The Fundamentals of Every Great Gym Design
Designing a great gym is equal parts art and science. It’s a balancing act: without the right mix of equipment, lighting, design elements, and organization, not to mention flow, you’ll end up with a gym that no one wants to use.
To plan a gym or fitness center that is truly great, you have to know who is going to be using it. Who is your ideal audience? What are their fitness goals? What will motivate them, and what are their expectations? If you’re targeting a general population of users, you should make sure you have a variety of equipment types and functional fitness tools, as well as well-planned spaces, that will complement all activity types. If you work with our team to design your fitness space, we will be there for you every step of the way to provide spatial planning, aesthetic recommendations, product selection, and equipment installation to ensure the finished project hits all the right notes!
Let’s dive in. Here are our top recommendations for designing a great gym that will have your users excited to work out.
1. The Right Product & Equipment Mix
A gym is only as good as its equipment. That’s why it’s important to use high-quality, top-of-the-line fitness machines and functional fitness equipment. We recommend incorporating a variety of different products to ensure that every user can achieve a satisfying, full-body workout.
Cardio & Strength by Precor
For many, cardio is the foundation of every good workout. That’s why we outfit our gyms with Precor Cardio Equipment. They have a wide variety of machines available — treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers, and more. The Precor Experience Series is their top-of-the-line offering, and it delivers proven, reliable exercises for users. By mixing and matching from the premium Precor commercial cardio offering, you can perfectly complement any and all gym types — from spacious campus recreation facilities to space-conscious multifamily fitness amenities and everything in between.
Another fundamental component of a well-rounded workout is strength training. Precor Strength offers a variety of different fitness lines, including The Resolute Series, Discovery Series and The Vitality Series. Not only is each line high quality and effective, they are sleek and well thought out — and, like Precor’s cardio equipment, easy to use and perfectly designed to complement any and all spaces. From selectorized strength machines to freeweight benches and power racks, every Precor Strength product in your fitness center will be both beautiful and effective.
The Peloton Bike
Give your exercisers an immersive and interactive workout experience with the Peloton Bike, which we now offer to select commercial markets as an Authorized Distributor. The Peloton Bike’s multi-user software allows for unlimited logins per commercial subscription, so every person who uses your gym can ride to their heart’s content.
Featuring a 21.5” immersive HD touchscreen, dual-sided pedals, and sleek, precision laser-cut carbon steel frame designed from the ground up, the Peloton is a stylish addition to any fitness space. Motivate your gym users with exciting ride-along experiences and get them pumped to start and finish every workout. Request a quote here +
Functional Fitness
We’ve written about it before, but functional fitness has a number of different benefits for users. It allows them to completely customize their workouts based on what’s important to them.
In addition, functional fitness tools are a great option for people recovering from injuries, looking to build strength for the first time, or enhancing their athletic performance. Functional fitness has a number of different benefits, which is why we recommend setting aside a space within your fitness center that’s open and accommodating for different functional fitness workouts.
We outfit our gyms with Escape Fitness Functional Tools and Functional Frames. Accessories like TIYRs, corebags, sandbags, and kettlebells allow for versatility in training while the Escape Fitness Strongbox serves as both a platform for training and a stylish storage option.
Weight Training
Perhaps you’re looking to focus your gym on weight lifting and training, or you’re building a weight room for your school’s athletic team. In that case, we recommend using Power Lift weight equipment. Their strength and conditioning products undergo a rigorous engineering process to ensure they maximize the quality of each and every workout, and their products stand the test of time.
With a wide range of equipment types available, including rack stations, benches, and weight stations, they’re ideal for creating the ultimate weight lifting gym.
2. Flooring, Lighting, & Connectivity
An essential element of gym design is matching the right flooring to the different activities you provide throughout your facility. Ecore Flooring offers a wide range of sustainable, textured flooring types that are perfect for every kind of exercise. Their flooring features rubber, which absorbs shocks and helps prevent slipping — making it ideal for jumping jacks, burpees, and other high-impact motions. It is also durable enough to withstand the impact and friction caused by repetitive exercise movements. Even in a multifamily fitness amenity, where aesthetics are paramount, we can provide beautiful, long-lasting, exercise appropriate flooring from our Ecore product lineup that will prevent the inevitable damage that would occur on traditional hardwood or tile flooring.
Our flooring options are available in a wide variety of different colors and finishes, making it easy to match the style of your other buildings and common spaces as well as your overall aesthetic/brand.
In addition, using the correct lighting is essential to creating an atmosphere within your gym. The right lighting fixtures can absolutely elevate the design of your space! Our team will help you keep the clearance height for each equipment zone in mind to make sure your light fixtures won’t interfere with exercise movements. If you involve us early enough in your design process, we will also advise on all the electrical requirements necessary for your equipment, as well as internet connectivity requirements for interactive and digital fitness equipment.
3. Aesthetics & Branding
No one wants to work out in a plain room with nothing on the walls. When designing a gym, we pay close attention to aesthetics and branding. Our goal is to make it a place that people want to be, where they’ll feel motivated to work out and spend time.
Looking for fitness facility design inspiration? We have a wide-ranging portfolio that incorporates a variety of different branding elements and designs. Plus, many of our fitness products can be custom-branded with your logo and colors — preview some of our branding options and get in touch with us to learn more.
4. Flow & Function
And finally, your gym needs to flow. Every space should have a purpose and be designed for that purpose. There should be different sections or zones set aside for different exercise types.
As we mentioned before, the design should also incorporate different types of flooring to accommodate those different activities, and flooring is a great way to delineate the zones in your facility. For instance, if you have a zone for functional fitness, it should include open space for movement, storage for accessories, and even some turf for training on. Every zone should be organized in such a way that users will know what it’s for, and how to use it.
The best way to ensure your gym flows expertly is to work with an expert. At Advantage Sport & Fitness, we know how to plan a gym or fitness space that’s intuitive for all exercisers. Learn more by reaching out to us today.