Home gyms are not merely a fad. Rather, they offer an abundance of benefits. First, if one of your new year's resolutions is to be more intentional about your fitness, having a home gym will reduce the risk of skipping out on your sessions, as you do not have to leave your house to exercise. Second, a home gym will help you save on costs, as you no longer have to pay for a gym membership. Third, a home gym offers both privacy and convenience, so you can make exercising a family affair. If you are in the process of getting a custom home constructed, check out the following aspects that a general contractor will focus on when integrating a gym into this home build.
Step 1: The general contractor will designate pace for the home gym
Granted, as an amateur, you may not be ready to invest in large gym equipment that could be intimidating, such as a LAT machine, squat rack, and so on. But you should know your fitness needs could evolve, so a few kettlebells and dumbbells will not be sufficient for your fitness journey. Keeping that in mind, you should discuss your goals with the residential general contractor so they have an idea of how much space will be adequate for the home gym.
For instance, rather than include a half bath in your preferred location for the home gym, you can include this additional square footage into the space allocated for the gym. Another way of creating space is by not installing a closet in the chosen room. The more spacious it is, the more flexibility you will have when outfitting the home gym with equipment in the future,
Step 2: The general contractor will select the best flooring for the home gym
The second thing you should know about a home gym is that the flooring options will differ from the rest of the home. Certainly, flooring materials such as solid hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, and natural stone are functional and visually pleasing. But these solutions do not offer the right balance of robustness and cushioning that is required for a home gym. Instead, the general contractor will have to install options such as rubber, carpet, tile, and artificial turf over the subfloor in your home gym.
There are several factors that you and the general contractor will take into consideration. As an example, if the home gym will open up to the outdoors with the use of sliding doors, artificial turf will be a great way to create an effortless transition from the indoors to the outdoors. Alternatively, if weight training is a leading motivator for constructing a home gym, heavy-duty rubber flooring will be advisable to absorb the heavy loads of weight training equipment.
For more information, contact a general contractor near you.