Well Done

Wellness company owner’s home gym keeps her in shape

When former Fusion Fitness and Wellness studio owner Katy Henn closed up shop in Uptown Westerville, she sold most of her equipment.

But the sentimental and monetary value of her Pilates Reformer machines made it impossible for her to give up her last two.

“I had a small business in Westerville doing personal training, yoga, Pilates classes and when I closed it to … focus on my other business, I sold off some of it,” Henn says. “But my husband and I had invested a lot, and we knew we would use it and it’s really convenient.”

Fortunately, she knew right where to put them – in the 800-square-foot base- ment rec room of her new house on Africa Road. After moving into the house in May 2010, Katy and her husband, Bryan, only needed to slap a coat of paint on the basement walls and replace the flooring before moving in their own equipment to turn the downstairs den into a well-appointed home gym.

“We painted, we changed the flooring. It was carpeted before, and that just pulls all the dirt and traffic,” Katy says. “The space we use is kind of interesting because if it wasn’t where our workout equipment is, I don’t know what it would be. I don’t know what someone would use it for, so now it has a purpose.”

The L-shaped room is split into two parts. The eastern side, with sliding glass doors that open out to the Henns’ driveway, has a desk where Bryan can work from home, a couch and a television.

Bryan uses the TV to follow along with the P90X extreme home workout DVDs, while Katy prefers yoga videos.

The western half of the room has a bar up against one wall with cabinets where the couple store medicine balls, weighted plates and resistance bands and tubes. It also does double duty as a coffee bar for their Keurig coffee maker – perfect placement, as it’s within arm’s reach to the right of Katy’s desk. Katy works from home as the CEO of Wellness Collective, a consulting firm that helps companies develop their own wellness programs.

To her left, the two remaining Reformers are a constant reminder for Katy to keep up with her fitness routine.

“I would say I’m down here (to work out) not as much as my husband,” she says. “I work out for my job, so I’m work- ing out all day long. I especially used this space on maternity leave to help me get ready to go back to work, so I’m probably just down here a couple days a week.”

Having two Reformers is a boon when Katy has a friend over or when she can talk Bryan into working out with her.

“I like to get him on the Pilates equipment with me so I can show him all the things he can work on,” she says. “It’s really fun to work out together. We like to do that. It’s sometimes challenging with our schedules. He comes down in the morning. I come down whenever I can.”

The Reformers provide a full-body workout and offer a variety of exercise options. “It’s such a phenomenal workout. It’s a great piece of equipment. Some people liken it to a total body gym; you can pretty much do everything on it,” Katy says. “You can get resistance training and flexibility training and a little bit of an elevated heart rate all in one workout.”

A water cooler, a BOSU Ball and a full rack of dumbbells ranging from three to 50 pounds round out the Henns’ home gym. “I feel fortunate to have this space, for sure,” Katy says, but even a small space with less equipment can be as effective in motivating wellness.

“I would encourage other people to invest a little bit of time and money in carving out their own space in their home dedicated to health and wellness, because a lot of people try to use a little corner of their basement, and because it’s not the most pleasant environment, they don’t want to go down there and use it,” she says. “It’s worth figuring all that out so you can have the convenience of having it in your own home. That sort of takes out the excuse of ‘I couldn’t get to the gym.’”

Lisa Aurand is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@pubgroupltd.com.

By Tyler Davis