EDMONTON -- The fitness industry has come together to ask the provincial government to support local businesses by providing more direct framework to reopen.

In a release sent out on Monday, owners of fitness facilities say the data they provided to government officials has largely gone unheard. 

Blake MacDonald, president of Orange Theory Fitness Canada, said: “There is a theoretical risk that’s been presented, but the reality is that the numbers don’t support it."

“We don’t necessarily need to rely on our own personal experiences. We don’t need to make mistakes to learn what is and what isn’t a good idea,” Conor Ruzycki, aerosol scientist at the University of Alberta, added. 

Last week, the province announced the easing of some restrictions as part of Step 2. However, shortly after, Health Minister Tyler Shandro had to clarify what high-intensity workouts are due to mass confusion from the public. 

"High-intensity fitness is any kind of exercise that does make you breathe a lot harder than usual, and the higher your heart rate, the higher your breathing rate will be," Shandro said in a press conference on March 2. 

“Trying to determine which businesses can and can’t be open based on their intensity is unfair,” MacDonald said. “It’s impossible to determine high intensity fitness and low intensity fitness when every exercise you do is subjective to your own fitness level.” 

“There’s a misconception that there’s people on top of people just running into each other,” Scott Wildeman, president of the Fitness Industry Council of Canada, added. 

“You’re in your spot, you stay in your lanes and you don’t move until you’re told to move.” 

READ MORE: Shandro continues to explain high-intensity fitness as Alta. reports 257 COVID-19 cases

On Wednesday, MacDonald laid out three specific asks the fitness community has for the government going forward:

  • Listen to the recommendations of the fitness industry when it comes to the guidelines of a safe reopening
  • More monetary support in addition to subsidies and grants
  • A tax credit or deduction introduced for adult fitness similar to other provinces in Canada like Nova Scotia

MacDonald said the last ask will “signal renewed endorsement of Albertans getting healthy again and ultimately support the safety track record of our industry.”

“Let us show you how this can be done safely and give us an opportunity, our industry to survive this,” Co-founder of YEG / YYC Cycle Spin Studios, Grady Topak, added.

According to Topak, the average fitness facility is losing $15,000 to $20,000 per month. 

“We’ve seen a 100 per cent loss of revenue. We’ve seen months where we’ve had zero dollars coming through the door.”

On the flip side of this debate, Ruzycki said based on data from other jurisdictions the risk of transmission in high-intensity indoor classes is high. 

“A good example from the CDC was a study on a spin class in Hawaii that led to 100 per cent of the people who were at that spin class becoming infected with COVID-19 from one single instructor,” he said. 

CTV News asked the province for fitness sector specific data, but it was not provided. As for lifting more restrictions, Alberta Health said decisions regarding indoor high-intensity fitness will be considered for the next step of reopening. 

“We’re going to survive…but there’s lots of people that I’m speaking for right now that don’t have the same luxury,” Topak said. 

With files from CTV Edmonton’s Dan Grummett