Family Time
"This is a gym for highly successful and driven people," says Bryan Green, the president and CEO of Advantage Fitness Products (AFP) and the brain behind a luxurious fitness space in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Their morning is spent in the gym, religiously, without fail."
The residents, who are both in the entertainment industry, approached Green to equip a converted guesthouse on their property for their entire family. "They are a family that works out together, and they wanted to do so side-by-side," says Green, who integrated several Precor machines, including an adaptive motion trainer, a 546i elliptical trainer, and a 556i elliptical trainer with arms, alongside a treadmill and Hampton Fitness dumbbells. "We gave them a balanced strength circuit, one exercise per machine," says Green. "The machines feature a cable-based system that allows the exercise to become user-defined, rather than machine-defined."
Even without the array of machines, the A-frame structure is stunning, with hardwood floors and built-in bookshelves that now hold AFP accessories and a 50-inch TV with Cardio Theater and surround sound—not to mention a pair of boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali. "The clients are in there every day," says Green. "They certainly make the investment in terms of their time, so they needed a gym that reflected that commitment."
Advantage Fitness Products, 310.559.9949, www.afproducts.com
SOURCES
Precor, 425.486.9292, www.precor.com
Hampton Fitness Products, 805.339.9733, www.hamptonfit.com
Cardio Theater, 800.776.6695, www.cardiotheater.com
Modern Movement
"This project was a lot of fun because I was involved from the ground up," says Bryan Green, AFP’s founder, of a vibrant, modern home gym he created for clients in Pacific Palisades, Calif. "The residents are fitness enthusiasts, but they wanted to have fun in here, too."
Happy to indulge his clients’ request for an energetic room, Green began by installing a black composite-rubber floor and all-black Precor, Star Trac, and Icarian machines to complement raucous orange walls. "It’s a desirable aesthetic," he says. "They have a lot of experience working out, and they didn’t want to get bored with their gym or their equipment. Flexibility is key: You have to scale the space so you don’t grow tired of it."
Green kept the room versatile by carving out niches throughout—"dedicated coves," he calls them—to hold free weights and stretching accessories while leaving a good deal of open space to allow his clients to move about freely and incorporate mat training, Pilates, and yoga. According to Green, it doesn’t matter how much square footage a gym boasts; the key to creating a good one is honesty about the client’s needs and goals. "We look at someone’s lifestyle, not just the room," he says. "We ask them what they are after: Do they want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, lose weight, or do strength training? Whatever the answer is, we are looking at a broader element of wellness, and all we want to provide is a quiet place in a positive environment."
Advantage Fitness Products, 310.559.9949, www.afproducts.com
SOURCES
Precor, 425.486.9292, www.precor.com
Star Trac, 714.669.1660, www.startracusa.com
A Flattering Outfit
"When most people think of creating a home gym, they go to a big box store. They don’t sit down with an expert to talk about their body or their goals," says Chris Fisher, president of the fitness-supplies company Out-Fit. "That’s a huge mistake, because people end up spending too much for the wrong types of machines."
Fisher should know, as he’s spent his entire career in the fitness-supplies industry and has kept a careful eye on every innovation for the past 20 years. He is a big proponent of selectivity in purchasing pieces, and he will only consider machines that are specifically designed to mimic a body’s natural movement. "You lose functionality when you cram in too much equipment," he says. "The absolutely most important thing is creating a situation in which you will be safe while you grow stronger."
For a home gym in Santa Rosa Valley, Calif., lined with eight-foot-tall windows, Fisher selected a series of Hoist-brand machines, including a Smith machine, which has a centralized barbell set within a steel armature that slides up and down. Complementing the Smith machine is a Woodway Path treadmill, a BodyMasters machine for standing calf raises, and Hampton Fitness dumbbells. "There are only eight machines in the room," says Fisher. "Even though there aren’t tons of machines, they all serve the various members of the family—there are three kids, including a tween that’s about to start playing sports. There’s a young mom with a new baby, and a dad who is an avid golfer. These machines work for all of them, and that’s the key to a successful family gym."
Out-Fit, 805.584.1500, www.out-fit.net
SOURCES
Hoist Fitness Systems, 858.578.7676, www.hoistfitness.com
Woodway, 262.548.6235, www.woodway.com
The Ohio Players
"This is a 2,000-square-foot home gym for grandparents in tremendous shape," says Fisher of a stand-alone fitness pavilion he created on a family compound in Canton, Ohio, that boasts a two-lane bowling alley, a man-made lake, a full-size football and baseball field, and a sand-volleyball court. "I mean it," he says. "Jack LaLanne—eat your heart out!"
Fisher collaborated with the Los Angeles–based personal trainer Gunnar Peterson—who has worked extensively with professional athletes, celebrities, and high-profile executives—to create a singular space for his clients and their many children and grandchildren. "Gunnar and I were a great team, because trainers know exercises in and out, but they don’t have an intimate knowledge of the different types of machines out there," Fisher explains. "That’s my job—to know everything about the equipment."
Fisher began with a pair of Expresso Virtual Reality recumbent bicycles, which are outfitted with 19-inch
widescreen monitors for entertainment. He also chose a Cybex Arc Trainer and Legacy treadmill, a Nautilus Stairmaster stepper, Strive weight machines, and a Scifit Upper Body Ergometer, which is essentially a stationary hand bike. Fisher says it’s important to integrate many brands of equipment, rather than doing a top-to-bottom installation with one manufacturer’s entire inventory. "We don’t pigeonhole clients with just one product," he says. "We have discerning clients, and we only give them the best."
Out-Fit, 805.584.1500, www.out-fit.net
SOURCES
Cybex International Exercise Equipment, 774.324.8000, www.cybexintl.com
Nautilus, 800.628.8458, www.nautilus.com
Scifit, 918.359.2000, www.scifit.com