The Hidden Secrets of Fitness Design...

Being a design expert in any area means knowing a lot more than a casual observer. It often means steering your clients in the right direction and making them aware of factors that hadn't been thought of.

 

 

While our 'Design and Build' partners deal with many of these things, when you're working with fitness equipment and designing a fitness space there are a lot of factors that come into the equation that are not present in other areas.  This is why over 700 'Design and Build' Experts make us part of their team.

 

Some of these are supply chain issues or warranty issues. But that's pretty straightforward and easy to understand, and they show up in every facet of the builder's work.  

 

 

The first step is always flooring.  Makes sense, it's the foundation, and you use it every time you walk into the gym.  About a decade ago hard rubber flooring was replaced with stacked rubber flooring which has a lot more give, better-looking options, and a lot more sound absorption. But the old, smelly, stuff still is sold online.  We can also create different looks.
See below, that picture is actually rubber-backed fitness flooring with a woven look, but a soft feel.

 

 

It also means advising and how to create a safer gym or fitness space. There are pieces of equipment that are definitely safer than others. If you have read about injuries from fitness equipment you'll understand that a great many of them come from using free weights improperly. And especially when you add in the usage by teens, this becomes pretty critical.

One area that we end up having a lot more conversations and that people don't expect is in the area of biomechanics. Often what a client requests or remembers as being a favorite piece has been already superseded in the industry. It's often our job to explain how cushioning systems really work on treadmills, or why one generation of a cable machine eclipsed another and they shouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a strength piece that is less effective than newer pieces.

 

But the availability of parts support is something that a lot of people don't even consider.  But since we have our own service department...this comes up a lot down the road.  But we try to have this conversation early with our clients.

 

A deeper level of expertise comes in from all my years of consulting in the industry. Right now, for example, it's looking relatively likely that we're going to be in some sort of trade war with China in the near future, if we are not already in one. I hope not, because I normally have advocated for a more globalist viewpoint, but I think anybody with eyes to see understands getting products or parts specifically from Chinese manufacturers over the next five to 10 years might be problematic. And there are brands of equipment that are made in mainland China. And I am advising my clients about that particular factor.

It's also why we look at the different brands of equipment in terms of where they are in their life cycle. Some brands that were old standards are looking problematic and some online brands that blew up during the Pandemic but are now in trouble.

Another big one is that Radiant Heat and Fitness flooring don't mix.  Newer Fitness flooring is more cushioned and better on the joints, but fitness flooring acts as an insulator.  Also, most online floors cut corners and have a ton of offgassing.  That's a nice way of saying that they smell. So, yes, cheap flooring smells worse and is much harder.

 

So when we're talking about the design of a fitness space, partner with the experts from Connectfit. From turning your basic ideas into blueprints, getting the right equipment and support, and having the expertise to help guide you in the right direction in all different facets of the process, we are indisputably unique.
Set up an appointment to have your space designed now!