When Governor Ned Lamont ordered all gyms closed as of March 16 to help slow community spread of COVID-19, Lisa Peterson knew what she had to do: loan out every piece of gym equipment filling Lisa’s Bike & Bootcamp Studio, so that her “family” of more than 300 members could carry on.

“Just because the studio has been asked to close its doors, my helping people doesn’t end there. If anything, it’s more of a reason to help people, because they need it now more than ever,” says Lisa, speaking to The Sound via phone from her Sylvia Street studio.

“So when I heard we had to close, the first thing I thought of was, ‘How am I going to help these people?’” says Lisa. “And then the answers came to me: You let them take the equipment. You continue to hold them accountable. You find different ways to support them. And those different ways, and finding the strength to support them, is coming to me on a daily basis.”

The Branford resident and business owner quickly emptied her studio, loaning out 30 spin bikes as well as all of the studio’s racks of dumb bells, kettlebell weights, balance workout slam balls, abdominal workout mats, barbells, plates for barbells—even the floor mats.

“There’s nothing left,” says Lisa, who offered the equipment within days of the notice of closure.

“I sent an email saying I’ll be outside the studio if you want any piece of equipment or bikes—just stay in your car, and I’ll bring it over to your car. And a half hour before I even got there, there was a line of people at the door,” says Lisa.

The studio may be empty, but now, Lisa’s working harder than ever to be there for her clients.

“I always worked 24/7, but now more than ever, because there’s a lot of different things that need to go to a lot of different people,” she says.

Lisa set up a private Facebook group page and two Zoom (live video) links for workout sessions she runs for her clients every day.

“On a nightly basis, I send out an email with the [next day’s] workout and a Zoom link and the times of the workouts we’ll be doing, so people can join in through that. And the morning of, I do a video description explaining the workout and send that out to the Facebook group page,” says Lisa.

People who aren’t on social media are getting the video links texted or emailed to them. Those who can’t participate in the virtual workouts are still being set up for success by Lisa, who is an Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)-certified personal trainer. She’s also certified to train in Body Pump, Group Power, RPM Spin, and Group Ride Spin.

The new method of teaching is taking some getting used to, but it’s working.

“To hold them accountable, I ask them to send me pictures or fast-time videos, and we post it. And that’s another way we kind of can support each other,” she says.

Lisa, who is the sole fitness instructor for Lisa’s Bike & Bootcamp Studio, says she personally works to help each of her 300-plus gym family members reach their goals.

“It’s like if you have one child or 50 children, do you give any one of those children less attention?” she asks. “I do this on my own because they come to me for my help. God doesn’t give you any more than you can handle, and gives you everything you need that you’re called to do.”

To continue supporting her members, she’s also checking in with email and texts as a way to be there for those who may be feeling overwhelmed by the Stay Safe, Stay Home rules governing Connecticut residents right now.

“Now more than ever, because we’re told to isolate, I don’t want them to spiritually or emotionally isolate,” says Lisa. “This is far beyond the body. People exercise because they want to feel good about themselves and of course it makes people feel good physiologically, emotionally, and physically—but now more than ever is a time when depression can really set in. So I help people through exercise, but it’s far greater than that.”

For Lisa, changing the way a person looks is easy, but it’s “changing the way you feel about how you look,” that’s key, she says.

“That is the ultimate goal,” she says. “Now more than ever, I believe that we’re in an epidemic of self-loathing. We’re in a perpetual epidemic of that as it is—people genuinely don’t like themselves or the way they look, or maybe think they aren’t good enough or they have don’t have enough money. And now, we’re putting people in their houses, by themselves, with social media’s negative things. It’s like putting fuel on the fire. And my purpose is to help people get out of that, if only for a moment.”

The email and texts “could just be ‘get up, make your bed; get in the shower, get dressed—do your hair! Have an agenda,’” she says. “I don’t even care if they’re not getting out of the house: ‘Say your prayers, or meditate, say “Hi” to people who are with you, make eye contact. Do the next right thing, and the next right thing is going to happen.’ And that’s what they came to my studio for, because they knew I could help them. This situation is even more of a reason to help them.”

Lisa was a stay-at-home mom of two girls and twin boys when she started offering personal training to others about eight years ago. When that grew into too many people to personally train, she started bootcamp groups. Being a spin instructor, she also began offering spin classes. Lisa’s Bike & Bootcamp Studio continued to grow for several years, at different locations.

“I just kept getting a bigger studio with more bikes,” she says.

In September 2011, Lisa’s life was forever changed when her special needs son, Tristan, drowned in a neighbor’s pool. He was four years old. Lisa’s surviving children are Julia, now 18, Gabby, 16, and Tristan’s twin, Ryan, 13.

“When my son passed away, I didn’t know how to deal with it. It’s not an excuse to drink, but it’s what happened,” says Lisa.

She closed her studio while she went to rehab and worked on her sobriety and now, she’s three years sober. Lisa moved to her present studio location about a year and a half ago.

“It went from zero members to over 300 in the year in a half,” she says. “I help people through exercise, but it’s far greater than that. So when I say that this is my purpose, I believe that [a] higher power helped me to beat the alcoholism so that I can be there to help others and serve my purpose.”

Learn more about Lisa’s Bike & Bootcamp Studio, 10 Sylvia Street, Branford, at www.lisasboot.com or on Facebook @lisabikeandbootcampstudio or call 203-738-9658.