Step up to a home gym in Bay Village

It’s a convenient option to commercial sites

Belonging to a commercial gym or rec center has a wide range of benefits—plenty of space and machines, as well as motivation from other members—but you can’t beat a home gym for the closest workout center you can find. No travel time, membership fees and other issues that might crowd out your number of sessions each week.

Step up to a home gym in Bay Village or other communities by initially finding a space in your home—a spare bedroom, office, garage or basement are all good candidates. If those options are out of the question, and you still want somewhere to work out at home, you may be able to use a portion of a room.

The average bedroom is about 11 by 12 feet and provides 132 square feet of space for a home gym. That would allow for a treadmill (30 square feet), single-station gym (35 square feet), free weights (20 or so square feet) and perhaps a stationary bike (10 square feet). Those measurements are recommendations from the American Council on Exercise.

A smaller space would require you to eliminate one of the stations or more in your design. A larger space would give room for a rowing machine (20 square feet) or ski machine (25 square feet).

While you may not be aware of it, your workout space should have a good fitness feng shui. This is a Chinese belief that people benefit from harmonizing the energy forces with their surrounding environment. A light and spacious atmosphere should help boost your energy during exercising. Long, narrow spaces are to be avoided, as is clutter, which unsettles the energy.

These ideas may be more belief than proven principles, but for instance, they also contribute to good design practices.

Recessed lighting or lamps that use soft white bulbs are good choices. Live plants can also help boost oxygen levels. Spider plants, bamboo palms and ferns help purify the air.

Flooring should be stable but also offer cushioning. There are many options:  interlocking or roll rubber, foam, carpet, turf or soft PVC vinyl tile. Traditional home flooring is hard and can simply crack under the pressure of dropped weights. Something with a little “give” in it will help your joints as well. Rubber generally tops the list for versatility and durability.

Rubber and artificial turf are usually more expensive than carpet, vinyl or foam. Speaking of rubber, thick rubber mats are also an option if you don’t need the entire space covered.

Large mirrors will make the home gym appear larger. In addition, they will reflect the light in the room, whether it be natural or artificial, and they let you monitor at a glance if you’re keeping the correct posture during exercise routines.

Storage space is a concern if you need somewhere to put weights, jump ropes, resistance bands and stability balls. A coat closet easily may be converted so it offers shelving space. Other storage options are easily constructed; corner shelves are popular.

If you’re building a basement workout room, a glass wall partition can be utilized to keep the gym separated from the rest of the area, visually connecting the spaces while giving the gym a degree of privacy yet maintaining the spaces physically separate.

Basement ventilation is a priority. You’ll be working up a sweat down there, so make sure your basement has a proper HVAC system. If your basement is not climate-controlled, consider overhead fans to circulate air or free-standing fans for low ceiling basements.

Also think about soundproofing your walls. Workouts usually involve a lot of noise, from the loud music to the clink and clank of exercise equipment being used—which may disturb others in your household. Fabric-covered, soundproof panels will absorb the majority of the noise. Some are mold- and mildew-resistant, which makes them a bonus for a basement.

Bear in mind that your home gym more than likely will evolve over time. You may start with the basics and move up when you need. You might start out with a sound system to exercise to music, and later expand to an audio/visual system to watch workout tapes.

That makes is important to install sufficient electrical wiring and outlets for future expansion. Power strips add to the clutter, so before partitions are installed or walls taken out, it’s a great idea to upgrade the electrical situation.

When the time is right to step up to a home gym in Bay Village, or other communities, call the design and construction experts at Sciarappa Construction. By calling (440) 930-2882 or by emailing us at info@sciarappaconstruction.com, you can start to make your plans come true. We are located at 32961 Oak Pkwy., Avon Lake, OH 44012, and have more than 40 years of combined experience in remodeling within the Bay Village, Avon, Avon Lake, and Greater Cleveland, Ohio areas.

Sciarappa Construction, a family-owned and operated full-service construction company, offers services including new home construction, subdivision, development, apartment, and existing home and commercial rehab, plus general contracting and construction management.

Website: https://sciarappaconstruction.com.

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