In an announcement made on Wednesday, regional Victoria saw an easing of restrictions, with indoor entertainment venues open for 50 people, general retail open with density requirements, and hairdressing businesses back open.

Missing from the easing were indoor physical recreation centres and gym, which have remained closed.

Horsham Allied Martial Arts owner Matt Mellington said the exclusion was a source of frustration for the industry.

"Obviously it has an impact. We are guided by the government regulations at the moment. I am providing Zoom classes for my students, but when we have the chance to open up again we will get back into it. We follow our COVID plan and we go from there," he said.

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"It's definitely frustrating to see some businesses being able to open and we can't, when we follow pretty strict guidelines to keep everyone safe."

Mr Mellington said the industry was familiar with working around restrictions, with indoor physical recreation often one of the last sectors to reopen when rules were announced.

"I have volunteer instructors that assist where they can but the uncertainty is not ideal. It does impact on running consistent classes," he said.

"We have been doing this for over 12 months now, which is a pain, but hopefully everybody can get on the vaccination wagon, and we can get back to some sort of normality sooner rather than later.

"We aren't going to be doing anything that will put students and clients at risk. We have our QR codes and hand sanitiser around the place and a good cleaning plan as well. I think we are definitely up there with the requirements. It is definitely frustrating to see other places open and we are not."

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Much like in earlier lockdowns, the state government has made tighter rulings for gyms based on the advice of its health experts.

On Thursday, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said gyms had faced tighter restrictions due to an increased risk of spread.

"We understand everyone is making huge sacrifices and the closure of gyms have been difficult," the spokesperson said.

"Gyms have been closed under Victorian restrictions as the nature of working out carries a high risk of transmission, due to sweat and heavy breathing as well as shared equipment."

Horsham Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Jesse Millar is the sole instructor of his business, which he operates out of a rented space at Horsham Allied Martial Arts.

He said the last 12 months had been "less than ideal" for everyone in Horsham's martial arts community and said he was frustrated by the restrictions.

"Since the beginning of the year as we saw restrictions eased, we saw a good increase in our junior memberships, and welcomed some new members to our adults program also," he said.

"It's a little frustrating - and I firmly believe my feelings would be shared by many others in the community.

"The expectation that you are supposed to just close your business, lose access to your income, and still be expected to pay your business overheads is far from ideal. More needs to be done to support business owners.

"There is obviously a need for preventative safety measures. However, I would like to see a much more nuanced approach, with consideration given to areas less affected by the virus, like in our regional areas for example."

Both instructors have since focused on conducting remote training sessions with students and clients to retain a revenue stream.

Mr Millar said he hoped the Victorian government would consider a hotspot-based approach to easing restrictions.

"Good organisational policy is multifaceted, needs based, and should be under constant review," he said.

"Restrict travel for areas not affected by the virus if you have to, but let us go about our routines in the areas we live, while those areas remain unaffected."

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