Ridgefield Gym, Now Shuttered By The State, Looks To Move Online

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Connecticut joined New York and New Jersey on Monday in announcing mass closures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, which specifically included gyms. Nobody knows how long the ban will last, because nobody knows how long the outbreak of COVID-19 will plague southwestern Connecticut.

Frank Rios, the owner of the gym Trinity CrossFit in Ridgefield, says he first got news of the government-imposed shutdown from a client on Monday afternoon. Now he's busy trying to calculate his breaking point.

"I don't really know how long we can sustain this," Rios told Patch. He says that he assumed the gym ban would last "two weeks, because that's what we've seen in other parts of the country, but realistically, it could go one for as long as they want it."

Rios says he is discussing some workarounds with his landlord. But although his doors may be closed, the gym owner is not just resting on his kettlebells.

"We developed an online program for our athletes," Rios said. "And so essentially we're trying to keep our customers going that way." Trinity CrossFit is now using Zoom web conferencing and other apps to bring the workout to the athletes at home. Rios says his gym will be holding two new live classes a day through Zoom.

Similar distance-learning solutions — although with a lot less sweat and fewer sore muscles — are playing out across some area schools.

CrossFit has developed a reputation as a hardcore regimen for athletes with little patience for the spa-like ambiance of many treadmill farms, in part because the workouts change every day. Trinity CrossFit is no less severe. The gym, which has been serving Ridgefield for three-and-a-half years, has a membership of about 100 athletes. Rios says he caps each of the many classes offered throughout the week at 12 members, however, because the workouts are customized to the athletes.

"You have 12 people in the class, but those 12 people may all be using different weights," Rios said. "Or maybe somebody has an injury, so you have to specifically curtail their workout. You're doing all this while keeping the intensity the same and still maintaining perfect technique. You can have many different skill levels in the same class, but everybody gets the same kind of workout."

Rios is cautiously optimistic he'll be able to keep the lights on. Although he has already had a few of his clients put their membership on hold while they self-isolated, he says the vast majority are still, "Game on!"

Trinity CrossFit is at 626 Danbury Road in Ridgefield.

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