The fitness test

CHENNAI: Working up a sweat on the treadmill while wearing a visor, lifting weights and clanking the iron plates with a sanitiser on the side, crunching the abs while grunting through threelayered masks — gym-goers in the city returned to their retreat, after an unprecedented closure for five months. Reopening to a whole new experience, and following strict safety protocols, equipment have been rearranged to ensure social distancing; entry is permitted only if the body temperature is normal, and clients have to bring in their own towels and water bottles. As fitness centres sweat it out to revive the business, here’s a look at how the concept of workout will change under the new normal.