A 5-STEP APPROACH TO GREAT GYM DESIGN
It seems like a new gym is opening its doors every day, which of course is great for the consumer and great for getting the population active. Unfortunately, as potential and existing gym owners, it may seem like a daunting task to succeed in a competitive market, however, there is a lot you can do to stand out and it starts way before the gym opening.
Among other things, it’s the gym design and feel, which creates a membership base rich in referrals and overflowing with strong membership retention. A Design which invites its users to flow through the entire space and become inspired by the equipment they find there will drive users to reach their goals and become more creative in their training, which in turn keeps gym sessions interesting and progressive.
GREAT GYM DESIGN HAS A FEW IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
THE USERS:
Who’s going to be using your gym, who is your target market and what are your competitors currently offering. A standout gym design starts with understanding your existing and potential customers and becoming customer-centric with your approach.
THE EQUIPMENT:
This should be the most exciting part of starting a new gym, with the endless amount of options out there every piece of equipment should be carefully considered in order to get the most out of your budget and deliver results to your members year after year.
Taking user consideration into account, fully assess what your members will need in order to progress towards their goals; it would be frustrating to a powerlifter to find themselves training in a gym with limited squat rack options for example.
Head over to our guide on purchasing equipment for more.
THE FLOORING:
Flooring can be a minefield and if you’re flooring isn’t up to the task you could find yourself with expensive subfloor repairs and flooring replacements.
It’s extremely important that all areas of the gym are considered when choosing your flooring options, and this doesn’t necessarily need to be boring, there are a lot of options such as different finishes, colours and functional options such as turf tracks and lifting platforms. All custom options should be considered in the overall gym design.
THE FLOW:
Picture water flowing into your gym and establish where the water may gather into pools, and where the water will flow, as this will help you establish where members may gather unnecessarily, or not actually go there at all. You want to create a gym design that flows well in order to allow your members to fully explore everything your gym has to offer.
Too much equipment in one place can cause friction in your member’s experience and, in some instances, be a health and safety risk. If are already running a facility try observing the way members move around your gym and try to notice areas of congestion and areas of flow and try to rethink how you could make the overall layout one which sees members moving freely with limited obstruction.
THE BRANDING:
There are many custom branding options available to everyone, such as weight plates with your gym logo on them, custom sled tracks in a colour that matches your brand, as well as equipment, finished to a variety of colours.
Adding personality to your gym will definitely make it stand out, and will increase the loyalty of your membership base.
Read our guide on creating personality in your gym design.
A Great gym starts before its created and the more thought and planning that goes into every detail will increase the chances of keeping within budget as well as ensuring you are delivering the most exciting and creative experience for your members.
For examples of a selection of the spaces, we have designed and created for our clients head on over to our projects page.
We offer a full no commitment consultation service, tell us about your plans and we can advise on the best way to move forward.
