FOX 2 - Alyssa Tushman battled breast cancer and won.
"The mental, and physical necessity of working out is what really saved my life," she said.
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Gym owners protest Whitmer’s closure, make plea to reopen
The group protested in front of the Michigan State Capitol today. Their message to Governor Whitmer is that shutting down gyms is making already bad health conditions in our state, worse.
She wanted to give back by starting her own gym, and that's how Burn Fitness was born in metro Detroit.
COVID-19 is made worse when you couple it with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. She says gyms like hers, have to reopen to help.
"We are in an unhealthy state, we are an unhealthy country and this pandemic is such an opportunity to help people. And to make this world a better and healthier place," she said. "I think if we don't do that we're not going to get through this, as Donald (Jordan) says, so many times, we are the way out of this."
She's talking about Donald Jordan, also runs gym franchises called F45.
"F45 is functional fitness, it is high intensity, interval training and you get a workout in 45 minutes," said Jordan.
The training changed his life. He believes the governor ordering the gyms to remain closed, is doing a disservice to the health of people in Michigan.
So when Covid hit, he helped form the Michigan Fitness Clubs Association. The group protested in front of the Michigan State Capitol today. Their message to Governor Whitmer? Shutting down gyms is making already bad health conditions in our state, worse. Open us up and we'll do it safely.
"We want to get Michigan fit in very safe way," Jordan said. "We are trying to open, we have EPA-approved cleaners for killing the coronavirus, we're doing social distancing or when we open, we will do social distancing, and there are two things were trying to communicate here. We want to be part of the solution, we want to engage with the governor and our legislators to look at us as a resource. Don't just look at us as another entity to regulate. Work with us and we want to work with you and be part of the solution."
And the other issue? Help these gyms survive the closures. They need financial help so they don't disappear when the virus does.
"We would love to invite her to take a tour of a couple of our facilities to see and to witness some of the measures that we have taken," Tutman said. "And to see how some of our facilities are set up. And also to talk with us to engage with us."
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said the reason that the gyms remain closed is that they are relying on what helath experts are saying. Heavy breathing and perspiration can spread the virus.