Marlboro Gym Opens Full-Service Outdoor Facility

MARLBORO, NJ – While most New Jersey gyms remain shuttered without a reopening date in sight, one Marlboro gym owner recently reopened his facility completely outdoors. The return of OVOX in Morganville features a 3000-square foot full-service gym located in a spacious parking lot.

Stu Rosenstein, the owner of OVOX and mastermind behind the outdoor gym layout, told Patch that the outdoor gym is the product of months of research into local, state and national guidelines. The final plan was ultimately checked against the existing COVID-19 protocol for outdoor activities like parks and recreation. In order to ensure a Aug. 3 reopening date, Rosenstein sought prior approval from municipal officials to open the facility.

“There were quite a bit of hurdles that we needed to jump over for the town to approve it, and then we had to go through all the protocols for outdoor activities issued by the governor,” said Rosenstein.

While the meticulous planning and research proved a challenge for the 35-year industry veteran, the easy part included setting up the layout of the unique facility.

“I could look at a parking lot and visualize it the same way I visualize the inside of the gym and I can plan it,” said Rosenstein. “I have a good gauge of what can fit, what won’t fit, and what will flow together.”

The outdoor gym currently features 40 machines including treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, squat racks, deadlift platforms and a complete circuit of machines to work out each body part. With 24-hour security surveillance, ultraviolet lighting, sanitation stations and a mandatory temperature check of below 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit to enter the facility, Rosenstein says he is very confident that he has made the facility as safe as possible for his loyal gym clients.

The owner even contracted a company to build specialized plexiglass dividers between each machine to prevent the transmission of droplets.

Members are required to wear masks for the duration of their visit, except while exercising. All resting periods between sets or trips to the bathroom, water cooler and snack area must include masks.

The Marlboro resident says that the outdoor facility has been in the works since before Gov. Murphy mandated that gyms close in mid-March. After the closures, he spent hours researching industry protocols from other states to ensure that, when his gym did reopen, clients would be able to exercise with peace of mind.

“I watch the governor on YouTube or Twitter each day for hours like everyone else does,” said Rosenstein. “I wish I had a special phone that rang with instructions. I don’t. I’m Googling like a maniac compiling all the information other states were setting forth. We were mandated to close the day of the 16th. Before we closed, we knew it was going to happen. So we started planning prior to the shutdown, all the measures we’d need to do.”

On March 17 – the day OVOX closed its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic – the facility began offering online workout classes free-of-charge (the gym has completed 550 fitness classes to date). But as nail salons, tattoo shops, hair styling services and amusement parks began to open, Rosenstein began to install plexiglass barriers, ultraviolet lighting and sanitizing stations throughout the interior of his gym. However, as reopening date for New Jersey fitness centers never came, the longtime gym owner decided to pursue a more creative route. Read more: South Brunswick Gym Owners: How Long Can We Go On Like This?

“At least restaurants can have outdoor dining. If the restaurants can have outdoor dining, we can have outdoor fitness. All of us just want to open and all of us just want our members to be safe,” said Rosenstein. “If you’re asking me personally, I remember back in March other gym owners went public to say, ‘this is ridiculous, a gym is just as safe as Walmart.’ I’m going to have to disagree with that. Just opening your doors and giving members hand sanitizer and a spray bottle is not as safe as Walmart.”

The outdoor facility made its debut at 8 a.m. on Monday to eager clients ready to hop back into their routines. For many, it marked a significant – if not altered – return to normal.

“I don’t have all my equipment here, but I’m amazed that everyone is happy,” said Rosenstein. “Everyone has just been so thankful. They’ve said ‘thank you for doing this’. It really has been heartwarming just to see the outpours of thanks that we’ve been getting from everybody. Even if someone has to wait two to three minutes to do an exercise, I don’t think anyone cares. They’re just really thankful that we did this.”

OVOX is located on 65 NJ-34 in Morganville. The facility is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

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