Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness
By Tanyika Lewis. Tanyika Lewis is a freelance writer living in White Marsh, Maryland. In addition to ChesapeakeHome magazine, her work has appeared in various trade and consumer publications.
It’s easy to conjure up alluring reasons to get fit: impressive images of a svelte new body, limitless energy, internal health. However, when it comes to picking up that first weight it’s even easier to conjure up reasons (i.e. excuses) not to. A shared excuse is the lack of time to get to a gym. And in our fast-paced work and activity-driven world, lack of time may just be a legitimate excuse. However, what if leaving home for the gym wasn’t necessary? What if wearing the most attractive attire wasn’t needed? Or how about spending a few bucks once, then never having to pay those never-ending fitness center fees again? Such are the realities of a home gym.
Many homeowners are catching on. Alicia Malinowski, Senior Interior Designer with Model Home Interiors in Columbia, MD, says, “As model home designers, we very often get requests for a home gym.” Usually one out of five model homes they design includes a gym. While the focus is on model home design, requests for these fitness rooms in the home reflect the demands and desires of homeowners.
Model homes may give homeowners creative ideas to inspire a home gym innovation of their own, but many homeowners opt to work with interior designers or architects to craft their desired fitness room. Randy Davis-Ahmann, Principal and Architect with Ahmann Architects in University Park, MD, says, “We specialize in residential construction because we like working with private homeowners. Every project is different.” Davis-Ahmann approaches a project by meeting with homeowners and determining what needs they have for improving their home. “What are they trying to accomplish?”
Davis-Ahmann says homeowners’ desires may stretch from wanting a place for yoga or pilates, to accommodating space for a treadmill, stepper, and exercise bike. More extreme desires may include home spas or even a kickboxing studio.
For a current project, Ahmann Architects is designing a two-level fitness area in a home. “The husband and wife have different workout routines. The wife is very dedicated to kickboxing. She wanted a space where she could practice that,” Davis-Ahmann says. To accommodate her, Ahmann Architects incorporated a 60’x 25’ kickboxing studio on the lower level of the home gym. The upper level of the gym is for cardio equipment, weights, and universal equipment.
“At the beginning of the project, we took inventory of the equipment they had, discussed what additional equipment they might want to add, and what other things they might want to have in the room,” Davis-Ahmann recalls. Considerations for add-ins included a vending machine for juice and water, a mini refrigerator and a juice bar.
Adjacent to the exercise studio is a home spa, incorporating a whirlpool and a space for changing. “It’s a very nice room that they can accommodate guests working out,” Davis-Ahmann says.
Planning and Design
Often, a homeowner wanting a home gym will look at the basement. According to Davis-Ahmann, “The first thing with any basement is to see what the ceiling height is. Especially with a home gym you want to know if there is anything projecting from the ceiling. What can we do to create the sense of height where in the initial ceiling there might not be much there?” To accomplish this she looks at the different parts of the workout and various forms of equipment to see where ceiling height can be created and where it isn’t needed.
David Rew, Store and Operations Manager of York Barbell Total Fitness in Timonium, MD, says, “Sometimes people will come in with blue prints of the room they want to make into a gym and we’ll give them a couple of ideas. For example, based on their space we’ll say this would be a good place for the treadmill, this would be a good place to put the gym, and any other type of area like a cardio area, and an abdominal or stretching area.”
Many homeowners want both a cardiovascular workout and a strength-training workout. For cardio, Rew says, “Treadmills are always the most popular piece of equipment [because] walking is a form of exercise people do everyday.” An item that is not as common is the rower; however, according to Rew it is “one of the best pieces of equipment out in the entire fitness industry.” The rower is cardio and strength training all in one.
For strength training, the most popular item is the universal system, also referred to as a home gym or stacked weight system. “People [needing a home gym] don’t have an hour to go work out at a gym. They are looking for something that’s nice, simple and basic, and allows them to do everything they want in about 25-30 minutes,” Rew says. A universal system does not require the user to change weight plates. Instead, weight is changed by placing a pin in the desired amount of weight. “Most importantly,” Rew points out, “with free weights, if you don’t have a spotter you run into trouble.” With a universal system, “if you are fatigued or can’t get the last repetition all you have to do is let the arm go back and there is nothing that can crash on you. It will crash upon the system instead.” This is ideal for homeowners working out at home alone.
Other planning considerations include space for a sound system and space for a television. “Often [homeowners] want an area where they can put on tapes,” says Davis-Ahmann. For a large space homeowners may be interested in several televisions. She suggests several small televisions and maybe a place where a very large flat screen is featured.
Proper heating and cooling is also important. “You don’t want a place that’s going to get too hot when you’re working out,” Davis-Ahmann says.
Homeowners may also want the option of having privacy. Davis-Ahmann says, “We look at where the windows are, where it’s advantageous to have a view and where you might not want to have a view.” For example, for those that may opt for a home sauna, Davis-Ahmann would discuss what their “living process” is to handle screening issues. “Do they have friends over? How much privacy will they need versus how many windows they’d like. How much do they want to be connected to the outdoors?”
Floor Support
If the homeowner’s gym is all new construction, the home can be designed to easily accommodate the weight loads on any level. In the two-level home gym currently being designed by Ahmann Architects, the weight room is on an upper level. Davis-Ahmann says the floor “is designed for the different structural loads. We get a sense of the kind of equipment and how much in terms of weight.” The flooring is then built to be able to sustain the weight.
However, it’s more typical for the homeowner to request a basement gym. This is better “not only for the ability of the house to take the load, but also for sound transmission,” says Davis-Ahmann. “When there is a lot of weight on an upper level, if the house isn’t designed for it, the sound is going to reverberate throughout the entire house. It’s nice to be able to work out and not worry about disturbing other people.”
Décor
According to Davis-Ahmann, it’s important to know what the homeowners’ idea of the space is. Should the space be serene? Lively? “One owner had an image of his exercise studio being like a casino. So any time of day he’d go in and have a very awake feeling,” she says. In one project, Ahmann Architects placed mirrors along certain walls, used indirect lighting and did a very large graphic that “was reflected in the mirror and gave a pop of color.”
“Changing the flooring material also gives an opportunity to dress up a room,” Davis-Ahmann says. One suggestion she makes is to have colored linoleum tile and transition into carpet. Malinowski commonly uses hardwood to dress the floor of a home gym, or she may install a rubber floor for impact.
Both Davis-Ahmann and Malinowski regularly use mirrors, which are important for checking form while working out.
Added touches used by Davis-Ahmann include decoratively displayed towel storage and the incorporation of a laundry den. “In the two-level home gym we are working on there’s going to be a roll-out laundry hamper in the spa bathroom that pushes into the wall to collect the towels. It can then be rolled out and taken to the laundry room.”
Lighting
“Make sure lighting is working for you, not against you,” advises Davis-Ahmann. The lighting must be comfortable and not add too much heat to the space. Indirect lighting is commonly used by Ahmann Architects, as is fluorescent lighting because it saves energy and is cooler.
Davis-Ahmann says a mixture of lighting is needed, “not only to set the mood, but also for the task of lighting.” She adds that while it may not always be possible, natural light is always good. “It makes the space more soothing. It gives you the option of not having to turn on the light.”
A home gym is not only a convenient route to working out in our hasty society, but it can also be a soothing, yet energizing, home retreat. Homeowners can add something to look forward to at home, while erasing excuses not to work out.
Small Spaces
Some homeowners have space enough to accommodate a workout area of any size. Such is the case with the two-level project currently under way by Ahmann Architects. Not only will the homeowners have a two-level home gym, they already have other recreational areas in their house such as a two-lane bowling alley and an enclosed ice hockey rink that converts into a tennis/basketball court.
However, for some homeowners, such as those in urban or condo settings, space is at a premium.
These owners can easily get away with creating a workout space without utilizing the services of an architect or interior designer. Davis-Ahmann suggests doing an easy renovation by painting, putting down carpet, adding lights and putting in a few pieces of equipment. If taking on a renovation project alone, she warns, “Make sure you have legal head height. Different building codes have different requirements for height of space for a habitable room.”
Workout equipment that can easily adapt to a small space includes foldable mats, tension bands, jump ropes and Swiss balls. Folding treadmills and Power Block dumbbells are also compact equipment that will give a great workout, and then easily store away.
Contacts:
Model Home Interiors:
Alicia Malinowski: (301) 937-6145
York Barbell Total Fitness:
David Rew or John Terpak: (410) 308-9292
Ahmann Architects:
Randy Davis-Ahmann: (301) 864-1334
| Photo Gallery Click photo to enlarge |
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Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness |
Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness |
Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness |
Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness |
Photo courtesy of York Barbell Total Fitness |
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