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Let go of stress: occupational health care in Switzerland

Let go of stress: occupational health care in Switzerland

Workplace health promotion in Switzerland is now well positioned. Its aim is to promote the health of employees and reduce absenteeism due to illness. At the same time, the aim is to prevent work-related illnesses. But there is one thing that Swiss employers are losing sight of: stress and psychological stress and their effects.

Workplace health promotion in Switzerland: important support for employees

Work-related illnesses and accidents at work should be prevented; this also applies to illnesses caused by infections. Company health promotion focuses on precisely this and tries to strengthen health potential. The feeling of well-being at the workplace is a crucial point, which also includes ergonomic principles. People who feel good have better immune systems and feel less stressed. As part of corporate health promotion, health protection at the workplace should be promoted with various measures. These measures are based on these basic ideas:

    • Improvement of working conditions
    • Improvement of work coordination
    • Carrying out preventive examinations to identify health restrictions at an early stage
    • Further training of employees and strengthening of their skills
    • Consideration of ergonomic requirements

Company health promotion is therefore intended to protect the health of employees and maintain their workforce. However, many employers forget the influences of psychological stress and stress, these topics are not even considered.

Workplace health promotion as a corporate strategy

More and more companies are showing interest in operational measures to promote the health of their employees. The Health Promotion Foundation examined this again in August 2021 and came to the conclusion that 26.3 percent of the companies employing more than 50 people are systematically implementing health promotion measures. This value was even lower five years ago and was only given at 22.7 percent in 2016.
According to the foundation, the numbers are significantly higher for the issue of whether there is any workplace health promotion in the company. Around 75 percent of all companies answered in the affirmative. The respondents stated that they wanted to appear more attractive as an employer through these measures and that they were aiming to reduce employee absences.

It is noticeable that it is mainly companies from the service sector that are in favor of workplace health promotion, whereas industrial companies have not stepped up their activities in this regard in the last five years. According to the foundation, the most extensive measures would be carried out in medium-sized companies that employ between 100 and 250 people.

No focus on stress-reducing measures

While the measures for a better work-life balance are steadily increasing and companies are already doing significantly more in this area, very little is being done in the area of mental health. The companies are hardly sensitized and do not see stress-reducing measures as important. At the same time, however, it is to be feared that stress-related illnesses will continue to increase. Burn-out is just a disease that is triggered by stress and is difficult to treat. Therefore, if companies want to do something good for their employees and want to ensure that absences are as short as possible, the stress factor has to act as a? Disease accelerator? definitely come into focus. This also applies to other measures, because stress on measures and further training can also lead to a significantly reduced sense of well-being in the workplace.

Conclusion: Low awareness of the companies with regard to stress

While experts certify that companies in Switzerland have very good measures for workplace health promotion and also recognize that companies offer significantly more in this area today than they did a few years ago, stress is still not taken into account. In larger companies, this factor is more likely to be considered and appropriate measures are offered to learn how to deal with stress. In small and medium-sized companies in particular, however, this has so far been paid less attention, where those responsible are less sensitive to stress and psychological stress. You are therefore repeatedly confronted with absences on the part of employees who otherwise enjoy company health promotion at the workplace.

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Fitness centers withhold the right to reimbursement

Fitness centers withhold the right to reimbursement

Fitness centers have been closed for a few weeks, the prescribed lockdown is forcing them to do so. The members who actually have a fitness subscription now sweat on the mat at home or go jogging to keep themselves reasonably fit. However, video exercises are not the same as on-site training. Are customers entitled to a refund?

Online training as an alternative?

Many fitness centers try to keep their customers happy and offer them the opportunity to at least sweat online. Video offers are made, which are also used in many cases. People stand in front of the screen at home and try to follow the instructions, but receive no feedback as to whether they are doing the exercises correctly, which is ultimately not possible to a sufficient extent. In the meantime, the fitness subscription continues, it costs money without being able to be used. The Swiss Foundation for Consumer Protection sees exactly this as a problem, because most fitness centers do not even mention or consider the right to reimbursement. The customers are deliberately left in the dark.

No statements about possible refunds

For a long time, the customers of the fitness center tolerated the current situation and accepted that they would not get any financial compensation for the time of the lockdown. It is believed that the gyms themselves are not doing well. But slowly the patience of the people is exhausted and they too see the money that flows unused into the fitness subscription for them. The days of compassion for the fitness center seem to be over. The law actually provides that the customers of the center would have to be reimbursed part of the subscription costs. The general principle of performance and consideration applies here: If no performance is provided, it does not have to be paid for. If you don't get the service promised in the contract, you actually have to get your money back. Information on this can often be found in the small print of the contracts, but such regulations are not legal. You cannot simply overturn the applicable law and make other stipulations that are detrimental to the customer.

Currently, most fitness centers are still keeping a low profile and mostly offering credits. Allegedly, the lost time can be made up after the opening of the center. The fact that there is a legal right to reimbursement has so far been wisely concealed. The requests made by customers to the fitness center have simply been rejected so far. Some providers stand out particularly negatively. They have changed their terms and conditions and not officially, but quietly and secretly in the small print of the contracts. This does not affect old contracts, but anyone who signed a contract between the two lockdowns is confronted with the new regulations. The terms and conditions at the time the contract is concluded always apply. A change after the conclusion of the contract does not have to be accepted by the customer. Should a fitness center even cancel its customers, they can assert their right to at least partial reimbursement of their expenses.

Conclusion: fitness centers are fighting for survival? sometimes with unfair means

It is understandable that the fitness centers are struggling to survive in the face of ongoing closings. It is not evident that they are fighting this battle on the customer's back. Customers have the right to a reimbursement of their costs if they cannot use their fitness subscription, but most of them are not aware of this. It is also often unknown that they do not have to accept subsequent changes to the terms and conditions and that an exclusion of reimbursements in the small print is not legally valid. Here it is worthwhile to take a closer look and to know your own law. If necessary, through a lawyer, who will write a corresponding letter to the fitness center.

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Fitness centers are the losers of the corona easing

Fitness centers are the losers of the corona easing

The Federal Council has decided to gradually lift the corona restrictions. The losers here, however, are all those companies that operate in closed rooms. The same goes for the fitness studios, but the operators now want to defend themselves because the prolonged closure means the death knell for many.

Gyms get no mercy

The Federal Council remained firm in its latest decisions and rejected all requests to be allowed to resume operations in closed rooms. This not only affected restaurants, but also fitness centers, which are now supposed to remain closed until April. It should only be relaxed at shops, museums and zoos. Interiors where people stay longer are considered to be the drivers of the pandemic and places where the greatest risk of infection threatens. For fitness centers, this means that the struggle for survival will continue. Customers have stayed away long enough, because they have long since gotten tired of having to pay for a service that they do not receive. Just out of sympathy, hardly anyone has enough money left to extend their membership in the fitness center.

Fitness center operators are disappointed

Understandably, the operators of the fitness center are disappointed, because after all, sport in closed rooms should only be possible again from April 1st. This means that the time with the highest sales for the studios is over, because they generate the highest sales between January and April. The reason is the good resolutions that many Swiss make at the end of the old year and that they implement in January. One of these resolutions usually concerns the amount of physical activity that should be significantly increased, and a healthy lifestyle in general should also be pursued. But now the fitness centers are closed and in spring and summer most people prefer to do sports outside. In this respect, the loosening from April is no longer of much use, it is little more than a drop in the ocean. The President of the Swiss Fitness and Health Association, Claude Ammann, recently said that the decisions of the Federal Council would mean a black day for the SMEs in the fitness industry, because the extension of the closure is the death knell for many.

Actually, there had been a very lively exchange of ideas about the policy to be pursued and yet no agreement had been reached. The small and medium-sized studios are dependent on the members coming to training, they do not have large financial reserves like the big representatives of the industry and consequently can no longer exist. Running costs still have to be managed, even if there has been no more money in the coffers for months.

The association is defending itself

Now the fitness association is standing on its back legs and is planning a claim for damages against the federal government. It is not just that in many cantons the promised aid money is not paid or is only paid to a limited extent, there is also no equal treatment in the cantons. So there are fitness centers that still have a chance and others that are now running out of breath. The association has already asked for fitness centers to be classified as systemically relevant, but this request had not yet been heard.
The planned lawsuit cannot easily be implemented either, because the hurdles are high. The money for this is now to be collected via crowdfunding. The beginning was made through the many small payments made by employees and members of the gyms.

Conclusion: fitness studios lose in a crisis

Fitness studios have a problem: According to the Federal Council, they will remain closed, at least until April. They do not really benefit from the fact that the Berlin study assesses the risk of infection indoors as particularly high and even certifies fitness centers with a factor of 3.4 when they are half occupied. Like restaurants and secondary schools, they are supposed to be a haven for contagion, which is supposed to be far more dangerous than shops.

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The wave of bankruptcies threatens fitness centers

The wave of bankruptcies threatens fitness centers

The corona crisis cannot be mastered equally well for all companies. The fitness industry in particular is suffering, because the sports centers have been closed again since mid-December. Now a wave of bankruptcies threatens. 

Precarious situation in the fitness centers

The industry is particularly hard hit by the closure in January and February. The reason is that a particularly large number of subscriptions are usually sold during this time and this sale has now completely ceased in 2021. The first bankruptcy filings have already been filed. Some apprentices lost their apprenticeship positions because the related company was insolvent. Many more are standing on the border and struggling to survive. So far, however, no exact numbers can be given, these will only come in the course of the next few weeks. At the moment, the industry association only knows from hearsay about the bankruptcies and that some companies can no longer pay their bills. It is currently assumed that the real wave of bankruptcies will kick in in a month or two.

No government support

The industry association complains that although generous aid payments had been promised, none of them had yet arrived. Right now, at the beginning of the year, the insurance bills are coming in. These in turn have to be paid as well as the usual fixed costs. Due to the already poor operating year 2020, hardly any savings were made, so that the insurance has to be paid for from the already tight budget. Many landlords currently do not or only little to accommodate the fitness centers. Corona loans from many sports centers had to spend around 70 percent on the rental payments, other fixed costs were not included. As a result, many got into debt or plunged further into debt. Curious: many properties belong to Swiss banks, which in turn grant loans to their tenants and yet do not accommodate them. There is hardly any money left for resources.

Hardly any liquidity available

The fitness centers have no chance of changing anything in the current situation. You cannot build up liquidity because you have completely lost the months in which you would make the strongest sales. Many subscriptions expire and will not be renewed because customers don't see the end of the situation either. Some showed their solidarity during the lockdown and did not reclaim their contributions or partially extended their subscription. But at some point the customer's patience runs out and they only see the unsafe situation. In the meantime, hardly any fitness studio expects that after the relaxation, the same number of customers rush into the fitness center and commit themselves for a longer period of time with a subscription. The risk is too great for most sports fans.

Online courses are also only an alternative to a limited extent, because many young, sport-loving people tend to rely on YouTube or other free offers for their daily workout. Others rely on personal care because they are in pain and need precise guidance. This simply cannot be given via video because no direct feedback is possible. Even if the fitness centers try a lot to keep customers engaged, in the long run they will probably be one of the big losers of the corona crisis. If the lockdown were to be extended beyond February, that would mean the end of significantly more companies.

Conclusion: The fitness industry is on the gums

For many fitness centers it is now all or nothing! If they are still not allowed to open after February, the last glimmer of hope has disappeared and there will be a much larger wave of bankruptcies than already. Many fitness businesses are already having to close because they no longer have any income, but the expenses for rent, insurance and other cost items remain high. Corona loans are not being paid out or only slowly, these are used to pay the most important costs immediately. What remains are indebted studios that can only proceed to file for bankruptcy.

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The Swiss are buying more electronic health aids

Health care and fitness in personal responsibility: The Swiss are buying more electronic health aids

Technology-based accessories for personal fitness training have sold more than ever in the past year. The corona crisis has resulted in increased sales of accessories for preventive health care and for personal fitness monitoring.

The Swiss move more

The research institute GfK inquired and found in a study that around seven percent more portable electronic devices were sold in 2020 than before. In all of Europe, sales even rose to around 22 percent!
The reason for this is seen primarily in the restrictions caused by the corona pandemic. If people used to go to the fitness center and were able to monitor their fitness there, they now had to act more on their own. If you wanted to stay fit, you train alone and therefore had to monitor your vital functions and your own fitness values. Overall, the lockdown resulted in a trend towards more movement. According to surveys, the Swiss went for walks more often last spring, with more than a third of those surveyed confirming this. Around a quarter more did more sport than before. The joy of exercise was diminished a little by the autumn, but in November the Swiss became more athletic again. They still go for walks more often than they did before the pandemic and do significantly more exercise.

Strong growth in portable electronic devices

It is noticeable that not only electronic portable devices have been sold much more frequently, but that the sale of other devices for health care has also risen sharply. Thus, on the one hand, the so-called wearables, which include the well-known fitness trackers, have been sold much more frequently. On the other hand, blood pressure monitors, among other things, went over the (virtual) counter more often. Sales of these devices increased by around 12 percent from January to October 2020 compared to the previous year. For many Swiss, it is now part of a healthy life to regularly check your own values and thus to know in which area they are individually within the norm.
Home trainers and other fitness equipment, which meanwhile have delivery times of a few weeks to months, were also sold much more strongly. Here, too, demand rose sharply due to the corona, as the fitness centers were closed or should not be used for reasons of infection protection.

Healthier Swiss due to the pandemic?

According to studies, not only the Swiss, but also other Europeans have been doing more sport since the restrictions caused by the pandemic exist. However, at the beginning of the corona crisis, many Swiss people told GfK that they were living much healthier than they did a year ago and that physical and mental fitness was of crucial importance to them. Over a five-year period, Europeans' fitness and sports activities have generally increased significantly. According to the survey, it is now around 38 percent of Europeans who are regularly active in sports. Around 60 percent of those surveyed do sports at least once a week. Compared to the last survey in 2015, both values have increased by four percent.

Conclusion: The Swiss live healthier and monitor themselves better

The Swiss have not only been living healthier than a few years ago since the corona pandemic, surveys have clearly shown this. But now they have mainly adjusted to fitness in their own four walls as well as in the home environment. More home trainers are being sold that are intended to at least partially replace equipment in the gym. In addition, significantly more fitness trackers and other wearables were sold in 2020, and the sale of devices for health monitoring and prevention increased significantly.

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In good health: the Swiss feel fit

In good health: the Swiss feel fit

Every year, surveys are carried out in Switzerland to find out how fit the Swiss really are. That was also the case in 2019 and it feels like the Swiss are above average. But they don't top the list of the fittest Europeans.

Different health perception among Europeans

In the survey, over 90 percent of the Swiss stated that they feel fit and that their state of health is good to very good.

The Swedes, however, did not feel quite as good, here it was only 76.5 percent of the respondents who rated their well-being as good, very good or excellent. This made the Swedes the bottom of the ranking, because apparently the people of other European countries felt much healthier. Great Britain, France and Norway were also ahead of Sweden.

In the last survey carried out in 2016, the Swiss stated that they felt totally healthy and rated their own fitness as positive. At that time, however, only 88.9 percent of Swiss people said they felt good to excellent. Since then, the values have increased by 0.8 percent annually. Things looked different for the British in 2016. At that time they still felt good and 90.0 percent rated their own state of health as positive. In 2019 there were only 81 percent who expressed themselves in this way.

However, the values asked only reflect the subjective perception, they do not provide any really objective information. This sees the Germans and the French ahead of the Swiss, even if they may be the healthiest subjectively. The health of the Germans and the French shows better in an evaluation of chronic diseases: Only 47.4 percent would have received confirmation from a doctor that they are chronically ill. In Switzerland, it was a total of 49.3 percent of respondents in 2019.

Severely impaired Americans and Norwegians

The survey also looked across the pond and found that around 66.3 percent of Americans suffered from a chronic illness or that this proportion of the population had received a corresponding confirmation from a doctor.

Americans also top the rankings for various diseases. Arthritis, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and mental illnesses are particularly common among them.
The Norwegians top the list for other diseases: asthma, stroke and lung diseases are particularly common. Germany has the highest rate of heart disease, even if it is generally assumed that this should be the case among Americans.

Further results of the polls

Interesting: Those with a migration background feel less healthy than people with a migration background, the German-speaking Swiss feel better than residents of French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, and women are less satisfied with their health than men.

Germans are least concerned about jobs and sources of income, while in Switzerland more than a third of the population is concerned about rent, mortgage and income. The Swiss are only surpassed by the Americans, who incidentally also lead the way when it comes to taking medication.

Almost every second of them takes two or more medications every day that require a prescription, while the proportion of Swiss people who take medication is significantly lower and is only around a third.

There is also dissatisfaction with general practitioners: in Switzerland, almost every second person thinks that the general practitioner takes too little time and does not involve the patient sufficiently in the decisions. In Germany and Australia, on the other hand, more than half to three quarters of those surveyed are satisfied with the services of the family doctor.

Conclusion: the Swiss feel fit and for the most part are too

The satisfaction of the Swiss with their own health has increased continuously in recent years. It turned out that they only feel subjectively fit and objectively they are not at all. Because almost half have already received confirmation from a doctor that they have a chronic disease. Nevertheless, the number of people who are satisfied with their own health has risen steadily in recent years.

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Lockdown: Lack of exercise threatens the Swiss

Lockdown: Lack of exercise threatens the Swiss

Exit restrictions, work from home and closed fitness studios: Those who do not exercise disciplined themselves should have long since suffered from a lack of exercise. Now the WHO is also warning against permanent too little exercise. This could lead to serious complications.

Exercise up to five hours a week

General recommendations are that adults need between two and a half to five hours of exercise per week, which is already very low. After all, that doesn't even mean an hour of exercise a day! This involves moderate to intense exercise, which includes walking as well as jogging, cycling or swimming.

But the sports facilities that have been closed for so long prevent the regular exercise, which many Swiss felt obliged to do because they? After all, a fitness subscription? had. The lockdown is a welcome excuse and, for many, a real reason for not moving enough. It is even worse for children and adolescents, because they should be active for at least an hour a day. Most of them do not achieve this goal anyway and certainly not at all now, in times of lockdown.

The WHO assumes that around 80 percent of children and adolescents get too little exercise during lockdown, and that it can be even more for adults. Physical activity is crucial for health and wellbeing to occur. This could extend life by a few years, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained. Regular exercise is also the key to preventing further illnesses, especially type 2 diabetes and cancer are mentioned here. Exercise strengthens the immune system, which would ultimately also help in the fight against corona.

Exercise prevents other diseases as well

Sufficient exercise strengthens the body and increases the performance of the lungs and heart. Symptoms such as depression or anxiety can at least be alleviated through exercise. It is not about doing competitive sports, it is enough to be really active. The dog does not take a stroll, but the walk becomes a brisk march. Children romp in the playground or can let off steam on a walk through the great outdoors. Scientists assume that sufficient exercise also promotes memory, so both body and mind are kept on their toes by exercise.

Insufficient statistics available

How little everyone really moves is not yet clear; the effects of the pandemic in this area are still relatively little researched. However, the WHO is already warning that the number of diseases that can be traced back to a lack of exercise could soar. Many people are still forced to work from home. This eliminates the way to work, which could be seen as an additional movement. The normal routines of daily exercise still fall away.

The WHO is now concerned and estimates that the cost of health care for people who become ill due to sedentary lifestyle could reach 45 billion worldwide. In addition, up to five million additional deaths per year could be prevented if people were to exercise more.

Conclusion: Underestimated effects of the pandemic

Most people underestimate the time of the day that they spend sitting. For them, it makes sense to use fitness trackers that specifically show how much the person wearing the tracker has moved during the day. This allows the general daily movement to be measured and the person concerned can see immediately where he needs to improve. Without more exercise, which is so important in Corona times, numerous other diseases can soon occur, which are ultimately also corona-related, even if not caused by the virus.

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Unfair terms and conditions at fitness studios

Unfair terms and conditions at fitness studios

The year 2020 will soon end and the good resolutions are already in the room again. It’s definitely about sport again: The Swiss regularly plan to do more sport. However, fitness studios often not only support the customer's desire to exercise, but work with unfair terms and conditions into their own pockets.

Many studios as black sheep

Consumer advocates have been taking a closer look at Swiss fitness studios for a long time and know that not all terms and conditions are really legal or good. All too often there are complaints about unfair or customer-unfriendly terms and conditions, as the Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) knows.

However, there have been significantly fewer such fitness studios recently, most of them have improved their contractual conditions. But regardless of whether small or large studios, whether those with well-known names or new ones on the market: Many see their own advantage first and put a strain on customers' budget and nerves. Therefore, the following things should be considered when choosing a gym:

    • Contract renews automatically
      Subscription contracts are usually renewed automatically at the end of a contract year. Although this is common, according to the SKS it is not justified if the relevant note is only in the small print of the terms and conditions. Reference should be made explicitly to this form of extension. Good studios at least remind their customers of an upcoming extension, so that sports enthusiasts still have the chance to make use of their right of termination.

    • No termination of the contract in the event of absence
      Anyone who suffers an accident can be excluded from the contract. There are actually studios that do not allow exactly that and maintain the subscription despite a long absence of the customer. However, if you can't train for good reason, you should have the option to terminate the contract. The Well Come Fit fitness center is a negative example here because, according to SKS, it is not possible there to terminate the contract in the event of absence. But the spokeswoman for the gym said that was exactly possible. Apparently, only the terms and conditions are formulated in a misleading manner or they are individual decisions.

    • Liability regulation ambiguous
      Customer-friendly fitness studios should state their liability conditions and clearly state who is responsible for damage in the gym. Fitness centers have to accept liability for damages and cannot reject them in general. A studio that generally excludes liability in its terms and conditions should therefore not be selected as a sports partner. This is very customer-unfriendly behavior. Liability should be accepted even for illegal or grossly negligent behavior.

    • Transfer of subscription not possible
      It is a sensible rule: Your own fitness subscription can be transferred to other people, but this is not possible in all studios. Some fitness studios such as Aura Fitness write in their terms and conditions that the subscription cannot be transferred, but when asked by SKS, they replied that it was possible. Here, too, it seems that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and not general regulations. Not recommended!

Conclusion: When choosing the gym, pay attention to the terms and conditions

The general rule is: if you are looking for a fitness studio, you should definitely pay attention to the terms and conditions. Don't just let a trainer tell you something, even the enthusiastic look into the studio on your first visit doesn't count. The terms and conditions are the measure of all things and regulate the training options and all legal matters. 

The fitness studio should not exclude any liability, and both the transfer of the subscription and the termination of the contract in the event of a longer absence should be possible. In general, it is important that the terms and conditions are customer-friendly and not primarily designed for the benefit of the fitness center. For this, however, a detailed check is necessary in advance.

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Covid-19: Train with a fitness subscription in the studio or stay fit in another way?

Covid-19: Train with a fitness subscription in the studio or stay fit in another way?

The Federal Council has decided that a tougher course should be taken against Corona. Now all fitness enthusiasts have bad luck and uncertainty is spreading: can I still go to the gym?

Current regulations for the gym and indoor swimming pool

Given that the requirements are changing at breakneck speed, it is important to note that the restrictions apply at the time of this writing. Nobody currently knows what will be in the next week! At the moment, however, the gym and indoor swimming pool are still allowed, albeit with restrictions.

This means that only individual people or small groups of up to 15 people are allowed to exercise together indoors. Gymnastics on equipment, Zumba, yoga and weight training are only allowed if a mask is worn and if the prescribed distance from other people is to be observed. Furthermore, the sports room must be well ventilated at all times. The same requirements also apply to practicing water sports.

If you usually meet up for sport in pairs and want to play tennis together, you don't have to do without it. It is important that a mask is worn or that the necessary distance is maintained. The aspect of distance should not be a problem, at least in tennis. Even when ice skating, jogging, cross-country skiing or hiking tours, nobody has to do sports with the mask. These outdoor sports can be practiced very well with the necessary distance. It is therefore advisable to look for at most one training partner and move the training outside, which is not always easy given the approaching winter. Maybe it's worth switching from tennis to cross-country skiing?

What about physical contact sports?

The cuddling course is over and that also applies to sports with physical contact. Football, martial arts or dancing is now forbidden, because all sports in which the necessary distance cannot be maintained are no longer allowed to be practiced. However, if special training sessions take place for these sports, in which, for example, the technique is trained or if it is a one-to-one training session, this is certainly allowed.

The restrictions mentioned for sports with physical contact apply to all adolescents and adults. Children and adolescents up to the age of 16 do not have to adhere to them, they can continue to do their sport. However, no competitions may be held.

Bad luck for everyone who has trained for a championship: grassroots football is particularly suffering from the measures, because championships have to be canceled. Thus, although the appropriate training may take place at least for children and young people, the championship itself will not be held. The committees of the football associations have determined that health protection is paramount. However, what is spoken here is an interruption and not an interruption. This means that practically an early winter break will be taken, the remaining games of the championship will be postponed to the coming spring.

Conclusion: patience is required

At the moment, nobody knows exactly how long the current regulations will apply and how they will affect life in the future. If you don't want to get out of training entirely, you have to do sports alone and ideally outdoors. The new rules are initially set for an indefinite period, but will certainly be tightened if the number of cases does not drop massively soon.

Many fitness studios are at least as accommodating and grant their non-exercising members a fitness break, which is later added to the fitness subscription. Nobody has to pay for unused services and can still use the offers in the studio later.

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Extension of fitness subscriptions due to lockdown

Extension of fitness subscriptions due to lockdown

Many fitness studios are also struggling with the corona lockdown and cannot offer any training. You have extended the subscriptions that are already running for the time of the lockdown. But there are also black sheep.

Is the fitness subscription credited only when it is renewed?

The mindset of gyms that are not acting on behalf of their members is simple. You credit the lockdown time, but not directly to the current subscription. Rather, the credit is only issued when a new fitness subscription is redeemed. This is a significant disadvantage for the customer because he was unable to train during the lockdown. 

The money for the subscription had already been paid, which means that a service that was not provided had to be paid for. The logical conclusion that even good and reputable fitness studios have drawn: They extend the term of the subscription by the time of the lockdown. The black sheep, however, did not proceed in this way and rather let the current subscription expire. Anyone who did not want to extend was thus left empty-handed.

The argument of the fitness studios, which presented themselves as not very customer-friendly, was that they would also suffer from the consequences of the lockdown. By crediting an extended subscription, they wanted to mitigate the economic consequences a little or spread them over a longer period of time. But that is not legal, because this is where the law of obligations applies. 

This right states that a loss is to be reimbursed if a service could not be provided. Various legal experts have commented on this in the past and stated that this would only be different if the general terms and conditions of the fitness studio provided for a correspondingly different regulation. Then it would mean that the full amount would be owed even if the service could not be provided in full. If this formulation was not to be found in the studio's terms and conditions, the procedure for crediting an extended subscription described above is also not permitted.

Few black sheep

According to surveys in Swiss fitness studios, it was found that only a few would act to the disadvantage of their customers. Most would extend the current fitness subscription by the time of the lockdown and would not see any restrictions here. Especially since another idea of a studio violates the Code of Obligations. Only four weeks of the eight-week lockdown were taken into account, which means that half of the services not provided were still calculated.

Still other studios had a completely different idea. They asked their customers whether they would be willing to forego renewing their subscription and thus support the studio. Many customers showed their solidarity and agreed to refrain from requests for an extension. 

Some athletes who belong to the defined risk groups do not want to train again even after the lockdown because they are afraid of infection in the gym. The studios offer that their break can last longer and that the fitness subscription can even be extended by the corresponding time. However, not on mere acceptance, but the customers concerned would have to provide a doctor's certificate showing the assignment to a risk group. Sometimes it is even possible that the break lasts longer if the athlete himself does not belong to a risk group, but if he lives with a person at risk. 

Conclusion: Most fitness studios are accommodating

The lockdown forced athletes to take a break, they could no longer train in the gym. The necessary break was taken into account by the fitness studios on the current subscription, so that this lasted longer. Few black sheep among the providers wanted to offer the extension only if the fitness subscription is extended. 

However, this approach does not correspond to current law and contradicts the law of obligations. The only exception: if a corresponding regulation can be found in the fitness studio's terms and conditions, the extension can be waived due to the lockdown.

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