Workout room musts? Possibly buying house - Page 2

LovetoFirm · 12-02-05, 06:39 AM

I used to have a 10x12 workout room, and it was a great size to hold everything. The only thing I had to be careful about was the ceiling fan.

As far as the sloped ceilings, maybe bring a tape measure and figure out how much workout space you will have with full ceiling space. Then, if you can block that space out in your current workout area you can see how much you will really have to workout.

Pam61 · 12-02-05, 10:26 AM

When we bought a house this year, we spent months and months looking for the "right" house, which had to be close to work, etc. My exercise room ended up being one of the tiniest rooms, but the water views out the windows of the back of the house more than made up for that! I have it painted a bright lime-green (something cheerful to get me going in the AM!) My TV has a built-in DVD player, and is mounted on the wall in the corner, and opposite is a mounted wall fan.

But, because this room is spacially challenged (I had to part with my elliptical machine, pilates machine, rowing machine, rebounder, TV stand and VCR!)

I have just enough room for my step, stability ball, and mat. In the corner are my bench risers and FIRM steps. There is no closet, so all of my workouts, weights, bodybars, BOSU are stored in a spare bedroom (which will also be home to a future treadmill.)

Our "bonus" room above the garage is our office/library space.

What I miss (that I had in my previous exercise room) were wall mirrors. It was nice for yoga, pilates, weights...whatever. And, for mat/floor exercises it was nice to have the TV at waist height. Now I really have to crane my neck/head if I'm down on the floor, but standing is great!

I will just add that you will probably not find the "perfect" house. In the end you'll have to decide what's most important. For me, I loved the views that my workout space provides, but if I want a bigger area for hi-lo, treadmill etc. I have to go to another room (which I don't mind.)

Have fun house hunting!

Vintage VFer · 12-02-05, 10:33 AM

When we moved into our house (and out of "The World's Smallest Condo") we decided to use the large master bedroom as a workout room. And one of the other bedrooms as, well, a bedroom.

That way we have plenty of room for all the stuff we have acquired. We even covered the floor in a rubber plyo matting. There is a large closet for more stuff and the bathroom is right there.

It works great for us. (But, everyone else thinks we're weird!)

Pam61 · 12-02-05, 11:10 AM

I bet I saw close to a hundred homes, with many different exercise rooms... when I was looking.

The neatest thing I saw in an exercise room, was that the basement had been converted into a DANCE STUDIO!!! It was a huge rectangular space with wall to wall mirrors. These people danced competively and had all kinds of awards, certificates on the walls! There were ballet barres, wooden floors, built-in audio/sound system. Really cool! But, the rest of the home was too small for our needs. Too bad, as I could just picture us ballroom dancing in that kind of place!

Another great exercise room that I remember...It was in part of the basement, carpeted floors...beautiful large open space. In the center of the downstairs was a sunken bar, so it dominated the space, but because you stepped down, the room didn't feel as broken up. Off in the corner was a huge exercise room that was enclosed in glass/plexiglass windows/doors. It had a very open feel because you could see through to some of the other spaces (like the bar) yet you still had your own workout area. How refreshing to be able to walk right over to the bar after working out, to fix yourself a smoothie. Kinda neat, like being in a snazzy gym with a refreshment bar!

A few other spaces that had workout areas in the basements also had jacuzzi and sauna rooms in the same vicinity. Does anyone still use a sauna these days??? But, the hot tub sounds nice after a long workout (if you had the time for that?)

After all my looking, no one had the workout collections that I had! There were plenty of people that had huge treadmills, and you'll see that a lot! A place to actually store your stuff is a huge consideration, like someone already mentioned. Mine just happen to be in other areas of the house, because it's difficult to find what you want, and the right space in one particular area. But, if you like the house enough, you'll make it work for you.

EileenS · 12-02-05, 12:01 PM

Oooh, closets! That would be a good idea. As it stands we have so few that I wouldn't even think of this.. It would be great to find a place that already had a workout room, but I'm not sure that we'll find one in our price range. I'll add a tape measure to the "looking at houses" kit I'm collecting, since I already know that the dimensions they list, though possibly correct, don't really correspond to reality.

Two pieces of good news -- we've talked to a mortgage lender and will qualify for a mortgage of the appropriate amount, and (even better in some ways) I have agreement from the spouse to add "redo workout room floor if needed" to our "things to budget money for" list for a new house.

Of course, we still have to find a house but that will happen when it happens.

Anne V · 12-02-05, 10:15 PM

Definitely go for the flooring if you can spring it. We had an addition put on our house last year and we added a workout room that's about 15x22 and put in a workout flooring over slab. It's Woodstep Plus http://www.stagestep.com/stagestep/f...s_woodstep.asp

In the room we've got a treadmill, a power rack (for heavy lifting), lots of weights and all sorts of misc. equipment in there and there is still enough area for floorwork. Our storage is along the walls of the room so the center is open for workouts and a play area for our son.

One thing we found very helpful was having a tv that you can move around. Sometimes I want it aimed directly at the treadmill and other times I turn it for videos.

Having climate control is definitely important if you're doing different types of workouts. We normally keep it cool in there but I crank the heat if I'm going to be doing yoga.

One other thing we've found to be wonderful about the room is that it's far enough from the main living area of the house that we don't have to be very concerned about the noise. A very wonderful thing after working out in the living room for years.

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12-02-05, 06:39 AM
LovetoFirm Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: The Sunshine State!	I used to have a 10x12 workout room, and it was a great size to hold everything. The only thing I had to be careful about was the ceiling fan. As far as the sloped ceilings, maybe bring a tape measure and figure out how much workout space you will have with full ceiling space. Then, if you can block that space out in your current workout area you can see how much you will really have to workout.

12-02-05, 10:26 AM
Pam61 VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Ocean State!	My workout room... When we bought a house this year, we spent months and months looking for the "right" house, which had to be close to work, etc. My exercise room ended up being one of the tiniest rooms, but the water views out the windows of the back of the house more than made up for that! I have it painted a bright lime-green (something cheerful to get me going in the AM!) My TV has a built-in DVD player, and is mounted on the wall in the corner, and opposite is a mounted wall fan. But, because this room is spacially challenged (I had to part with my elliptical machine, pilates machine, rowing machine, rebounder, TV stand and VCR!) I have just enough room for my step, stability ball, and mat. In the corner are my bench risers and FIRM steps. There is no closet, so all of my workouts, weights, bodybars, BOSU are stored in a spare bedroom (which will also be home to a future treadmill.) Our "bonus" room above the garage is our office/library space. What I miss (that I had in my previous exercise room) were wall mirrors. It was nice for yoga, pilates, weights...whatever. And, for mat/floor exercises it was nice to have the TV at waist height. Now I really have to crane my neck/head if I'm down on the floor, but standing is great! I will just add that you will probably not find the "perfect" house. In the end you'll have to decide what's most important. For me, I loved the views that my workout space provides, but if I want a bigger area for hi-lo, treadmill etc. I have to go to another room (which I don't mind.) Have fun house hunting! __________________ Pam April Focus: Linda Stejskal Wooldridge (Barlates) Dean Pohlman (Man Flow Yoga) April 8th Everyday Yoga Four Week Challenge Jessica Smith Cardio Walks/Pilates Fusion Lee Holden Qi Gong 30 Day Challenge

12-02-05, 10:33 AM
Vintage VFer VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	When we moved into our house (and out of "The World's Smallest Condo") we decided to use the large master bedroom as a workout room. And one of the other bedrooms as, well, a bedroom. That way we have plenty of room for all the stuff we have acquired. We even covered the floor in a rubber plyo matting. There is a large closet for more stuff and the bathroom is right there. It works great for us. (But, everyone else thinks we're weird!) __________________ Goal:250 / Done:91 POSTURE CHECK!

12-02-05, 11:10 AM
Pam61 VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Ocean State!	House hunting... I bet I saw close to a hundred homes, with many different exercise rooms... when I was looking. The neatest thing I saw in an exercise room, was that the basement had been converted into a DANCE STUDIO!!! It was a huge rectangular space with wall to wall mirrors. These people danced competively and had all kinds of awards, certificates on the walls! There were ballet barres, wooden floors, built-in audio/sound system. Really cool! But, the rest of the home was too small for our needs. Too bad, as I could just picture us ballroom dancing in that kind of place! Another great exercise room that I remember...It was in part of the basement, carpeted floors...beautiful large open space. In the center of the downstairs was a sunken bar, so it dominated the space, but because you stepped down, the room didn't feel as broken up. Off in the corner was a huge exercise room that was enclosed in glass/plexiglass windows/doors. It had a very open feel because you could see through to some of the other spaces (like the bar) yet you still had your own workout area. How refreshing to be able to walk right over to the bar after working out, to fix yourself a smoothie. Kinda neat, like being in a snazzy gym with a refreshment bar! A few other spaces that had workout areas in the basements also had jacuzzi and sauna rooms in the same vicinity. Does anyone still use a sauna these days??? But, the hot tub sounds nice after a long workout (if you had the time for that?) After all my looking, no one had the workout collections that I had! There were plenty of people that had huge treadmills, and you'll see that a lot! A place to actually store your stuff is a huge consideration, like someone already mentioned. Mine just happen to be in other areas of the house, because it's difficult to find what you want, and the right space in one particular area. But, if you like the house enough, you'll make it work for you. __________________ Pam April Focus: Linda Stejskal Wooldridge (Barlates) Dean Pohlman (Man Flow Yoga) April 8th Everyday Yoga Four Week Challenge Jessica Smith Cardio Walks/Pilates Fusion Lee Holden Qi Gong 30 Day Challenge

12-02-05, 12:01 PM
EileenS VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: RTP area, North Carolina	Oooh, closets! That would be a good idea. As it stands we have so few that I wouldn't even think of this.. It would be great to find a place that already had a workout room, but I'm not sure that we'll find one in our price range. I'll add a tape measure to the "looking at houses" kit I'm collecting, since I already know that the dimensions they list, though possibly correct, don't really correspond to reality. Two pieces of good news -- we've talked to a mortgage lender and will qualify for a mortgage of the appropriate amount, and (even better in some ways) I have agreement from the spouse to add "redo workout room floor if needed" to our "things to budget money for" list for a new house. Of course, we still have to find a house but that will happen when it happens. __________________ Eileen

12-02-05, 10:15 PM
Anne V VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Vermont	Definitely go for the flooring if you can spring it. We had an addition put on our house last year and we added a workout room that's about 15x22 and put in a workout flooring over slab. It's Woodstep Plus http://www.stagestep.com/stagestep/f...s_woodstep.asp In the room we've got a treadmill, a power rack (for heavy lifting), lots of weights and all sorts of misc. equipment in there and there is still enough area for floorwork. Our storage is along the walls of the room so the center is open for workouts and a play area for our son. One thing we found very helpful was having a tv that you can move around. Sometimes I want it aimed directly at the treadmill and other times I turn it for videos. Having climate control is definitely important if you're doing different types of workouts. We normally keep it cool in there but I crank the heat if I'm going to be doing yoga. One other thing we've found to be wonderful about the room is that it's far enough from the main living area of the house that we don't have to be very concerned about the noise. A very wonderful thing after working out in the living room for years.