Alnwick gym creates outdoor exercise area as it prepares for reopening - complete with Hulk and Wonder Woman mural to inspire fitness fanatics

A giant mural depicting the Marvel superheroes has been painted on the wall of Elite Fitness Super Gym.

It was painted by Teesside artist Steve Badger next to what will be the gym’s new outdoor training area when it reopens next month.

Olly Dial, who owns the gym on the town’s Sawmills Industrial Estate, said: “We think it looks absolutely amazing. Steve has done a great job.”

“We wanted the mural to represent both men and women, hence Hulk and Wonder Woman, so when people are training they see these powerful characters in front of them.

“We’ve all had to be strong to get through these past few months and we thought Hulk and Wonder Woman were perfect choices.”

The new outdoor space is seen as crucial to the business’s immediate future given the reopening issues that gyms face.

All gyms in the UK are currently closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus although they could potentially be allowed to reopen from July 4.

“We’re working towards reopening at the beginning of July,” said Olly. “Our outdoors training area is really taking shape and will be fully operating for when we reopen, hopefully next month.

“When we had to close in March it was quite a big blow for us because we’ve only been here two years and are still paying back a lot of start-up costs.

“Fortunately a lot of members have continued to pay memberships and we were lucky enough to get a small grant through Northumberland County Council.

“We’ve invested that in new equipment so it will be a better experience for members when they do come back and we have the new outdoor area which will be important in terms of allowing more people into the facility. We’re going to be very limited in how many people can use the indoor areas at one time.”

The new rules for reopening are expected to include a requirement for social distancing, with equipment spaces 2m apart and a maximum gym capacity of 3m squared per person. Rigorous cleaning procedures will also have to be in place.

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