A Polish gym is trying to rebrand itself as a “Church of the Healthy Body” in order to stay open during new coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
“Because fitness classes aren’t allowed, starting today we’re offering religious gatherings for members of the Church of the Healthy Body,” the Atlantic Sports club in Krakow said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
“Hard to believe? In this world everything is possible.”
Marta Jamróz, the manager, also referred to the gym’s trainers as “the elder council.”
The creative switch follows the government’s decision to shut down most pools and gyms, and restrict restaurant hours in order to stem a recent surge in coronavirus infections.
In addition, the government has also banned weddings in ‘red’ zones, and in ‘yellow zones’ restricted them to parties of 20 people or less, provided there is no dancing.
However, in the devout Catholic country, the new rules allow church gatherings in the red zone, as long as there is one person per 75 square feet, and they wear masks, according to Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
In Warsaw on Saturday, a couple hundred people attended a fitness industry rally to protest the rules against the fitness industry.