Antone Price has been laid off twice from his gym during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped him from keeping his clients trained and his business growing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought uncertainty to fitness facilities in Michigan, as the state government rules have been changing since March. Crunch Fitness, a workout facility in East Lansing, is open, but is not able to hold group classes until after Dec. 9 to stop the spread of the virus.
This has left Antone Price and other personal trainers furloughed from their usual jobs, for the second time. Price leads group fitness classes at Crunch, but now due to restrictions, these sessions are not permitted.
Price is hustling to make it all work. This is his second time being laid off because of COVID, but now he is more prepared to train people virtually.
Price, 25, has been running his own training brand, Primetime Fitness, for about six years. While working to grow his own fitness business, Price began working at Crunch Fitness in East Lansing, a little over a month before the first stay-at-home order.
He can’t do his work at Crunch, and he’s been laid off, so he has moved to concentrating on his personal clients.
“It didn’t affect Primetime Fitness because most of my clients were already virtual,” Price said. “This is the life we’re living right now.”
Being a personal trainer has been challenging during COVID, even when Price was meeting with his clients in person. He leads high intensity interval training (HIIT) at Crunch, which are intense workouts that he says can be hard to do with a mask on.
“I have to tell them to keep it on,” Price said, “because there’s no leeway with the restrictions in order for us to stay open. This is the best way we can handle it at the gym right now. We need to be on the safe side.”
Mask restrictions present their obvious breathing challenges, but when asked if it has been inconvenient to enforce the strict protocols, Price said he is happy to make the necessary adjustments.
“I’m not mad at the protocols,” Price said. “I think it’s good. This virus is something that can kill you, and you don’t get a second chance. The only thing I’m concerned about is when people are working out intensely, and they have a mask on, it is hard on the lungs. People can get lightheaded and we don't want anyone to get hurt, so we’re very mindful of that.”
Price is excited about the idea of getting back in the gym, but only when it’s safe to do so. His goal is to begin searching for his first property to open his own gym space. Until them, he says Primetime Fitness will continue to run virtually.
Price had already been challenged with digitizing his workout plans for Primetime Fitness, and describes it as personal training through email, pictures, and Zoom. Each week, he is able to send out pictures and video of new workouts and instructions for his clients.
Price also converted all of his meal plan instructions to be distributed through email and can schedule individual virtual meetings to work one-on-one with his trainees.
“A lot of people I trained before COVID had knowledge of the gym,” Price said. “They just need a game plan, and someone to stick with them and help them improve.”
With the help of Zoom, Price is able to keep track of his clients and their improvements. He can assess their progress on new drills and check in on body weight and measurements where fit.
Despite all his preparation, Price still has to make ends meet through working another job, one that is essential and will stay open. He is a delivery associate with Amazon, meaning he loads and delivers hundreds of packages each day to customers.
“Most of my income comes from Amazon right now,” Price said. “…I pursued them because of their great benefits, and I like that I can work independently like my own boss.”