All Posts By

Jen Sadowski

May 19
Republic Fitness

We’re Excited to See Your Smiles Again!

By What's New

Since the start of the pandemic, we have followed the science and created one of the safest indoor environments. As a commitment to your safety, we invested in airPHX and have required everyone in our clubs to wear masks since reopening last July, well before the State required it.

Starting on Saturday, May 29, we are following the guidance from the CDC, local health officials and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and welcoming fully vaccinated members and staff to enjoy the club without a mask.

See below for all of the changes you can expect on May 29:

  • Per CDC and State guidelines, fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask in our clubs. Non-vaccinated individuals will need to continue wearing masks indoors. We trust everyone to follow the guidance set forth by the State to keep all members of our community healthy. We ask that everyone respect people’s choice to continue wearing a mask and not question their reasons.
  • Distancing will still exist at the clubs, but it will be reduced over time and class sizes will increase.
  • Showers and locker rooms will fully reopen, and hair, shaving and feminine products will be available again both in the locker rooms and/or at the front desk.
  • Fans and water fountains return to use.
  • AirPHX and electrostatic spraying use will continue, and we ask everyone to please use the wipes provided throughout the clubs for any equipment used.
  • Virtual Classes and Memberships are here to stay, these will not be going anywhere!

We know that these changes have been a long time coming and are so grateful for the support from our members and staff during the pandemic. If you are not yet vaccinated, we highly encourage you to do so to take advantage of these changes. The vaccine is the safest way to protect yourself and those around you. We couldn’t be more excited to be returning to the club experience we all know and love!

Also starting Monday, June 1, we will be increasing our club hours as follows:

  • Monday – Thursday: 6am – 8pm
  • Friday: 6am – 7pm
  • Saturday: 8am – 2pm

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. If you are on a freeze and ready to reactivate, please click here.

Mar 18
Republic Fitness

Member Updates – April 2021

By What's New
To coincide with Phase 4 of the State’s reopening plan, we are excited to make Republic Fitness even more convenient and safer for our members over the next few weeks!
Starting Thursday, April 1, we’ll be increasing our club hours and open on Saturdays.
  • Monday – Thursday: 6:30am – 8pm
  • Friday: 6:30am – 6pm
  • Saturday: 8am – 12pm
In addition to the increased hours, we’re also bringing back the following amenities:
  • Hair styling tools in our women’s locker room
  • Sweat towels on the gym floor. Please use sweat towels for your body and continue to disinfect other surfaces and equipment using gym wipes or our spray bottles with microfiber towels
  • Additional enhancements, such as the Airdyne Bike and chilled eucalyptus towels to the fitness floor
  • Increased class capacities with distancing of 6 feet vs. 12 feet
Lastly, we’re pleased to announce that we have invested in airPHX technology to improve air quality and reduce the risk of respiratory droplet transmissions. This enhancement will also allow us to eliminate the mid-day closure and will further augment our Top Safety Standards.
  • airPHX units take in ambient air and create trace amounts of gas phase hydrogen peroxide. These trace levels are extremely effective in disinfecting and kill viruses both on surfaces and in the air
  • airPHX units are OSHA compliant and not harmful to humans
  • Proprietary technology is highly effective in protecting against coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
  • airPHX is validated to reduce both surface and airborne viral and bacterial pathogens within 30 minutes
  • airPHX units are widely used in medical facilities and ICUs

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [email protected].

If you’d like to unfreeze your membership and head back to the club, click here.

Dec 15

Addressing Boston’s Phase 2 Roll Back

By Uncategorized
[JANUARY 26, 2021 UPDATE]

We are thrilled to announce that Republic Fitness will reopen at 7am on Monday, February 1 and resume normal club operations!

The city’s Phase 2 roll back was an effort to reduce overall movement in Boston rather than a specific concern around the safety of gyms. Studies have shown that gyms that require masks, enforce social distancing and disinfect appropriately, are low risk environments; we’ve gone above and beyond all of this to deliver industry leading safety standards.

We want to thank our members who continued supporting us during this temporary closure. With your help, we were able to continue to pay and employ all of our staff throughout these past six weeks; this community means everything to us!

Even with all your support, our membership levels are still down substantially over the last 10 months. If you have friends eager to workout with you once our doors reopen, now is a great time to refer them and workout together while safely distancing! Click here to refer your friends and you’ll get $50 in club cash when they join.
To unfreeze your membership and head back to the club, please please fill out this form.

 

[JANUARY 5, 2021 UPDATE]

This afternoon, the City of Boston announced a 3-week extension of the Phase 2 rollback currently in place and while this wasn’t how we’d hoped to start the New Year, Republic Fitness will continue to remain open for 1-on-1 training only at this time.⁣

We know how important your fitness routine is, as well as self-care, and we aren’t making any additional changes to our current, partial closure at this time.⁣

Operations that will continue uninterrupted:⁣

  • On Demand and Live Streaming HWX Virtual Classes, along with Remote Training⁣

  • Republic Fitness member access to all other Healthworks and GymIt clubs⁣

  • 1-on-1 personal training in-club by appointment only⁣

We ask that you please continue to support our staff and club at this time, but if you would like to extend your temporary freeze or make any other changes to your membership status, please fill out our freeze request form here as soon as possible.

All of our other Healthworks Group clubs remain open and safe, and we hope to be able to reopen Republic Fitness at the end of the month. Please know that we will continue to keep you updated as soon as we learn details on when this will happen.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [email protected].

——

[UPDATED 12/15] As many of you heard, the City of Boston announced that they will be rolling back to Phase 2 of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan starting Wednesday, December 16 and running through January 6. This impacts Republic Fitness, Healthworks Back Bay and Healthworks Community Fitness. Our other clubs including Healthworks Coolidge Corner, Cambridge, Chestnut Hill and GymIt are not impacted.

The public health data is clear that gyms can be operated safely and many jurisdictions, such as New York and Chicago, have allowed them to stay open. We are disappointed that Boston didn’t follow the public health data, but we plan to comply fully with this order.

Based on additional information from the City of Boston, we have revised our plans and will unfortunately not be able to run 1-on-1 group fitness classes as we had originally planned during the partial closure from December 16-January 6. The live classes on the Republic Fitness schedule will be taking place at our other locations for this time. Operations that will continue uninterrupted include:

  • On Demand and Live Streaming HWX Virtual Classes along with Remote Training
  • All Republic Fitness members will have unlimited access to GymIt and Healthworks clubs in Cambridge, Coolidge Corner and Chestnut Hill (women only). Cambridge, Chestnut Hill and GymIt Watertown have free parking, while Coolidge Corner and GymIt Brookline have ample street and lot parking. If you have any issues enrolling in classes, please know that we have a fix in place and are pivoting as quickly as possible. Please email us if you need help enrolling in a class at a different club
  • 1-on-1 personal training will continue in the club by appointment only. Trainers will be in touch with their clients on the logistics. If you are interested in giving training a try, please email [email protected]

This has been a challenging year for our clubs and staff, and given the holidays and lack of government support, we will continue to pay our Republic Fitness team. If possible, we ask that you please consider continuing to support our local business during this time as well and we look forward to offering you continued access to training and virtual classes. We know gyms are safe and how important fitness and self-care are right now.

Boston is an active city, rich with incredible fitness studios and gyms. If you’d like to further support our local fitness industry, please sign this petition.

If you would like to temporarily freeze your membership for the next 3 weeks or make any other changes to your membership status, please fill out this form by 4pm on Thursday, December 17.

Please note that the changes outlined above are expected to run through January 6 and we will continue to communicate any updates with you as we have them.

Sep 03
Republic Fitness

Tips for Working OUT from Home

By What's New, Workout

We’re WFH for what feels like forever, but are you maximizing your time at home? It’s so easy to fall out of routine and into a rut with all that’s going on, but it’s important to prioritize your mental and physical health and MOVE your body! 

At Republic Fitness and Healthworks, we’re committed to making it easy for you to find ways to get moving and UP your immune health, regardless of your comfortability with leaving your house or going back to the clubs. Our virtual offerings continue to grow and they aren’t going anywhere, so here are some tips to create a successful home workout routine…

Embrace what you have, and let us help fill in the gaps. Yes, you may have space limitations or couldn’t get dumbbells before all stores sold out for what feels like an eternity… but work with what you have and don’t beat yourself up. For most of our workouts, all you need is enough space for a yoga mat, truly, so find a nice corner and create a little pop-up gym! Even if it means some slightly rearranged furniture, having a set space to “check into” will help with your routine. Plus, we’re offering even more equipment rentals for you, offering you bikes and bundles of Pilates/Barre, Strength, BODYPUMP and Yoga props and equipment to help you with your at-home gym set-up. Learn more here 

Banish the negativity. Don’t flood yourself with thoughts of your limitations. Challenge the negativity and noise, get into a great headspace and don’t be too hard on yourself. No matter how different things may feel, you’re still treating yourself, and you’ll be thankful that you did.

Find the time. You’re home practically 24/7 but you still can’t find the time? We get it, and we’re probably all working longer and weirder hours than before, but similar to finding time to go to the gym, schedule out your workouts. Sign off by 6pm to get in a workout before dinner if that’s what you used to do and loved doing. Wake up with a Yoga class. Set your alarms, block off your calendar and schedule a meeting to WORK OUT. Plus, the more you do this, the more routine it will all feel. 

Try something NEW! Play around with our classes or heck, try Accountability Coaching (it’s free!) or cash in on your first free Remote Training session (did you know that Remote Training includes our trainers coming to you?!) We have so many different offerings available, from the classes you know and love with longtime instructors, with some fun new options and incredible new instructors. If you ever feel discouraged from struggling with a class or not “having equipment” (we will always offer modifications!), reach out to us or try something new. For example, missing Zumba? Try DANCE or REMIX! Unable to do BODYPUMP at home? Try BUILD or SCULPT!

Learn more about our Virtual Membership here. We’re offering Virtual Classes on Vimeo On Demand, Live Classes on Zoom, Remote Training and teamTRAINING (as well as outdoors) and Outdoor Fitness Classes, all in addition to the in-club options we have. There is truly something for everyone, so let’s get MOVING!

Aug 31
Republic Fitness

Check IN and WIN When You Work Out This Month!

By What's New, Workout

You read that right! For the entire month of September, we’ll be rewarding you for working out with us. Plan your workouts, reserve you Gym Time now… our Check In Challenge launches Tuesday, September 1st!

Whether you’re working out with us from home on a Virtual Membership, joining us for outdoor classes and teamTRAINING, or back in the clubs, we have prize options for every active Republic Fitness or Healthworks member.*

Club Check Ins:
Visit any of our clubs 2 or more times a week and you’ll be automatically entered to win a variety of prizes at the end of the month (simply scan your badge and you’re entered!). The challenge runs from 9/1-9/30 and the winner will be announced on 10/1.

Club Check In Prize: 

  • Dues on us for the remainder of the year
  • 5, 55-minute Personal Training sessions**

Instagram Check Ins:
In addition to our Club Check Ins, we will be offering weekly prizes for anyone who tags us @Republic_Fit and your workout. Enter as many times as you work out, whether it’s a club workout, remote, virtual or outdoors… we just want to see how you got moving with us! 

  • To enter, you must have a public Instagram account and tag us in post @Republic_Fit. Stories are great and we love seeing them, but for us to track and count entries, you must tag us in a public, static post and tell us about your workout!
  • If you do not have a public Instagram account, we unfortunately have no way of seeing your posts. If you’re typically private but want to participate, we recommend adjusting your settings just while the challenge is occurring
  • Don’t have an Instagram account? Fear not, you can still check in at the clubs to enter! Our Instagram challenge is simply a fun add-on to the September Check In Challenge, so that our Virtual and Remote members can also participate
  • Each “week” of the Instagram challenge ends on Sunday. One winner per week from any Healthworks Group club, announced each Tuesday

Instagram Check In Prizes:

  • Week 1: 5, 55-minute Personal Training sessions**
    • Runs 9/1-9/6; winner announced 9/8
  • Week 2: 1 month of a Virtual Membership for you or a friend
    • Runs 9/7-9/13; winner announced 9/15
  • Week 3: 1 Myzone belt
    • Runs 9/14-9/20; winner announced 9/22
  • Week 4: 5 teamTRAIN Singles
    • Runs 9/21-9/27; winner announced 9/29
    • Sessions can be redeemed Outdoors or Remotely

We can’t wait to see your workouts with us! Please follow us on Instagram for Challenge updates, member photos and motivation all month long. We’ve also included an Instagram Story check off template (see below) you can use to track your workouts with us. Let’s get MOVING!

* Please note that the September Check In Challenge is open to ALL paying club members and Virtual Members. If you are currently on a freeze but want to participate, please respond to this email and we can unfreeze your membership or switch you to a Virtual Membership for $14.99 bi-weekly. 

** Prize is only valid with select trainers, but can be used in-club, remotely or outdoors, pending trainer availability.
Aug 25

Masking Up While Working Out

By blog, Reps

Masking Up While Working Out

We’re in a pandemic and yes, while we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we all need to continue to do our part, protect others and WEAR A MASK! 

When proper physical distancing cannot be maintained and anytime indoors, everyone must wear a mask and it’s a requirement at all of our clubs (and mandated by the state, CDC, etc.). We understand that this is an adjustment to the norm, especially when it comes to fitness, but with so many great mask options now readily available, you’ll get used to your new gym swag in no time. 

Here are some of our favorite masks for working out:

  1. Disposable 3 Ply Masks – these are safe, come in bulk, offer 3 layers of protection and best of all, you can breathe easily in them! We cannot recommend these enough, especially for anyone finding it hard to breathe while pushing yourself in your mask. Plus, once sweaty, just toss it and grab a fresh one 
  2. Sports Masks from the likes of Adidas, Reebok, etc. Shop masks from your favorite athletic brands, they’re using soft, breathable and machine washable materials, if disposable isn’t the route you want to take
  3. Everyday Masks from Athleta – more and more members have been recommending these (and not the Athleta Made to Move)

It’s important to make sure you can breathe but that you’re also fully covered – nose and chin! We’ve also found 3D Mask Brackets to be really helpful for breathing while working out in a mask (see here from Amazon!). And if the ear pieces bother you, there are a lot of options to tie your mask behind your neck or head instead. Per CDC guidelines though, you should avoid single layer masks like neck gaiters, as well as bandanas and masks with vents. 

Wearing a mask is also a great way to add an extra challenge to your routine with increased aerobic capacity. Be patient with yourself and know that our team is always happy to offer recommendations and modifications as you get used to the new gym routine. And hey, we could all use the extra challenge after being home for so long!