A Response - Monday, January 10th, 2022

A Response

As we mentioned we would keep you updated. We know there are some of you who also received the response email from MPP Jim Wilson last week as well. It looks as if Mr. Wilson compiled all of our emails of concern, along with the emails from other businesses to forward to the Premier on our behalf.

If you haven’t already emailed MPP Jim Wilson, we would once again urge you to please reach out.

I have had a number of people ask if I would be willing to share what I wrote.

Happy New Year Mr. Wilson and Premier Ford,

It’s completely unbelievable, that nearly 22 months later we as owners of fitness facilities find ourselves reading rumours leaked to the media this morning about how the Ford Government has been meeting to discuss closing down multiple small businesses yet again.

As an owner of a fitness facility who has repeatedly been asking the Ford Government to deem fitness essential, I am beyond disappointed and beside myself yet again. At what point will the Ontario Government stop talking about illness, and start talking about health?

For nearly 22 months the talk has surrounded illness, but not once has the talk surrounded health.

Why are we not doing everything in our power to get Ontario healthy? Fitness, nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, these are all key factors in a healthy Ontario.

Closing fitness facilities yet again is not the answer. Why is it that my business is repeatedly the subject of closures, when my job is help make our community healthy. We’re not in the business of making people sick, we're in the business of getting them healthy. And we have done everything asked of us for 22 months, from multiple lock downs, taking our business online, making our members train outside in the rain when we have a perfectly good 7500 square foot facility beside us that we couldn't allow them in. We created more protocols then asked of us, to ensure the health and safety of our members, we implemented the vaccination certificates. For 22 months we have repeatedly lost business and income, and have been subjected to 22 months of complete and total stress.
2022 will be our 12th year in business. We might now be the longest operating Fitness Facility in Collingwood, and we don’t know how much more of this we can take. Forget the financial losses, the stress alone could cripple anyone’s business.

Fitness facilities are not and have not been the problem, but we can be part of the solution. We need to get Ontario healthy period. You can tell people to wear masks, wash their hands, keep distance, but the fact of the matter is, that people need to be as healthy as possible so that if they contract the virus, they're healthy enough, to fight the virus without ending up in hospital.

It’s time to get Ontario healthy. If the Ontario Government wants to mandate things, let's mandate fitness.
The vaccination has never been the answer to get out of the pandemic, it’s simply been a tool, and along with that tool of vaccination, you also need to get Ontario healthy with other tools. Tools like getting them active aka. fitness, getting them to pay attention and understand that what they eat and drink plays a role in their health, you need them to understand the importance of good quality sleep, and reducing stress in their lives, among other things.
While businesses like mine have endured loss after loss, businesses like fast food, LBCO, etc. have increased their profits.

It’s time to arm Ontario with all these tools, to get them healthy, not continue to take them away!

While I watched the announcement that my business is once again closed for 21 days. Stores like Walmart are packed, line ups for fast food drive thru’s line the buildings and onto the roads.

What will it take for the Ontario Government to understand that fitness is an essential part of overall health, and that fitness facilities are not the problem?
I also don’t own a gym. I own a CrossFit affiliate, which is a functional fitness training facility. 7500 Square feet with 35+ foot ceilings, that during a class has 16 people max in it. Our fire code capacity is over 160 people, and have 16 in the facility. We know every single one of our members and care about them. Which is why we have protocols in place, we know who is coming into the facility before they come, the facility is cleaned after each class, we know exactly what they’re touching while in class and it’s sanitized after, they’re socially distanced.
We train the doctors and nurses, paramedics, police, firefighters. Without training and being physically fit, how do you expect them to do their jobs? We train stay at home parents, who need fitness for their mental health, we train grandparents who need fitness to stay out of the nursing home. The list goes on.
Fitness has very little to do getting a beach body, and everything to do with living a healthy life.Fitness is ESSENTIAL. I can not stress this enough.
Instead of blanket closing facilities like mine, why don’t you work with us to see how we can still safely operate our facilities? How can I not have anyone in a 7500 sq foot facility but some stores can have 50% capacity? And why 21 days if the isolation period has been reduced to 5 days?
How are we back here again?
Fitness should be deemed an essential service.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Nichol
Co-Owner CrossFit Indestri

Monday, January 10th, 2022

Buy In:

3 to 4 Rounds

10 High Knees
10 Butt Kicks
10 PVC Pass Throughs
10 Good Mornings
10 Air Squats
10 Straight Arm Burpees

Focus:

8 min EMOM

Odd - 3 Muscle Cleans, 3 Mid-Hang Clean, 3 Split Jerk
Even - 3 to 5 Inch Worm Push Ups

WOD:

20 min AMRAP

2 Power Clean
2 Front Squats
2 Jerks
4 Power Clean
4 Front Squats
4 Jerks
6 Power Clean
6 Front Squats
6 Jerks

*Increase by 2 reps each round for 20 mins.

Check back each night at 8pm for the next days WOD .
Contact us: Address: 200 Mountain Rd #3, Collingwood, ON L9Y 4V5 Phone: (705) 444-0006 Follow us on Instagram @crossfit_indestri