The
most popular amenity by far in apartment communities—whether co-op,
condo, or rental—is a gym. Even in small buildings, where space for
extras is at a premium, boards look for ways to add a fitness room
somewhere, anywhere, they can wedge it in. With new technology and
design solutions, creating an efficient space to exercise might be
easier than you think.

The
Cutting Edge in Gyms

Gail
Hamilton, executive director at ProFIT, a national fitness space
management firm based in New York City, says technology is the
driving force in in-building gym design and management today. “The
trend is toward computerized metrics with other exercisers,” says
Hamilton. “Systems like the Peloton bike: you ‘game’ yourself
against other users and the instructor. ‘Babysitting’ abilities
like Netflix and Dora are popular, too. Other amenities like being
able to go online when you’re working out to check email are not
going away. Today’s users have grown up with technology. They need
and use it while exercising. This new interactive technology makes
regular TV in a gym obsolete. Today’s users want live-stream, no
channel flipping. And they want it with live feed showing how many
calories they’re burning at the same time. Basically, they want
what they want when they want it, and that’s what we try to give
them.”

“Cardio
is still king,” says Hamilton of what most users look for in a gym.
That means lots of treadmills, bicycles, and something called “the
Mirror”—basically a giant smart-touch device that affixes to a
wall and lets users customize and interact with their fitness
training. As concerns interactive bikes like Peloton, Hamilton
explains that the company will no longer sell its product to
multifamily buildings, as they believe it cuts into their individual
unit sales. However, the Mirror will, and so will Echelon—Peloton’s
main competitor and manufacturer of a product akin to the Mirror called
Reflect. Hamilton reports that they are putting this equipment in
middle-market buildings as well as high-end properties.

Design
Considerations