After the holidays, many people make a New Year’s resolution to get in shape, resume a healthy diet and shed those seasonal pounds. But is a gym membership in your budget? Or, do you already have an exercise room in your home that you’re hoping to reinvigorate and return to good use? Either way, home gyms can be a great way to save money while staying healthy.
Sticking to a workout plan can be challenging, so give yourself a leg up by providing yourself with a space that’s enjoyable to exercise in, efficient and well modeled.
Flooring
When choosing flooring for a room, you should always think about the type and amount of traffic it will endure. In gyms, foot traffic is heavy and harsh – lots of pounding, jumping and running around. In home exercise rooms, you’ll also want supportive and easy-to-clean flooring. Consider rubber or interlocking foam tiles.
Ventilation
Gyms can be smelly places. When you exercise, sweat and get hot, you want to be in a cool, well-ventilated space. You can improve the airflow and temperature in your home gym various ways. Take the DIY route and use air purifiers and fans, or ensure optimal comfort and climate control by speaking with your contractor about a built-in heating, cooling and air quality control system.
Lighting
Most gyms suffer in the light department, illuminated by common, fluorescent bulbs. But in your home exercise room, your options to customize lighting are endless. Utilize large windows and skylights to take advantage of natural light. If you plan to watch TV while on your treadmill, consider using dimmers to control the level of light and darkness in the room.
Do you plan on doing yoga, Pilates or other forms of more meditative exercise in your home gym? If so, customized lighting that will achieve a certain ambience may be best for you.
Water
Whether it’s washing your hands after using the elliptical or filling up your water bottle before spin class, having readily accessible and potable water in a gym is both necessary and convenient. Also, if you schedule extended workouts, having a restroom nearby is important.
Power
How much power do you need for your home gym? In addition to outlets for exercise equipment, do you plan on watching television or listening to music? Be sure you have enough circuitry to support the amount of current that will be needed to run all your devices.
Lastly, try to make changes to your exercise space that are multi-purpose because not every homeowner needs or wants a home gym. If you remove the free weights and stationary bike, can the room be used for another purpose?
For more ideas on renovating a home gym or transforming an area of your home into a designated workout space, speak with an experienced design and contracting company. Contact Glazer Design and Construction at 404.683.9848, email Randy@GlazerConstruction.com or complete our Fast Form below.