ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus prevention and containment is gripping Pakistan by the collar and though some are slow to adapt, gyms are making strides toward respecting social distancing while keeping their clients on track.

One such gym, Metafitnosis, which has operated in Islamabad for 14 years and in Karachi for four, recently sent out notices to all clients at both locations, saying it would be giving them the option of working with trainers online due to the global pandemic that was making it necessary for people to avoid crowded places.

“[Karachi] went into the shutdown first,” Aliya Ahmed, founder and owner of Metafitnosis, told Arab News over the phone. “They brainstormed, made a model that could work, and we launched.”

Roughly 160 clients, who use the gym for its private training services, now sign into the video-call application, Skype, to work out at the designated time with the trainer of their choice. Trainers also customize their existing programs for each client and design the sessions in view of the equipment and available space at home. Unlike the gym, where trainers sometimes work with different clients at once, the online Skype sessions are completely one-on-one.

“We had almost all our clients in Karachi sign up on day one of the launch,” she told Arab News. “We launched in Islamabad yesterday, and it seems we are going to hit the same numbers.”

Giving their clients an option to keep their training going while practicing social distancing and contending with gym closures to curb the spread of virus was a no-brainer for Ahmed.

“God forbid, but we feel that the lockdown is going to go on longer than most people are anticipating,” she said. “Frustrations are going to build up. [Our clients] are used to going to gym, and it’s not easy to go from that to doing nothing.”

Fitness trainer at Metafitnosis, Asfandyar Ahmed, who has been actively converting gym workouts to suit his clients’ respective home environments, also stressed staying active.

“Since the situation requires us to stay isolated for a certain amount of time, it is important to keep on moving and stay active,” he told Arab News over the phone. “That’s one of the ways we can boost our immunity.”

Other fitness trainers in Islamabad like Sarah Afreen Malik and Sundus Jamil, have also began working with their clients online.

“I have given my clients options to hold their classes or do video call sessions. I have also told them that I can send them daily workouts and they can send me a photo after completing those routines,” said Malik. “It keeps them and me accountable at a time when it is really tempting to just wallow.”

Jamil similarly does daily check-ins with her clients and sends them workouts to do. “It’s important to keep them moving. I am sending overflows using their body as resistance and weight since equipment at home is often limited.”

With the virus gaining traction and more and more of the country shutting down, at-home workouts will likely grow in popularity with fitness enthusiasts.