Gyms running outdoor workouts is a good thing, but COULD BE a bad thing… if your business isn’t following outdoor workout laws.
Fitness Business Attorney Cory Sterling is on The GSD Show to help you navigate the legalities of running your outdoor workouts.
Whether it’s in your gym’s parking lot or the nearby park, Cory recommends you’re sure your gym is protected.
Here are 4 keys to help you follow state and municipal laws:
Key #1 – Know What Your Gym’s Insurance Covers
Insurance is very important.
Cory Sterling says gym owners want to be sure they have insurance when running outdoor workouts.
Many insurance companies won’t cover parking lot workouts, for example. So, it’s important to contact your gym’s insurance provider to get clear about what you’re covered for and where you’re covered.
“Running without insurance is a huge risk and I don’t recommend running that risk,” Cory says.
Key #2 – Understand Your Gym’s Business License
Another key, Cory explains, is understanding your business license.
“Gym owners will want to know what they’re allowed to do and where they’re allowed to conduct their business,” he says.
Just like insurance, review your policy and call with questions. Think about potential risks of losing your license by hosting outdoor workouts and ask the questions necessary to make sure your business is good to go.
Key #3 – Know Your Local Outdoor Workout Laws
What are your local outdoor workout laws? It’s important to know both State laws and local municipality laws.
For example, states might allow you to run workouts outside of your facility in the parking lot, but your local municipality might not and might also have specific numbers for class sizes, specific locations, etc.
To make sure your gym is covered, go to both your state and local government websites to know what the outdoor workout laws are and follow them.
You can also just Google your county’s name “shutdown guidelines.” Then, look for a .gov website.
Another thing to look into if you want to run fitness classes at a local park, check to see if your local government requires permits for that kind of activity.
Key #4 – Get New Gym Waivers And Fitness Membership Agreements Together
Just like you would with your virtual fitness studio (if you don’t have one, we built one for you here: www.elitevirtualstudio.com), you’ll need to create new waivers and fitness membership agreements.
Gym Waivers
With gym waivers, if you’re running outdoor workouts, you want to update your waivers with these three things in mind:
- What are the activities you’re doing?
- Are there risks of those activities?
- Are we avoiding the outcomes of those risks?
The goal of new gym waivers and following outdoor workout laws, is to keep you business safe by making sure your members agree to the potential risks.
If crafted properly, your outdoor workout gym waivers will protect you from hot asphalt, slippery grass, and all of the issues in between that are out of your control.
Fitness Membership Agreements
Cory says it’s important to create a new Fitness Membership Agreement.
He says, “It’s best to reverse engineer your understanding of your business, your process, and your revenue, and communicating that through this new document is probably the most helpful thing you can do for your business.”
Many studios had 80% retention before having to close their doors. But now that many gyms have reopened, they’re nowhere near that… however, they’re still running a virtual fitness option!
“You have to accept that right now that you are an online business. Until people are coming back into your gym more, you have to think:
How can I inject more sales opportunities:?
What can I do to get new memberships?
What’s the best way to entice people to stay committed to my community?
Only now you have to think about these things with your online members versus the previous way,” Cory says.
This is the best mindset to have when creating your new Fitness Member Agreements.
Are These Legal Issues Too Much For Gym Owners To Think About?
You’re already being stretched thin and working at 200%… the last thing you probably need on top of everything you’re doing are legal issues.
That’s why Cory is helping fitness studios.
If all of this seems like too much right now, Cory will help you by answering your questions in his exclusive group for gym owners.
Check it out here: Legal With Cory
