DAC Garage: A Breath of Fresh Air

How has this idea enhanced your club's operation, etc.?

INTRODUCTION: In today’s modern fitness world of treadmills and elliptical machines, it’s easy to forget a time when working out often meant working outside. Leave it to the COVID-19 pandemic—and its restrictions on indoor gatherings—to inspire. The ability of utilizing open space, fresh air and creative thinking turned popular outdoor classes into something much deeper and more significant for our members. Leave it to the Athletic Department of the Detroit Athletic Club to find a distinctly Motor City solution: We have a place to park cars. Only we don’t have a lot of cars in there right now. So why not move a hefty piece of our fitness footprint—weights, cardio machines, group class studio, mats and lots of cleaning supplies and social distancing— into the DAC Garage? Which, coincidentally, became the informal name of this gym-dandy.

How was this idea implemented, and what have been the club members' reactions?

LOGISTICAL: We took 6k sq ft of our garage and transformed it into an outdoor group x studio and fitness center. Most important, it gave our members a venue to ward off any pandemic poundage and work out the stresses of this uncertain world, while allowing our Club to serve them and live up to its middle name—“Athletic.” Utilizing outdoor carpeting, turf, windscreen, pre-paneled fencing we transformed a parking garage into an urban fitness center. The DAC used non-motorized ellipticals, treadmills, arc trainers, bikes and rowers as their core cardiovascular machines, developed a “CrossFit” /Core zone and topped it off with key pulley system, squat racks and machine weights. For the group studio we installed additional wifi for a virtual connection. Lastly, we added multiple sanitation stations and barriers between equipment. Now that it’s winter, we added heaters. We are working hard inside and out to keep our members active and healthy.

THE CHALLENGE: Creating an atmosphere for health and wellness while taking in to account social distancing guidelines. Likewise, members are social creatures so by doubling the size of our normal space we allowed for everyone to feel safe while providing camaraderie. This also allowed our personal trainers to reconnect with clients and group instructors to perform live and virtually classes at the same time. Ultimately, we achieved the ability to re-engage our members on a new level.

MEMBER EXPERIENCE: The overwhelming gratitude from members has been rewarding for the staff. The best thing has been the personal interaction and being able to deliver the true spirit of service to the membership. We will continue with the garage through the winter to provide a space for those more comfortable being in an open air environment.

RESULTS? Members have been extremely complimentary and have continued to utilize the space through January and beyond.

MEMBER COMMENTS: “I was thrilled when the DAC opened the garage to workout. For me; Maintaining a routine, staying focused on self care is the best way I can stay sane and safe during the pandemic.”

“When indoor fitness centers were forced to close due to Covid, the DAC didn’t miss a beat. Thinking outside the box, the staff set up a socially-distanced fitness area outside in an underutilized portion of the garage with plenty of machines and free weights. The venue was a huge hit and allowed members to continue focusing on their health and wellness during a difficult time. I appreciate the creativity and determination to continue improving the member experience."