The fitness centres have reopened

The fitness centres reopened this week. A look at a studio in Steinhausen shows what has changed.

At last! Many sports enthusiasts may well have felt euphoric when the gyms reopened this week. The five customers in the Athletic Performance Hall of Pieter Smeets certainly did. The studio in Steinhausen is dedicated to Functional Training, a mix of body weight exercises, strength and cardio training. Although they can now train again in the familiar environment, something is different. Because instead of playing sports close together, everyone is in their own zone, marked by ropes on the floor or tape. At the same time, everyone receives their own gymnastics mat and a bottle of disinfectant spray to clean the equipment they use. The sweating and training, however, is nevertheless serious. After a warm-up session, Smeets divides the group for the strength exercises. "The decisive thing in the current situation is to keep the social distance," says the PE teacher, describing one of the changes in the studio due to the corona measures. A maximum of eight people are allowed to stay on the 200 square metres of training area.

A glance around the premises shows that keeping distance is working. Everyone lifts the dumbbells in their own area, no one leaves their zone. Pieter Smeets, wearing a plexiglass mask over his face, corrects the athletes from a distance. "Normally I would approach them and support them one-to-one, close up," he explains. But that’s not possible at this time. Training is mainly done in small groups: "Small Group Personal Training" is what Smeets calls it.

The two fitness trainers Pieter Smeets (left, blue shirt) and trainer Lino Cerletti lead a course at the Fitness Centre Athletic Performance in Steinhausen.

People know each other in the Steinhauser Studio
Nevertheless: The personal trainer is happy to be able to train his customers on site again. There were only training sessions via video chat and online programs during the lockdown, but the studio will be well used again in the near future. Anyone who wants to train at Athletic Performance will have to book an appointment for both individual and group trainings via the app – even outside of corona times. "This prevents more people turning up here than is allowed." With a total area of 300 square meters, the studio is comparatively small. "This is certainly a challenge, but it also has great advantages," he is convinced. Because: "We trainers know our customers." For example, one customer, a pharmacologist, helped to implement the respective protection concept. "This probably wouldn't happen in a large studio. We are not so much a centre, rather more a boutique," as Smeets puts it. Customers are confident that the studio is a safe place. "The motivation is there, no doubt," the coach is convinced. At first, he feared that people would not dare to come back straight away due to the current situation. In the end, however, this fortunately did not materialise.

Proof of trust of customers
This was also clear on the morning in question: the five customers did their very best, always under the supervision of Smeets. Age is not a barrier either: people between the ages of 25 and 88 train here. "And the eldest customer immediately decided that he wanted to get back into training. This is a very valuable indication to me, and a vote of confidence," says Smeets. It will probably take a while to get used to the measures. But the customers are mostly looking forward to being able to congratulate each other  with a handshake at the end of a strenuous training session. That morning, this only happens in the air and with a two-metre safety distance.

Protection concepts are well implemented
The large fitness centres in the canton of Zug also reopened at the beginning of the week. The rush of customers was subdued, however, according to the centres that we approached. Sandro Villiger, club manager at the ONE Training Center Baar, explains: "It seems that the guests are still a little reluctant about the reopening, which is quite understandable." 120 people are allowed train at the same time at ONE, although there were only 40 at the peak time on Monday. Things appear similar in the Eichstätte in Zug. We were not exactly over-run, says manager Andreas Landolt. And what about in Indigo Zug? As club manager Sebastian Wohlfarth explains, the maximum number of members there is limited, even before the Corona measures. "We plan for this, and had a normal process on Monday. The attendance was still noticeably lower than usual, so it’s very safe to train with us," he says.
The three centres all have the same challenge: they must comply with the requirements of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). "By means of an appropriate protection concept, we have meticulously prepared ourselves for the opening, because safety is paramount," says Sandro Villiger. In order to ensure the social distance, the equipment and the training areas were therefore cordoned off in both the ONE and the Eichstätte fitness park, and the equipment is also disinfected after use by the members and employees. There are no bottlenecks.
 In the Indigo, it has been decided to give each member an oral and precise briefing on what concrete measures are now expected of them. "It has worked very well for us," explains Sebastian Wohlfarth. This requires more staff, but it is important to create a "clearly defined, secure environment without having to play policeman." The wellness areas in the Fitness Park, ONE and Indigo will remain closed until further notice. Although some measures have had to be taken, things are going well so far, as all three club managers point out. "Customers of all ages feel safe: there was a lot of positive feedback on the first day," says Andreas Landolt. There were no bottlenecks, and the operation ran smoothly. "People show consideration for each other and set up their training times in order to avoid peak times," adds Sandro Villiger. Wohlfarth is also satisfied. "On paper, it's always hard to see how the planning will be implemented," he says. But it has worked out well.