Border fitness industry members critical of regional Victoria shutdown

Although the easing of restrictions will come into effect at midnight tomorrow, Wodonga's F45 manager Gudi Gigliotti said enormous pressure had been placed on businesses throughout the region.

Currently Victorian gyms and fitness centres cannot operate indoors, but can hold classes with 10 people outside

After midnight on Thursday gyms will be allowed to have one person per four square metres indoors, with groups limited to 10 people and a maximum indoor capacity of 150 people.

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"If you ask me, it's not valid to shut down regional Victoria when there are 80 cases in Melbourne," Ms Gigliotti said.

"It's just not warranted.

"Especially with no virus presence here, I just don't know how they expect businesses to survive."

Ms Gigliotti said the franchise had only just started to get a head of steam and attract a good amount of new members when the latest shutdown hit.

Head trainer Stacey Bakes said it was frustrating, particularly because you could cross the border and go to the gym as normal.

"It doesn't make sense for where we are because you drive over the border and you're free there to use the gyms there, so it's really hard to keep going," she said.

"It's really heartbreaking because you see all those members who really want to better their lives and they start getting into a routine and then all of a sudden they've got nothing to go to."

The Victorian government announced an easing of restrictions set to come into effect midnight tomorrow which would allow fitness facilities to reopen with strict controls on indoor numbers.

Owner of Crossfit TMA in Wodonga Zak Rogers said he was worried that members he lost across the border wouldn't come back.

"All of my customers can go to another gym in Albury and use the facilities there without any repercussions," he said.

"My biggest concern now is my customer decide they're not even going to bother going to a gym in Wodonga because Victoria keeps shutting down and they're just going to stay at a gym in Albury.

"My customers are getting more and more conditioned to not shop in Victoria, to spend their money in NSW because it's too difficult to spend their money here."

Mr Rogers said the uncertainty surrounding lockdowns, such as when they would occur and for how long, was causing a great deal of stress.

"It's gotten to the point where we have no idea how to forecast our business now," he said.

"As a business owner how am I supposed to know whether or not I'm going to be paid week to week if the government can change their mind overnight and shut us back down?

"The Victorian government sees a one week circuit breaker as a one week circuit breaker, but as a business owner when you lose income for one week you feel the repercussions of that for a month minimum.

"People are exhausted by this and they're going to start closing their doors and not open them again, they're going to get to the point where they can't handle the anxiety and stress of being a business owner in the service industry with COVID."

Owner of PT Fitness Nic Conway said his business was lucky enough to have outdoor facilities, meaning that he could still trade.

"In the last four or five weeks as it has gotten colder, we've gotten busier, which probably bucks the trend in this game," he said.

"I try not to worry about the pros and cons of it all, right from the start of last year I figured it was really important to just get on with whatever hand we're dealt.

"If you dwell on the negatives I think it consumes you."