TJ's Gym Weekly News 6/21/2020
In memory of one of the good ones.
We will miss you, Rebecca!
The world lost a beautiful person this past week. Rebecca Kuga was one of the good ones, always giving and always making others better. She joined TJ’s in 2010 and was a member until moving to Southern CA with her beloved wife, Irene, last year. Rebecca was a therapist and spent much of her time doing amazing work with the San Rafael Police Department as a volunteer for their First Responder Support Network, a week-long workshop for first responders processing the trauma of a critical incident. She also helped countless at-risk youth in Marin by running Camp Chance, where these kids could experience summer fun alongside officers acting as counselors and mentors. She worked tirelessly for many other causes and was a bright light taken far too soon by cancer. We will miss Rebecca and her loving spirit and will always cherish her testimonial on our website and our memories of her positive presence. Lord knows the world needs more Rebeccas in it. Rest In Peace. 💙
Message from TJ and Allison
This week’s newsletter is filled with important announcements, and we encourage you to read through to the end.
The big news this week is that we will be permitted to operate INDOORS starting next Monday, June 29th! We will be opening following the guidelines and recommendations of the state and county public health officials, including temperature checks and screenings for clients and employees, 6-foot distancing for all (accomplished by limiting class participants), stringent cleaning of all equipment and shared surfaces between clients, deep cleanings at regular intervals, and doors open at all times to maximize ventilation. Indoor classes will have limits of 9 people, while outdoor classes will allow 7 people. Personal training will be scheduled around class times.
Obviously, there are elements of this new normal that will feel different, and we will all need to be patient, flexible, and adaptable. We are committed to doing our best to provide you with a safe fitness experience and one that brings you the expertise and personal connections that are trademarks of our TJ’s Gym brand.
The restrictions of sheltering in place challenged us to pivot quickly and create new ways of accomplishing our mission of delivering fitness and connection to our clients throughout Marin. We developed our digital strategy in ways that have kept many of you working out and connecting with us and with each other. It’s not the same as being in the gyms, but we feel great about how effective we’ve all been at staving off isolation and the quarantine 15.
We also tried to meet this time of financial hardship and necessity of convenience by making our offerings as accessible and flexible as possible, through varying degrees of at-home workouts and coaching access starting as low as $49/mo for our at-home coaching videos. We rented and delivered equipment to countless members throughout the county, at a time when it was at a premium and even unavailable for purchase through the usual outlets. Our recent addition of outdoor classes has brought many of you together again in person, for a safe and fun workout environment, and it’s given us all a taste of getting the band back together again! We are grateful for those of you who have continued to trust us for your fitness needs throughout this time!
With the new opening of our indoor operations, we are excited to accommodate more people in live classes while also recognizing that some of you will remain unsure of your comfort level with gym visits. We will continue to offer virtual classes and will be refining our online service delivery over the next week.
We are continuing to adapt, create, execute, and deliver our services in ways that meet the needs of as many of you as possible. Below you will find our new membership offerings, which will go into effect on Wednesday, July 1st. We’ve tried to create a simple menu that will allow you to workout from the comfort of your home, in our outdoor classes, and inside the walls of the gym, according to your personal preferences. Given the ever-changing landscape of life these days, we are currently requiring no long-term commitments; all of our monthly options will be month-to-month, allowing you to experiment with what works best for you, and us to make changes as dictated by outside forces.
We are adding classes to our current schedule and will offer virtual, indoors, and outdoor options at all class times. You will need to pre-register for in-person classes (outdoors and indoors) but can continue to show up for virtual classes at any time.
FOR NOW, ALL LIVE CLASSES WILL TAKE PLACE AT OUR CORTE MADERA LOCATION. WE LOOK FORWARD TO EXPANDING TO MILL VALLEY AS SOON AS WE ARE ABLE TO STAFF AND IMPLEMENT PROTOCOLS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS AT ONCE. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AS WE WORK TOWARDS A RETURN TO EXPANDED OPERATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL NOT BE OFFERING CLASSES AT TOWN PARK AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED.
Please take a look at our membership options below and HERE, and email allison@tjsgym.com to start a membership, purchase a class pack, or make changes to an existing membership. If you currently have a monthly plan and do not need to make any changes, there is no need to reach out. If you currently have a monthly plan and want to change it, email allison@tjsgym.com, and we will apply any prorated monthly credits to your new membership, which will kick in on July 1st, or whenever you decide to make a change. Our rower and Airdyne rental pricing is increasing to $50/month, due to demand and our need for equipment at the gyms. For monthly members with rentals initiated prior to June 21st, rower or bike rentals will remain at $25/month through July 31st. Starting August 1st, all rower and bike rentals will be $50/month. If you decide to return your bike or rower, we can come pick it up from you.
Between now and July 1st, our current options remain in place. If you want to take an outdoor class, you’ll go here to register and pay in advance. Starting Monday, June 29th our full schedule can be found HERE.
On another note, we are proud and excited to have announced on Friday five scholarship memberships for people who would otherwise not have access to our services (see below). We will be working with local agencies to target candidates who will benefit from our offerings and will allow us to expand our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Thank you for your business and friendship through these crazy times!
Onward,
Allison and TJ
NEW WAIVERS FOR ALL!
Please fill out our NEW WAIVER ASAP. EVERYONE using our services now and in the future needs to have an updated waiver. Thank you for your help as manage yet another important change due to COVID-19!
In-person outdoor operations are on!
You can see our OUTDOOR WORKOUTS PAGE for details on protocols and procedures. Please feel free to email allison@tjsgym.com with any questions.
SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED!
ACCESS TO WEEKLY WORKOUTS
We are no longer posting weekly workout images on our website. If you are an active TJ’s member and would like access to our gym programming for the week ahead, please email allison@tjsgym.com to be added to our member access document.
RE-ENTRY / BEGINNER-ACCESSIBLE
BODYWEIGHT PROGRAM
Lost your mojo and want to get moving again safely and without equipment? New to strength-training and conditioning work and want an easy-access program you can do at home? Need some coaching and accountability but don’t want to commit to a long-term program? This is for you! Please help us spread the word by telling friends and family. It’s the perfect gift for someone you care about who is struggling to care for themselves while sheltering in place!
AT-HOME GYM DESIGN AND EXECUTION
From inspiration, to ordering, to installation of your at-home setup, TJ can help! Email tj@tjsgym.com for your free consultation and proposal.
TJ’s MEMBERS FACEBOOK GROUP
PLEASE JOIN OUR TJ’s GYM MEMBERS GROUP ON FACEBOOK!
We understand that not everyone is on FB, and we will continue to email you with important updates, but please request to join our private members group if you’re on FB and are an active member. It’s also a place where we can support each other via our online community!