Even before breakfast or a long-awaited rendezvous for a morning coffee, hundreds of Hunter residents began life after lockdown at their local gym.
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And the wet and windy start Monday morning did little to deter those who have been deprived of their morning fitness ritual in recent months.
Genesis Fitness owner John Pirlo said his gyms were at between 50 and 70 per cent capacity on Monday.
"A lot of people have been running or doing something else but it hasn't been quite the same," he said.
"There's the hardcore people who were here at 6am and the others who will take a day or so to get back into it. Overwhelmingly the response from members has been 'we want to get back'.
Gym members are required to show they have been double vaccinated before entry.
While the state may be closing in on an 80 per cent vaccination target, some of those who choose not to be vaccinated are making their feelings known.
"There have been a couple of negative comments from the unvaccinated community on social media. It's part and parcel of what you have to expect at this time period," Mr Pirlo said.
"I understand it's challenging for those guys too. They want to get back to training like everyone else does."
Vaccination was also proving to be a temporary challenge for staff, some of whom are not yet fully vaccinated.
"Because our staff are reasonably young a lot of them couldn't book in for their vaccinations up until the end (of lockdown)," Mr Pirlo said.
"It's going to be a bit challenging for the first one or two weeks but it will return to normal pretty soon."
Unlike the end of lockdown 2020, Mr Pirlo said he believed most members accepted that COVID and restrictions that come with it were a part of life.
"We found the more information we can give staff and members the better. If they know what the rules and conditions are, everyone is a bit more comfortable," he said.
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