Gone are the days of a treadmill taking center stage in the family room. Or a bulky weight stack being squeezed into a corner in the master bedroom. Today, more and more homeowners are designing complete fitness rooms as an important feature in their homes.
For many, it’s a natural progression from the active lifestyle they enjoy in the Park City area. For them, the convenience of exercising on their own schedules, in the privacy of their own homes far outweighs the benefits of a club membership. Some of these fitness rooms are small, efficiently designed spaces that allow a complete workout. Others are almost spa-like in their amenities, as featured in the SKI Dream Home - A Resorts West Property (www.resortswest.com).
“It’s all about matching people to the right pieces of equipment to accomplish their goals,” says Jon Trane, General Manager of Utah Home Fitness (www.utahhomefitness.net). He’ll be the first to tell you that plenty of people have put exercise equipment in their homes, only to see them collecting dust a few months later. But how much you use a home gym boils down to two things. First, the old adage “You get what you pay for.” Inexpensive equipment is often noisy, doesn’t last, and can lead to discomfort. Second, you have to be realistic with goals. If they’re set too high, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up. He also emphasized the importance of variety. “No one wants to do the same thing over and over. You have to have enough variety that you don’t get bored.”
He recommends homeowners consider three different types of equipment for their exercise rooms: something for cardio like a bike, elliptical, or treadmill; something for strength training like free weights, cable gym, or multi-function gym; and something for balance and core like a stability ball or Bosu ball.
Gardie Jackson, owner of Elevation Personal Training (www.parkcityelevation.com), emphasizes that space is often at a premium when designing a home gym. “If you’re using a piece of equipment that only does one thing, it takes up a lot of space and may not be as effective,” he explains. I like to focus on exercises that can be done with less equipment. It’s about going back to basics, using your imagination and getting more out of a space.” For Gardie, that means using more dynamic strength training equipment like kettle bells, stability balls, and cables. These create a sense of proprioception, or being able to perform a movement and having body know what it’s doing in space. He also recommends a dumbbell rack (from 2.5 pounds to 30 pounds), and some type of cardio equipment. “Spin bikes are popular, but I always recommend they look at a CompuTrainer which hooks to the rear wheel of their bike, and gives them over 200 workouts. They can hook up a flat screen TV and see themselves on a ride, and even have friends bring their bikes over and ride together. It’s great for motivation, “ he explains.
Treadmills, recumbent bikes, rowers and elliptical machines are also popular cardio pieces in a home fitness room. Rubber resistance bands, yoga mats and pilates reformers are finding their places in these rooms as well. Fortunately, now that fitness equipment has a more prominent place in the home, the pieces are getting better looking. They’re not only smaller and more compact; many are available in a wider range of softer, more neutral colors that blend better into home decor.
So how does one blend a basketball or racquetball court into a home? A new trend is to build them underground. Kevin Masson, with Spancrete Hollowcore sales at Owell Precast (www.owellprecast.com), cited one project in Deer Valley that has a racquetball court on the bottom floor, a bowling alley on top of that, and the garage on top of that. “Our concrete panels act as the garage floor, and bridge two foundation walls. There’s no fancy engineering, yet it’s strong enough to support the cars above,” he explained. Another benefit of building a home gym underground and surrounding it with concrete is that the noise won’t transfer to the house.
As fitness rooms are coming home, so are personal trainers. “Once they have all the equipment, they need someone to show them how to use it effectively. I always stress having a trainer there. At least to set up a healthy fitness program. But also for motivating them to do the stuff that’s tough,” says Gardie Jackson. Jon Trane agrees, adding, “A personal trainer is like the scale at Weight Watchers. A trainer keeps you motivated and helps track what you’re doing for results.” Another great way to stay motivated they say is to install a nice TV and stereo system in your exercise room. After all, the more inviting the room, the more time you’ll want to spend in it.
