For gym owners and fitness managers, creating an inviting and motivating space for members is a top priority. That’s why so many turn to Opti-Fit for their gym design and equipment needs. At Opti-Fit, we are dedicated to creating spaces that are engaging and motivating for both beginners and experienced gymgoers. Let’s discuss how our designs can help optimize your gym space.

Unique Gym Design Solutions
The team at Opti-Fit understands the importance of making your gym space stand out from the competition, which is why our designs come in an array of colors, patterns, sizes, and shapes to fit any aesthetic. We believe in customization; no two gyms should look the same! Our designs are also made with ergonomics in mind—each piece of equipment is designed with comfortability in mind so that users feel comfortable while working out.

We understand that not all gyms have the same budget constraints when it comes to equipping their gyms; that’s why our team can work within any price range to provide the best solutions possible. We never sacrifice quality—no matter what the budget—so you can be sure you’re getting value for your dollar.

Functionality & Safety First
In addition to aesthetics, safety is also a key priority of ours when designing a new gym space or updating existing equipment. All of our designs are tested for safety before they reach your floor—we check for wear-and-tear on pieces such as bolts and screws that could lead to potential accidents or injuries down the road. We also have strict guidelines when it comes to testing our equipment for functionality; each piece must pass rigorous functionality tests before being released into production. This means we can guarantee you will have reliable machines that will last for years to come!

At Opti-Fit, we understand the importance of having a safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing gym environment that encourages people to stay active and motivated throughout their fitness journey. With our unique design solutions coupled with stringent safety standards, we can create customized spaces tailored specifically towards your individual needs—on any budget! Whether you’re looking to completely overhaul your existing gym or just make some minor improvements here and there—Opti-Fit has got you covered! Contact us today to get started on optimizing your gym space.

The demand for multi-housing buildings is rising as more people seek the convenience and perks that come with apartment buildings. More importantly, residents are on the hunt for apartment communities that improve the quality of their lives. Even with the rise of multi-use home gym equipment, renters want multifamily units with fitness centers. Here are several reasons why developers should include fitness centers in their apartment complexes.

Multi-Housing Units for Health and Wellness

Modern renters are sensitive to their homes and how they influence their wellness. According to the 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Associates Apartment Resident Preferences Report, renters consider three main components- environment, sustainability, and fitness.

In terms of fitness, renters want:

• Pools: 84.6%
• Fitness centers: 83.9%
• Basketball courts: 46.1%

Residents also prefer the following fitness offerings in their fitness centers.

• Exercise machines: 83.9%
• Free weights: 78.7%
• Weight machines: 70.9%
• TRX equipment: 45.0%
• Crossfit equipment: 44.8%
• Yoga: 40.0%
• Fitness classes: 38.8%

High-End Residential Buildings Offer Fitness Center Access

As the demand for high-end apartment communities increases, more developers are including several shared amenities in their designs. An overwhelming 92% of new apartment buildings in 2019 had a fitness facility or gym to meet market demands. In the previous decade, 90% of new apartment buildings had gyms, contributing to more than two-thirds of apartment buildings with fitness facilities.

More apartment renters now prioritize fitness centers and wellness as they select homes. According to a 2017 report by the National Apartment Association, 46% of residents were ready to pay a premium to access fitness classes, while 42% would pay top-dollar for walking trails and tracks.

In response, developers have found ways to upgrade their multi-housing units to attract residents. For example, between 2014 and 2017, 12,574 upgraded or added fitness centers to their units. In addition, 8,492 added swimming pools.

The Cost of Renting a Multi-Housing Unit

Onsite fitness facilities don’t come free or cheap. On average, it costs approximately $1,473 to rent an apartment. However, if the unit comes with a gym, it costs roughly $1,530, a $57 difference. The cost is considerably lower than renting an offsite gym, which can cost at least $10 more per month.

In addition, renters don’t have to incur the cost of movement to and from the gym, which is a relief for gym users that prefer to avoid traffic, driving, and the time spent moving to the gym location.

However, while there are cost and time savings, it’s crucial to consider the gym quality. Some multi-housing units offer basic gyms with cardio and lifting equipment. However, some facilities have the latest smart equipment, fitness trainers, classes, pools, and spas. High-end facilities ultimately cost more.

Fitness Facility Use

Ultimately, one main question for developers and landlords comes into play: will renters use the fitness facilities? Many people often have the intention to exercise, especially when they see a fitness facility on site. However, the intention doesn’t always transfer into behavior.

While developers need to provide fitness facilities for renters, they also have to make it easy for renters to use the facilities. For example, not hiding the fitness facility behind the building is crucial. Instead, the fitness facility should be in an open, easy-to-see, and access location.

The exterior and interior should also be attractive to inspire renters to pay and use the facilities. Naturally, developers will want to keep the costs low but reasonable. One way to do this is to find low maintenance facilities, low-cost to run and attractive to renters.

For example, hot pools and spas consume costly power and require regular cleaning. However, smart gym equipment may be cheaper to operate as long as users can switch them on and off to conserve power.

To learn more about fitness centers in multi-housing complexes, contact an Opti-Fit representative in your area.

The health and fitness club industry is seeing exponential growth across all areas- from the number of fitness facilities to the revenue generated and consumer growth. In a report published by Statistica, the global health and fitness club industry was worth over $ 87 billion in 2017, up from $67 billion in 2009. Similarly, the number of fitness center memberships will continue rising. This upward trajectory is set to carry on as more consumers place value on their well-being, which means fitness investments will keep booming. However, facilities designed with the user in mind will enjoy a larger market share and client satisfaction and retention.

Investing in a professional design before setting up your fitness facility is one of the most effective ways to ensure high usage and efficient traffic flow. Read ahead to learn exactly how a great design contributes to the success of your fitness facility.

Visualize your project in 2D and 3D

Creating an ideal fitness training space requires you to work with professionals who can turn your vision into reality. It all starts with creating top-down 2D and 3D designs that simulate your complete project. This allows you to visualize how the facility will look like before embarking on the actual construction and equipment ordering. At this stage, you can redesign or make changes to the existing layout until it meets your requirements. With high-quality 2D and 3D designs in place, you’ll have an easier time executing your plan.

Use space efficiently and improve client flow

It is vital for fitness facilities to maintain a clear, well-structured, and organized space. Professional design ensures proper use of space such that users are comfortable and have plenty of room for training. In an ideal design, all unnecessary items such as cupboards are moved to provide more floor space. The available space is then creatively used for essentials such as storage and wipes, water coolers, weight racks, and other vital accessories and equipment.

Good designs also take into account how typical workout routines function. With this in mind, you can arrange training equipment and accessories in a way that facilitates most activities, thus making it easier for users to move through their workout sessions. The bottom line is setting up the facility in a way that feels less cluttered so that users can freely move around while avoiding lines forming at certain equipment.

Determine where to place equipment

Getting the most out of your available space is all about considering how the facility’s design impacts user experience. For this reason, ease of use and accessibility should always be the hallmark when laying out the equipment. A good idea would be categorizing equipment by type – such that specific sections of the facility are dedicated to weightlifting, cardio exercising, group training, mobility/stretching, or any other kind of workout. It makes sense if all cardio machines are placed together or if dumbbells are kept close to the free weight machines. This demonstrates how investing in a professional design for your project can help create the ideal training environment- safe, comfortable, high-performing, and motivating.

Electrical and WiFi needs

Modern fitness facilities have now stepped up their game from the traditional “warehouse feel” to designing for user satisfaction. One such trend is the increased adoption of self-powered training equipment, which is great for the logistics and overall safety of the users. Despite these advancements, electrical needs are still required in most fitness centers. While most gym owners tend to overlook this point in their planning stage, a professional design will take into account all mechanical, electrical, and internetrequirements. This includes planning power outlets for your training equipment, WiFi, visuals, audio, and any other accessories that require power within the facility.

Is your equipment meeting ADA requirements?

A fundamental requirement for all fitness training centers is to remove all barriers that may limit accessibility by people with disabilities. ADA compliance in a fitness facility covers all structural domains like parking, exterior entrances, elevators, doors, bathrooms, locker rooms, customer service desk, accessibility around training equipment, and all building accessories. Professional designs take into account ADA guidelines and standards for fitness facilities pertaining to equipment set-up and installation. Adhering to these regulations is a way of helping safeguarding your facility against future liability.

Summing it up

Investing in a professional design will have much positive impact on your fitness facility.  If people are satisfied with the space they are in, there’s a much better chance for them to stick to their exercise routines. This will lead to the advancement of the facility’s overall status and higher client retention, thus helping your business achieve continuous growth and success.

In days of yore, all you needed to amp up your fitness was a wooly mammoth to run away from. Exercise was a part of daily life for hunters and gatherers, so hominids didn’t need kettlebells to carve out their abs. Nor did the Ancient Greeks—they acquired their biceps in the military centuries before the first book about physical pursuits was written by Cristobel Mendez. The fitness industry as we know it today began when a muscle-bound guru named Macfadden invented the first wall-mounted “muscle developers.” In the disco era, jogging and jazzercise were trends du jour.  If the burgeoning gym sector could make exercise fun, surely the entire world would join the dance party. Exercise trends are wont to pass, so as the Nineties dawned in all their pleather splendor, fitness centers were revolutionized yet again.

Training in the Eighties

Stair masters, elliptical cross trainers, and exercise bikes targeted muscle groups with razor-like precision. In those days, aerobic fitness and strength training were divided by a giant fitness center wall, and ne’er the two could meet. The approach was as inefficient as it was time-consuming, and gym brands only muddied the waters by designing increasingly complicated machines. If an exercise machine could play movies, count burned calories, and butter your morning toast, the industry sold it.

With time comes education. The more scientific understanding the fitness industry has gained, the better it’s become at toning wobbly bodies. Before 2010 dawned, centers focused on five areas:

• Obesity management
• Fitness for aging baby boomers
• Functional fitness that prepared the body for everyday activities
• Core training

These approaches were supposed to be a shortcut to larger muscles, but as the years progressed, scientists discovered that short, intense bouts of movement could target both long and short-term endurance. Fitness fiends could cut their workouts in half without suffering any negative effects. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) revolutionized the modern-day fitness center. Even Olympic athletes were doing it. Studies show that high intensity bursts increased power output by almost 10% while improving movement efficiency.

As HIIT entered public consciousness, the industry sought out inventive ways to pack power into their workouts. Wearable technology was an obvious solution. Tabata training followed closely behind, so pylo boxes became a requisite inclusion in every athletic training center.  Pylo power caught on fast, giving trainers the variety they needed to tone their bodies holistically. Add body weights, box jumps, and split squats, and you’re well on your way to fitness freedom. Pylometric boxes turn the body into a weight, allowing trainers to combine aerobic and strength training in a higher intensity workout. The higher the equipment, the harsher the training. The simplicity of it is elegant, but you can’t achieve stability with a pylo box alone.

The Emergence of the Athletic Training

Unlike Jazzercise, HIIT couldn’t be limited to one room at the back of the gym. It required too much space and had too many enthusiasts for that, so the fitness center of yesteryear transformed into an athletic training center replete with high-tech flooring and every pylo box design you could dream up. The sheer intensity of HIIT demanded a new approach to turf. Non-slip surfaces aren’t enough because the design of the surface determines the kind of strength and endurance achieved. Pylometric training on a firm surface reduces muscle soreness and even damage, but accidents must be reduced as well. Today’s centers must improve explosive power via the most effective surface, and a gym mat simply won’t do anymore. Opti-Fit approaches HIIT as an artform, carrying fitness into a distant future years ahead of its time.

For more information on designing todays fitness centers, contact one of Opti-Fit’s fitness professionals.

There are pros and cons to running a fitness center on a multi-housing property. The advantages can allow you to bring in more revenue, and the disadvantages can cost you. Are your cost benefits for that fitness center balanced in your favor?

Pros

Tenants will pay higher rent to live in a building with a gym.

Tenants love to think that they have the opportunity to better themselves even if they never do and will pay up to live in a place that has a fitness center.

Enhanced Community Experience

You can enhance the community living experience by offering group classes, weight loss clinics, new equipment from time to time, and other incentives at your fitness center.

Cons

Cost

You mainly have the cost to create and keep up the facility. If you do not put the fitness center together properly or you fail to keep up with maintenance, you could face liability costs as well.

Liability Costs

As far as liability is concerned, you will want to see what your current liability insurance will cover. What exculpatory clauses are in your rental agreement and what exactly do they cover? Have you listed an indemnification agreement often called a hold harmless agreement that extends to the gym in you lease as well?

If you have these in place, your extra liability costs to run a fitness center will remain only the cost you pay to your insurer for liability insurance; AS LONG AS you design the center properly and keep the center in good working order. If a tenant or guest gets sick or hurts themselves, and it is a result of your negligence, you do risk a lawsuit.

Before adding a fitness center to your multi-housing facility, talk to a lawyer about your current lease agreement, and if it needs to be amended. Look for qualified fitness center design services to build the safest and easiest to upkeep gym possible.

Opti-Fit can help you design a safe and clean gym that your tenants will love, and do it on budget. We also offer equipment servicing and will help you plan and replane as new equipment is released and trends come about. Visit the Opti-Fit website today for more information.

Do you often find your housing community gym dark and empty? It may be time to mix things up to re-establish interest in your multi-housing fitness center. And one of the best ways to do that is by incorporating small group training classes into your mix of local activities.

In this guide, we’ll talk about a few of the benefits and types of this unique style that can be used for everything from strength training to basic cardio. Learn more about just how engaging it can be for your tenants.

Two Benefits of Small Group Training

1. More Personal Instruction

Although it’s a class setting, small group training provides the opportunity for teachers to instruct students on movement types and correct them on any mistakes they may be making. The more people in a class, the more difficult it can be for an instructor to monitor how everyone is doing. In a more focused group of individuals, attendees are more likely to get a quality workout experience that is more catered to their needs.

2. Establish a Friendly & Motivating Atmosphere

Smaller classes offer the chance for people to make new friends and develop relationships. As those friendships grow, members of the class will begin to motivate one another to work harder, attend every session, and reach their fitness goals.

Some Types of Small Group Training

CrossFit

This type of workout has a cult-like following of people who strive to complete a number of various movements or workouts within a specified amount of time. It is usually a high-intensity strength training exercise that includes everything from pull-ups and push-ups to squats and weightlifting. Due to its rotating nature, CrossFit can be done with everything from used fitness equipment to brand new exercise machines.

Indoor Cycling

Also known as “spin class”, this is one of the most popular types of small group training. An instructor leads individuals on stationary bicycles changing up the pace, incline, and intensity every few minutes. They can be highly motivating and stand as a great form of cardio for people of all skill levels.

Treadmill

While walking or running on a treadmill may seem like something you would do on your own, there is new commercial gym equipment available like the T5xGT Group Training Treadmill which has multiple features designed for a group setting. Class members can set their own goals and take part in challenges via the innovative LED console. Users can log in to the machine, complete their workout, and share the accomplish straight to their social media feed.

Need Help Boosting Your Community Gym?

If you’re struggling to get people into your multi-housing fitness center, offering a few small group training classes can be a great way to increase engagement and interest. Along with these fun sessions, consider adding new commercial gym equipment to upgrade any of your outdated or broken down equipment.

For more information about the benefits of a functional community gym or for details about our great products, be sure to check out our blog!

You have a fitness center and some of the best gym equipment around. The electrician has come to install everything correctly, and you think you are all set to go. Have you thought about the fitness center design and the concern of people injuring themselves?

Planning a multi-family fitness center on your own is a big job. You will want to be sure to have all of your ducks in a row. If you are building a multi-housing fitness center, here are some tips to follow when planning out your multi-family gym.

Fitness Equipment

When it comes to choosing the fitness equipment for your new fitness center you are going to have to take a few things into consideration. First, you will want to think about how many people will be attending your gym during busy hours.

One way to get a handle on this is to check out other residential fitness centers in the area during the morning and the evening. You can get an idea of what your clientele load will look like by comparing the total number of residents to the total number of residents that you will have. Understanding your clientele load will give you an idea of how many treadmills, ellipticals, floor space, and amount of other popular equipment that you should have in your fitness center.

You will also want to go have a look at some of the popular commercial gyms to see what attracts clients to go out of their way to workout at that place. Once you get a good idea of what it is these places offer that others do not, you can model your fitness center space after it. For example, if one gym is famous for fire engine red kettlebells, then you could purchase all bright orange ones.

One important seemingly small piece of gym design is to ask yourself if the space is ADA compliant. Your property likely has some apartments that service the disabled; you will want to be sure that your fitness center will as well.

Fitness Design

There are two critical components to design. One is traffic flow, and the other is grouping.

When thinking about traffic flow, you will want to be sure that there is adequate space for people to use each piece of equipment. You will also want to consider the amount of room that will be needed for people to travel from piece of equipment to piece of equipment. You don’t want to risk free weights being strewn in walking pathways where people can trip and hurt themselves.

Grouping equipment by type of exercise works great for most gyms. This works because it cuts down on the amount of space needed between each piece of similar equipment. Grouping equipment properly also encourages interaction between residents and creates better traffic flow in the whole fitness center space.

Infrastructure

Many people tend to overlook the underlying infrastructure of their fitness center until it is too late. They will get the space all set up, plug everything in and blow a fuse, people complain about lighting, or the place starts to smell like dirty socks right away.

Be sure to have a licensed electrician come in and install all of the proper elements for your gym to run smoothly. Also, the electrical configuration needs to be up to code with the city so that it does not get shut down upon the first inspection.

You will want to have proper lighting; lighting is essential in a fitness center. Most people do not enjoy working out in the dark; they also risk hurting themselves when the lighting is poor. Take the time to be sure each area is adequately lit and use green solutions when you can, such as natural lighting or eco-friendly light bulbs.

The case of the gym that smells like dirty socks is almost always the result of poor ventilation. Your multi-family fitness center is going to have to be well ventilated like the rest of the property. There are many ways to take care of this issue, talk to your HVAC service provider or consider purchasing a standalone air filtration system.

If you are planning to design your own multi-family fitness center in California or Nevada; be sure to do plenty of research. Many points to consider have been listed here. Should you have, more questions contact a Opti-Fit at 888-601-4350 or info@opti-fit.com for a FREE consultation.

When running a gym, it’s easy to feel like having the best workout equipment is the most important part. While good equipment will be key to the performance of your members, even more crucial is having quality gym flooring.

Now it may seem silly to think that the floor could be such a vital piece of your business, but there are a handful of reasons why you need to pay close attention when making this decision. Let’s take a look at four reasons proper flooring for gyms and fitness centers is important.

Customer Safety

The safety of customers should be at or near the top of any gym’s priority list. Unsuitable flooring in the wrong section of the gym or fitness center like tile or wood can become slippery and even crack, causing numerous health and safety concerns. Having the proper flooring for gyms will provide both gym members and gym owners with the peace of mind that they are safe.

Clean Look

The visual appeal of your gym flooring is one of the first things people will see when they come into your fitness center. Having tile or carpet could appear tacky and unprofessional, deterring many of your potential customers. Make sure the flooring for your gym is aesthetically pleasing to ensure everyone who enters will enjoy the atmosphere just as much as the workout equipment.

Reduce Costs

Utilizing the proper gym flooring in the different areas on the gym is paramount to saving money.  For example, using 1/4 inch rubber under squat racks without a platform will wear quickly causing rips and bubbling.  These issues will cause additional safety issues.

Easy Maintenance

Good gym flooring should be easy to clean and maintain on a daily basis. Dirt from shoes and sweat from gym members can cause damage to the floor’s finish, making it slippery and unsafe. It is vital to vacuum and mop flooring for free weight rooms, cardio areas, and entryways of your gym every night before closing up.

Choose Opti-Fit for Your Gym Flooring Needs

With over twenty years of experience, Opti-Fit stands out among the crowd when designing or renovating your fitness space. Whether you need gym flooring, cardio equipment, or strength equipment, our team is here to make sure your gym is successful and looks great in the process.

Contact us today to learn more about the products and services we offer to high schools, multi-family fitness centers, and gyms.

Finding the best equipment and services for your gym should be number one. Not only that, but it should be easy as well. Gym owners, hotel chains and multi-family housing complex managers and other building managers tend to believe that working directly with manufacturers is the best way to go. Most people have the misconception that from end to end things will be less costly when working directly with the manufacturer.

This belief is far from the truth and here is why. When you work directly with an equipment manufacturer, the actual fitness equipment that you order may come with a small discount, but many other factors need to be dealt with when assembling a fitness center for public use. Here are some factors that may not have been considered when ordering from a manufacturer.

• Brand Variety
• Having to Work with Multiple Manufacturers
• Delivery
• Assembly
• Electrical Updating and Wiring
• Overall Design of the Fitness Center
• Installation of Furnishings and Features
• Maintenance

Add all of this up in time and money costs on your end, and you will find that using a full-service fitness center solution will save you. Opti-Fit is a “concept-to-completion fitness center solution” that will work with you to save you money on the full package in the long run.

Opti-Fit offers free consultation for your fitness center planning. Opti-Fit will sit down with you to plan out all of the details for your fitness center and work to make it fit your budget. Here are some of the advantages of working with Opti-Fit:

• Full End-to-End Planning and Execution
• No Hidden Costs
• Work to Stay on Budget
• Choose from the Best Fitness Brands on the Market
• Experienced Designers that Understand the Market you want to Reach

Opti-Fit wants to see your fitness center be a success, whether your goal is to attract new members, tenants or keep your community of people connected and healthy. In addition to fitness equipment, fitness center design, and maintenance, Opti-Fit offers solutions for engaging users in taking charge of their health.

What will you choose to do with your money and your time? Opti-Fit has been the primary fitness center solution company in California and Nevada for over 20 years. Visit the website or give us a call at 888-601-4350 to schedule a free consultation and find out how much money you can be saving on your fitness center today.