The 5 Gym Requirements Every Fitness Space Needs
When designing the ultimate fitness space, it’s important to have all the basic categories included. After all, just like a workout, you want your gym to be well balanced with a good variety of different equipment types, machines, accessories, and training opportunities.
The goal is to design a fitness space that people will want to use, and will keep coming back to, again and again. Whether you’re a property manager adding a gym to your multi-family residence or an HR executive designing the ultimate corporate wellness package, a well-planned gym will have people enthusiastic about being in your space.
No matter your organization’s industry or background, the right fitness space will keep your people engaged and happy. To create a highly effective fitness center, be sure to include these five essential elements.
Cardio
When it comes to cardio, everyone has their preference. That’s why we recommend having a nice mix of different machines and equipment. Treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bicycles, and stair climbers are all great options.
We partner with Precor to supply our projects with top-of-the-line cardio equipment, including The Experience™ Series 600, 700, and 800 lines. Each product is designed for the rigors of commercial facilities and provides effective, comfortable, and engaging workouts.
Strength Training
The bedrock of any effective workout, strength training is an absolute must-have component for any gym. Supply a good variety of different free weights, dumbbells, kettlebells, and other weights so that your exercisers have plenty of options. For more ideas, check out some of these Escape strength accessories.
Adding specialized strength training machines to your gym is also a surefire way to keep your exercisers engaged and coming back. We also partner with Precor to ensure the gyms we design are outfitted with high-quality equipment like the Resolute™ Selectorized Strength Line and the Vitality™ Series.
Functional Fitness Tools
To keep exercisers happy and engaged, you have to make it fun! Functional fitness tools are a very popular way to get a workout in, and they may help you attract new users to your organizations and facilities.
In your organization’s gym or fitness center, we recommend designating a space for these kinds of tools. With functional accessories like corebags, sandbags, steps and risers, tires, and so much more, you can give your exercisers plenty of options for staying engaged and active in your space.
Interactive Equipment
The future is here and it looks like exciting, interactive exercise equipment. Imagine having a personal trainer available to you at the touch of a screen. That’s what tools like the Escape MARS Screen bring to your gym: a library of self-guided exercise videos and fun, pre-loaded workouts.
With interactive fitness equipment like The Expresso Go Bike and The Aviron Rower, you can ride or row along stunning, interactive pathways or enter tiered competitions and games with your fellow competitors without ever leaving the facility. When you supply your gym with innovative entertainment options, you’re ensuring that your guests will never be bored.
Planning & Design for Flow
It’s not enough to simply fill a room with equipment and dumbbells; if there isn’t a cohesive plan in mind for how the space is going to flow, it won’t be an effective exercise space.
In addition to where the equipment is placed, how each workout category flows into the other, and the way in which activities are spaced out, it’s also important to consider the technical requirements. Are there enough outlets? Will the wiring need to be updated?
At ASF, our team knows exactly how to plan out a fitness center to fit the kind of space it’s in. We look directly at architectural renderings and create a floor plan to ensure it is ADA friendly, the materials and electrical work are optimized, and your budget is followed.
Interested in adding a fitness space or onsite gym to your organization? Reach out to us today for more information.