Gov. Steve Bullock announced a week ago that movie theaters, museums, pools, fitness centers and gyms could reopen Friday, requiring them to follow a list of specific directives meant to keep patrons safe and stall the spread of COVID-19. 

Shara Overstreet, the managing partner at Granite Health and Fitness, has been working for the past week to get ready. She and her staff have created systems to keep surfaces clean and maintain the requisite social distance between patrons. 

“We’re definitely ready,” she said. Granite’s members “are super ready.”

A lot of people are ready to work off their “COVID 15,” Overstreet said with a smile, referring to the extra weight some have put on during the pandemic. 

Under the governor’s order, gyms and pools can operate at 50% capacity, so Granite invested in an electronic check-in system for members that will cap admittance. 

Granite has also created personal sanitizer kits that each patron will receive, allowing them disinfect equipment and other items to their comfort level. The kits are checked back in when they leave. Granite will also be implementing its own strict cleaning routines, as required by the governor’s order. 

“It’s exhaustive,” Overstreet said. 

Fitness centers across the region are following suit. Miles Community College will reopen its Centra Fitness Center and Gymnasium on campus with modified operations on Monday. 

“We were excited to hear ‘gyms’ listed in the latest phase of reopening,” Centra director Michael Turck said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing our members’ faces, and we want to make sure we do that in a slow and responsible manner.”

Overstreet helped create the group of gym owners that lobbied the governor’s office for this reopening. Like others, she’s eager to follow the state’s requirements and make sure Granite members are safe. 

Her next project is getting the governor to allow fitness classes to resume.

Kim Kaiser, CEO of Billings Family YMCA, and her staff have been racing to make sure everything is ready for members to come back. 

“I think our team is gonna crash after opening,” she said with a laugh. 

They’ve been creating safe practice policies that implement the governor’s directives and crafting systems that will keep surfaces clean and members safe. Kaiser has also been bringing employees back and getting them newly trained. 

For example, pre-COVID, one staff member would be assigned to monitor the fitness floor. Now there will be three staffers to help ensure patrons are safe and maintaining the appropriate distance.  

They’ve done the same with the pool, which has a new registration system for those who want to swim. In order to make sure it runs at 50% capacity, swimmers will have to reserve a spot the day before they come to exercise. 

“Our priority is the health and safety of everybody who walks through the door,” Kaiser said.