shows us a previous report that we did a few months after starting his project in 2015.

-Tough journey of the pandemic for gyms, isn’t it?

-Very hard. The first thing we considered in September was to open or not to open. You didn’t know what to do, but of course! The business had to continue operating to be able to survive and we decided to open, even with all the restrictions and limitations that had marked us. We only did two groups and luckily people responded well. Both groups came out ahead, being able to complete the quarter. After the Christmas holidays, we always close for a few days, we open on January 11. But three days later we received a statement in which we had to stop again. We were without activity until March and we tried again with the arrival of the vaccines that generated hope and optimism and we were able to finish classes in June.

-Are they considered one of the most affected sectors?

-Yes, definitely. Our colleagues have worked hard for this activity to be declared essential, taking the claim to many places and collecting signatures. Nobody can argue that what we do is essential because a person, and after a virus much more, needs sports and physical activity. However, the opposite happened, people who were having a very bad time in the pandemic with lung problems or depressive states, could not find relief and help from sports. In fact, studies have appeared with the consequences that the pandemic has left in many people and that could have been counteracted with greater physical activity.

– Have you been able to receive any kind of help?

-We requested one for freelancers, but it stayed halfway through and apparently they couldn’t reach everyone. The grants usually have a lot of small print and the same thing does not interest you to ask for them because circumstances are changing. We have been able to survive thanks to the savings we had, but if it had lasted longer, I don’t know what would have happened.

-Is the center functioning normally?

-Not yet. The idea is that in September, if the summer evolves as we all hope, the center will once again be at full capacity: with the groups that existed and resuming the collective classes. These months we have focused on personal training, because people had a certain fear of working with groups and it was logical. People have not wanted company and personal training alone has been a good solution.

-The importance of sport has been seen to feel good, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally, don’t you think?

-Sure. The mental and the emotional have been valued much more than the physical. People seek emotional support, not being well for the summer which was what was sought in previous years. The approach has changed.

-Is your gym still oriented only to women?

-In group classes, yes, but in personal training the possibility of doing it mixed opens up. And since we have left the facilities for judo classes, there are also men of different ages.

-Have you had the opportunity to exchange opinions and experiences with managers of other sports centers?

-Yes, of course. I have been in contact with the majority of colleagues with whom I shared training and the conclusions and experiences are the same; It has been very difficult.

-Are you going to start a new project or service in your center?

-We have some ideas. I want to open a spinning room next September, to take advantage of a room that we had closed. On the other hand, one of the rooms that we dedicate to group classes we will focus only on personal training. This new service forces us to also change some devices. We have to adjust to new circumstances.