Ensure Safety. Promote Health and Well-being.

As facilities that promote health and wellness, gyms need to provide an environment with good indoor air quality so clients can feel comfortable and safe to work out.

However, this is easier said than done. The unique characteristics of gyms and other fitness studios already present a range of potential air quality concerns – small and enclosed rooms, intense indoor activities, and the number of people at any given time who are exhaling a higher amount of carbon dioxide. As people breathe more heavily, CO2 levels in the room significantly increase and oxygen levels decrease which can make it difficult for clients to breathe and cause them to feel discomfort and fatigue.

Add subpar gym ventilation to the mix and you now have a scenario where clients are likely to experience other symptoms due to exposure to high humidity, uncontrolled temperatures, unpleasant odors, and harmful pathogens in the air. Clients go to gyms to improve their health or maintain it through exercise. Poor indoor air quality does not promote good health and this can drive clients away.

Moreover, it increases the risk of survival and transmission of COVID-19.

Healthy air is critical for a healthy gym. Owners and managers can certainly adopt a number of ways to make their facilities safer. However, it needs to start with a careful and thorough assessment of the various factors that affect indoor air quality in order to address the issues and optimize the benefits of healthy physical activities for the clients. Monitoring and measuring key factors such as carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds can go a long way in managing indoor air quality to create a safe and healthy fitness studio.