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FeedFit for Home
Why go to the gym when it can come to you?
By Laine Bergeson
Photo by David J. Turner
Enter a designated space for fitness. One-third of new homebuyers consider an area dedicated to fitness a desirable amenity, according to the National Association of Home Builders, an industry trade group in Washington DC.
“Trends don’t track what people want in their homes so much as what they value—and more people today value staying fit,” says David Amundson, president of TreHus, a Minneapolis-based design/build/remodeling firm. Amundson sees the evidence in everything from fitness-focused television shows like the The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Fit Club to the plethora of health-related books, magazines, and newspaper articles. Our increased attention to healthier lifestyles means “more people today are looking for an in-home space for fitness,” he says.
Convenience and privacy also fuel the trend. “[The equipment] is all right there. You get to workout whenever you want—five in the morning or three in the afternoon,” Amundson says. Another advantage, he points out: Self-conscious exercisers can relax. There’s no one watching them workout.
“People want to work out at home because they don’t like to be with 100 sweaty people, or they don’t want to waste too much time chatting or finding childcare,” says Chris Freytag, a Twin Cities-area fitness trainer. “And working out at home is really convenient if you have kids and a busy job. How many people belong to a gym, but are too busy and never go?”
Photo by David J. Turner
Fitness spaces can be found across income levels and home sizes, though what constitutes a “fitness space” varies considerably. Some people just need a place for riding a stationary bike; some want enough room for weights or functional training; and others spend lavishly to create complete at-home gyms or rooms dedicated to their activity of choice—which may require specialized equipment or simply a small, quiet area for yoga and meditation.
Becky and Paul Walser created manifold spaces for fitness on their 426-acre farmstead in rural Wisconsin—though none of them are small. With their primary residence in the Twin Cities, the couple bought the property in 1994 with the idea of using the original 1890s farmhouse as a weekend-getaway home where their five children could explore nature and experience farm life.
Avid athletes, the family built a replica of the original, nineteenth-century barn into a premier fitness space, housing a basketball court with volleyball anchors, and a game room with Foosball tables, video games, and table-tennis. The Walsers added a silo to the barn to complete the farmstead look—but built a 40-foot climbing wall inside it. Outside, they added a large swimming pool and nine miles of hiking trails that weave throughout the property, past the paintball field and the snowboard/sledding hill.
“Exercise is extremely important in our lives,” says Becky, who enjoys jogging the trails. “Paul and I are big runners and we work out with weights. The kids play soccer and pick-up games here on the weekends. We can workout whenever we want.”
Photo by David J. Turner
Freytag credits the proximity and accessibility of the fitness areas with keeping the kids moving. “My kids are more active than they would be otherwise,” she says. “Kids will do what’s available. Even when I put fitness equipment in front of the TV, one of them will always be on it.” And the convenience factor doesn’t just affect kids. Adults are also more likely to be wooed into excersize when working out is easy.
In the end, an in-home fitness space doesn’t have to be grand, it just has to be personalized. “You can go whole hog and put in a hot tub and sauna and mirrored rooms and a half basketball court, or, if you still have those values but a tighter budget, you can go smaller,” Amundson says. “It’s about the right place and right equipment.”
Laine Bergeson is a Minneapolis writer.
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