A gym is ready to welcome back its members in open arms after several months of having to remain shut in lockdown.

The Anytime Fitness Branch in Bushey opened on October 19 last year, after having delayed its June opening due to the pandemic.

But it barely had time to be open to its members after being instructed to shut under restrictions of the second lockdown in November, and the current third lockdown.

Now club owners Birju and Tanya Ladhani have declared Boris Johnson’s roadmap of gyms reopening by April 12 at the earliest a “positive step”.

In a statement issued from the club, it was said: “Providing the roadmap progress to schedule, we’re looking forward to safely welcoming you back on April 12 and continuing to support you on your health journeys.

“We know that so many of you have missed the physical and mental release of visiting the gym and our turn to reopen represents a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve missed you just as much.”

When reopening, Anytime Fitness will continue with its Covid-secure measures introduced such as spaced equipment, increased cleaning regimes, self-serve cleaning stations, capacity management and increased ventilation.

Watford Observer: The gym was designed around social distancing restrictionsThe gym was designed around social distancing restrictions

Mr Ladhani previously explained that the design of the gym was “future-proofed” and built with coronavirus-safety in mind.

Reassuring the safety of gyms, the club statement continued: “Recent data showed that across over 75 million visits to gyms and leisure facilities between July 2020 and January 2021, there was a Covid-19 prevalence rate of 1.7 cases per 100,000 visits, which is particularly positive when you consider the emergence of the more transmissible strain of the virus towards the end of last year”

In the countdown to reopening, Anytime Fitness is offering free access to its online fitness platform AF Connect Online.

Visit www.anytimefitness.co.uk/bushey (click ‘Join Now’) to sign up for a 30-day trial and enjoy over 70 on-demand classes and expert wellbeing content.