fitness centers

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Fitness Centers

by Eric G. Mion U.S. Cost, Inc. Last updated: 05-25-2010

OVERVIEW The Fitness Center is a health, recreatio nal, and so cial facility geared to wards exercise, spo rts, and o ther physical activities. It may be a fo r-pro fit co mmercial facility o r a co mmunity- o r institutio nally-suppo rted center. A successful facility will acco mmo date bo th the serio us athlete and the casual recreatio nal user.

Within This Page Overview Building Attributes Emerging Issues Relevant Codes and Standards Major Resources

Activities include o rganized, gro up instructio nal pro grams such as spinning classes, yo ga, and martial arts; o rganized and impro mptu team spo rts; and individual fitness o ppo rtunities such as cardio vascular training, weight training, and swimming. Individual activities may be self-guided o r co nducted under the supervisio n o f a trainer. A Fitness Center may also acco mmo date o utdo o r activities with features such as a running track, swimming po o l and spo rt playing fields.

The so cial co mpo nent is an impo rtant seco ndary functio n o f the Fitness Center and is represented by elements that suppo rt the fitness go als but also enco urage so cial interactio n.

These include a juice o r snack bar, spo rt spectato r seating, saunas, and ho t tubs.

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O f f ice B uild ing Parking Facilit ie s

BUILDING AT T RIBUT ES

R e se arch Facilit ie s

A. Space Types and Building Organiz at ion

Unacco mp anie d Pe rso nne l Ho using ( B arracks) Ware ho use

Po tential Fitness Center spaces are numero us and varied. Small facilities may have little mo re than a fitness area with cardio vascular machines and weights, lo cker ro o ms, and a small suppo rt/administrative area. Large facilities may add gymnasiums, racquetball co urts, indo o r and/o r o utdo o r po o ls, fo o d service and retail spaces, and child care spaces.

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SPAC E T YPES D ESIG N D ISC IPLIN ES PR O D UC T S & SYST EMS

Fitness Spaces. These are typically the heart o f the facility and include the fo llo wing co mpo nents: Cardio vascular equipment Free and plate-lo aded weights Selecto rized weights (such as cable-o perated weight machines) Stretching/warm-up/co o l-do wn spaces Indo o r running track Gymnasium. This space is usually defined by co nsensus o rganizatio n regulatio ns such as the Natio nal Co llegiate Athletic Asso ciatio n and acco mmo dates indo o r spo rt activities such as basketball and vo lleyball.

Gro up exercise ro o m/classro o m. These ro o ms acco mmo date o rganized fitness class activities.

Structured activities. These include a variety o f well-defined activities such as the fo llo wing: Racquetball Climbing wall Spinning classes Lo cker ro o ms and asso ciated functio ns. These spaces are typically separated by gender and acco mmo date the basic functio ns o f changing, sto ring clo thes, patro n sho wers, and to ilets. Additio nal o ptio nal spaces include the fo llo wing: Sauna Steam ro o m Ho t tub Administrative and suppo rt spaces. These staff spaces acco mmo date the o peratio n and administratio n o f the facility and include the fo llo wing: Receptio n/co ntro l co unter and equipment issue Offices Sto rage Receiving and equipment repair Staff suppo rt Enhanced spaces. These o ptio nal spaces can enhance the patro n's so cial and/o r o verall experience and may pro vide additio nal revenue so urces: Vending, juice bar, o r o ther fo o d service Retail sales o f athletic clo thing and equipment Spectato r seating fo r the gymnasium o r structured activities Child care Fitness assessment spaces Massage o r physical therapy spaces Tanning Gender-specific wo rk-o ut spaces Po o l. Po o ls may be indo o r o r o utdo o r and may include multiple co mpo nents such as a dedicated lap po o l (witho ut a shallo w side), diving po o l, family po o l, and ho t tub.

Outdo o r spaces such as spo rt playing fields and o utdo o r running o r bicycling tracks.

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The po tentially hazardo us nature o f so me o f the activities means that facility access must be co ntro lled even in no t-fo r-pro fit facilities. This requires a primary entrance co ntro lled by a checkin po int that also has visual access to much o f the facility. Beyo nd this po int, Fitness Centers are typically o rganized aro und the fitness spaces.

Sample block adjacency diagram for a fitness center. Developed by AECOM Design, Arlington, VA

Ideally, the fitness spaces sho uld naturally extend o ut o f the lo bby entrance, past the co ntro l desk. The co ntro l desk sho uld have visual co ntro l o ver as much o f the fitness spaces as po ssible but particularly the cardio vascular machines. If o ther po tentially hazardo us activities such as a climbing wall are pro vided, the co ntro l desk sho uld have visual co ntro l o ver tho se as well.

B. Design Considerat ions Key design go als and co nsideratio ns fo r Fitness Centers include the fo llo wing: PDFmyURL.com

Suppo rt t he Act ive Enviro nm e nt Create an interio r design enviro nment that suppo rts the energy and activity inherent in the facility: High ceilings and ample circulatio n space enco urage activity.

Interio r design and co lo r selectio n pro vide a sense o f activity but sho uld no t o verwhelm the eye o r clash with the co lo rful wo rk-o ut clo thing typically wo rn by patro ns.

Vary the interio r vo lumes to avo id a "big bo x" feeling.

Pro vide as much natural light as po ssible while co nsidering glare fo r patro ns.

Use key activities as design fo cal po ints and to enhance interest. This co uld be the strategic lo catio n o f a climbing wall visible fro m the lo bby o r glass walls at racquetball co urts and classes.

Maint ain a Saf e and He alt hy Enviro nm e nt Safety is a critical element o f fitness center design and includes imparting a sense o f security as well as injury preventio n: Pro vide visual access to all po tentially dangero us, unstaffed spaces.

Pro vide pro per impact flo o ring fo r each space fo r fall attenuatio n and appro priate cushio ning fo r bo ne and jo int health.

Do no t create hidden o r dark co rners and pro vide alarms o r call butto ns in key remo te spaces such the sauna, massage ro o m, and o utdo o r areas.

Appro priately separate gender-specific areas to ensure a sense o f privacy.

Ensure go o d indo o r air quality and natural light.

Pro vide a Durable and Maint ainable Facilit y The heavy use and gro ss mo to r activities will impact bo th the interio r finishes and the building systems, particularly heating, ventilating and air co nditio ning (HVAC): Pro vide durable interio r finishes with impact pro tectio n, especially in gro up exercise ro o ms and free-weight areas.

Pro vide additio nal ventilatio n in fitness areas and high-humidity enviro nments such as the sho wer ro o ms. Ventilatio n will significantly affect bo th the patro n co mfo rt and facility maintenance. Balance increased ventilatio n needs with energy usage and sustainability issues.

Pro tect vulnerable fixtures such as lights and sprinkler heads fro m impact by balls o r o ther fitness equipment.

Include Appro priat e Space f o r St af f Pro vide space to assist staff in develo ping and maintaining the center's pro grams and business.

Outside o f no rmal day-to -day o peratio ns, staff must be able to acco mplish the fo llo wing: Think and plan Meet and co mmunicate Ho st visito rs Sto re equipment and reco rds BACK TO TO P

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EMERGING ISSUES Flexibility is critical in Fitness Center design as equipment techno lo gy is co nstantly changing and spo rts and classes mo ve in and o ut o f fashio n. Co nsider a raised flo o ring system in the fitness spaces to acco mmo date equipment with data co nnectio ns fo r fitness tracking and to facilitate changing and rearranging equipment. Pro vide ample sto rage fo r fitness supplies and equipment to meet changing needs.

Fo r gro up exercise ro o ms, co nsider designing o ne large partitio nable ro o m rather than multiple smaller ro o ms. This will allo w the ro o m size to change as classes wax and wane in po pularity.

This added flexibility, ho wever, needs to be weighed against the co st and/o r aco ustical impacts o f using mo vable partitio ns versus fixed wall co nstructio n.

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RELEVANT CODES AND STANDARDS Standard federal and state building co des apply, as appro priate. Additio nally, each spo rt typically has a go verning bo dy that will regulate playing co urt/field sizes and specificatio ns.

Depart ment of Def ense UFC 4-740 -0 2, Fitness Centers BACK TO TO P

MAJOR RESOURCES Organiz at ions American Co llege o f Spo rts Medicine , Health/Fitness Facility Standards and Guidelines Deutsches Institut für No rmung e.V. (DIN-the German Institute fo r Standardizatio n–is the German natio nal o rganizatio n fo r standardizatio n and pro vides athletic flo o ring standards used by ACSM and Do D.) Natio nal Asso ciatio n fo r Spo rt and Physical Educatio n Natio nal Co llegiate Athletic Asso ciatio n BACK TO TO P

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