Although the weather in the Tri-Cities is wonderful most of the year for fitness enthusiasts, during the winter months it can get chilly, snowy, or blowing, so as is the case for a growing number of Americans, choosing to work out at home is the answer. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, between 2000 and 2006 there was about a 30 percent increase in the number of people who exercised at home, primarily due to aging baby boomers concerned about their health.
Powerlifter Bob Packer converted a two-car garage into a hardcore strength-training gym when he moved into his Clovis, California home. His $20,000 worth of equipment includes an eight-station machine with two weight stacks, 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of free weights, an assisted chin dip, bench press, squat rack and power cage. There also is carpet and a few wall mirrors.
According to Kevin Mulligan, a partner and president of California Builder Image Homes, rooms designed specifically for fitness have become a trend in the last five years. Image Homes offers a 15-by-15 foot bonus room options, which Mulligan says owners typically want to use for a gym or theater. Features such as ballet barres, wall mirrors, electrical outlets closer to the ceiling for wall-mounted televisions and floor plugs for cardio machines are added to the fitness rooms. “Bonus rooms are a huge seller in houses,” Mulligan says, “The gyms are more popular than the theater room. People are into fitness.”
According to the National Association of Home Builders, a third of new and potential home buyers list a home exercise room as essential or desirable; these rank third behind offices and theaters as the most popular special-function room. Anthony Gamber, president of the Fresno Association of Realtors, says bonus rooms bump up the curb appeal of properties because people can choose how to use them.
Henry Rodriquez, owner of Better Body Home Fitness says benefits of a home fitness room include convenience and a controlled environment. “It’s right there. There are no excuses for not working out other than being lazy,’ he says. “You set the air conditioning, the television and the music.”
Family can also be a distraction and they must understand that workout time is sacred. “This is your time. And it has to be a habit, not just something you do as a whim,” he says. Packer has seen about a 20 percent increase in the sale of home fitness equipment over the last five years.
Equipment costs vary depending on durability, warranties and options. It can be as simple as spending $25 for a jump rope and strength-training exercise bands, Rodriquez says. or it can run more than $20,000 for a multi-station weight machine, several pieces of cardio equipment and free weights.
Rodriquez once outfitted a $36,000 room that included top-of-the-line cardio and strength training equipment, chrome dumbbells and orthopedically designed weight bars. The average cost of a good home workout room, with a piece of cardio equipment and a weight machine, is around $2,000, Rodriquez says.
At Busy Body, most equipment is made for residential use. Some is more-durable “commercial quality for residential use.” Prices range from $2000 to $4500 for treadmills; $700 to $2500 for bicycles; $2000 to $45000 for elliptical; and $2000 to $5000 for weight machines.
Packer recommends buying more than one piece of equipment. “Any type of exercise is better than nothing, but the fewer things you have at your convenience the more likely you are to get bored and stop doing it,” he says. “Variety is a good thing when it comes to fitness.”
However, there are several things to consider before buying any equipment. “I always ask the customer: ‘Who? What? Where?’ Rodriquez says, “Who will use the equipment? What is it going to be used for? What are your goals? Are they weight loss, strength training? And where is it going to go? You need to make sure it fits in the space you have.”
So when the sun shines and the temperature is right – exercise outside, take in the fresh air, and enjoy your workout. However, when the Tri-Cities weather takes a turn for the worse and it’s cold, snowy or the dust is flying in the wind, take your workout indoors in your own home gym – just keep on exercising!!