4 Steps to Help You Plan Your Fitness Floor Space
June 22, 2020
An empty building can be a blank template to create a space that makes a difference in your community. This is precisely the case when opening a new fitness facility or renovating a space to fit the needs of a gym. If you’re a new business owner, the task may seem daunting. There are countless elements involved in creating a useable fitness center, from leaving enough aisle space to ensuring gym lighting is neither too bright nor too dark. We’ve spoken with the most knowledgeable vendor representatives in the fitness industry to explain how to plan a floor space for new business owners, or those looking to renovate.
Step 1: Consider your fitness space’s functionality.
It’s crucial to ensure members can make the most of your space by training for specific activities in the areas that will be the best fit for their needs. One example would be for what activity you designate your outdoor space. If you’re lucky enough to have some, this may be the best fit for activities like CrossFit and other HIIT training, where you can provide accessories, rigs, and equipment that may make too much noise indoors. Other examples would be ensuring your free weight, selectorized strength, and cardio areas all have enough aisle space and room between machines.
Step 2: Determine your mix of equipment.
Members in your region may train more in one modality than another or prefer one brand of equipment. Consider the personal training that your facility will offer and the clientele their programs will be targeted toward. Heath Debish, Southeast Regional Manager for Core Health & Fitness, encourages gym owners to ask “Do your trainers have what they need to drive personal training revenue?”
Step 3: Nail down the types of products you want on the floor.
Partnering with an equipment vendor is the most efficient way to ensure your members get the mix of product they need, while receiving educated assistance from an expert you can trust. Consider whether you’d like your pieces customized. Custom equipment will light up your members’ eyes as they feel like part of the vision you’ve created by crafting a cohesive visual tool with your strength, cardio, and indoor cycling equipment choices. Nautilus, the Most Trusted Name in Strength, and Schwinn Indoor Cycling offer full lines of equipment customized to your exact logo colors.
If you’re having trouble envisioning your space, your vendor can create a mock layout for you to display your new facility in 3D, with color and equipment included. Don’t forget to discuss creating a walk through video that you can keep for your grand opening. Displaying this feature as a looping video is an extra touch that illustrates the care and effort you’ve put into building this facility.
Step 4: Bring the whole package together.
To truly wow your members and offer additional value, discuss technology options with your equipment vendor representative. Think about investing in performance tracking software that displays stats in real-time to help your clients stay engaged with their fitness goals. EcoFit technology is available for cardio and strength lines, to gather data on equipment popularity and usage, which revolutionizes the way gym owners make decisions about the equipment in their gym.
Whether you’ve done this before or are just starting out in the fitness industry, you are not alone in building your space into the gym of your dreams. The industry experts at Core Health & Fitness are passionate about bringing your brand to life and readily available to assist with any questions.
