The novel corona virus outbreak has impacted the fitness and wellness sector in a big way. Even as gym owners and fitness centres are gearing up to resume operations, implementing better on-premise sanitisation and other SOPs, consumers are still adopting a cautious approach. After having grown at a rapid pace in the last decade or so, the entire fitness sector has suffered a major setback during the last few months. And, now, experts feel that the industry may go through a churn before it gets into a consolidation phase, where a sizeable number of standalone small centres in the unorganised sector may shut their shops or change hands with bigger players. According to estimates, there are over 200,000 gyms in India, of which only about 30,000 are somehow operating in an organised manner. Currently, there are no regulatory or other frameworks to regulate this industry, though the need for having some checks has been felt lately. “No doubt, the industry is passing through one of its worst phases in this Corona-afflicted market scenario,” says Praveshh Gaur, owner of Srauta Wellness, a Faridabad-based, new-age, wellness brand. “But this trying period may also go a long way in consolidating the market in favour of a more organised set-up. We have seen a mushrooming of gyms and other fitness and wellness-related businesses. Most of these players lack basic expertise and trained manpower and, thus, there is a lot of compromise on quality of services and deliverables. It is high time that the authorities take note of this and come up with some system. After all, this industry deals with human health and well-being,” Gaur adds. The brand has a 17,000-sq ft, modern wellness centre, providing a wide repertoire of services in the fitness and well-being segment. In fact, this centre is the second biggest wellness centre in Delhi-NCR, with a complete health and wellness package under one roof. Despite headwinds in the short term, Srauta Wellness is coming up with one more centre – in Gurgaon – by June 2021 and has a vision to open branches across all metro cities by 2024. Gaur also has four new-age wellness centres by the name of ‘Fast Fit Gyms’ in different sectors of Faridabad. Equipped with the latest equipment and machines, each of these gyms, backed by experienced trainers, is spread over an area of 7,000-8,000 sq ft. Most importantly, to support his business as also the overall industry, Gaur has set up a fitness academy in Faridabad, under the brand ‘Fast Fit Academy’, which equips fitness trainers. It offers a five-month-long training course, which is affiliated to the American College of Sports Medicine, American Council of Exercise and American Heart Association. The academy prepares professionals for the wellness and fitness industry – yoga instructors, personal fitness trainers, master trainers, group activity instructors, massage therapists and nutrition & dietetics specialists. “We are trying to help build the entire ecosystem in a progressive manner,” affirms Gaur. “Along with the infrastructure, the most crucial link in this entire business is the trainer. Currently, there is huge shortage of good trainers and, we at Fast Fit Academy, are trying to bridge this gap through our own way.” While the fitness industry is gearing up to reboot itself, experts believe that, going forward, the industry will have to work differently to not only surmount the challenges in the post-Covid scenario but also to explore the opportunities in this rapidly-growing and fast-evolving marketplace.