When COVID-19 hit, Laura Centeno, a personal trainer in Rye, had nowhere to train her clients. So she converted her garage into a personal training space. With free-flowing air from the open garage door, her clients felt more comfortable than they had in the confines of a fitness center. She now sees nearly a dozen clients a week in her home gym.
Centeno, who lives on Platt Lane, didn’t knock out walls or put in ultra-fancy equipment; she built her gym little by little in a space that was convenient for her and met her client’s needs.
“No one in my family really used the garage,” she laughed. The space, she said, is more than enough to make the gym work.
“The most important thing when building a home gym is to focus on functional training,” she said. “You don’t need all this crazy equipment, you just need it to be functional.” She tells her clients to buy training bands and, instead of an entire collection of weights, to focus on three sizes that work for them.
But in a town where “making it functional” and “making it luxurious” sometimes meet head on, it can be difficult to home in on what is over-the-top and what makes good sense.
“I love a good old garage gym,” said Rye-based personal trainer Laura Laura, who has seen all types of gyms across town. “All you really need is space to move safely. There is simple equipment that adds great value and versatility to working out at home: TRX Suspension Trainer, Interia Bands, kettlebells, adjustable dumbbells, bands, jump rope, and my favorite cardio option, a rower,” she said.
Christopher Sontay, owner and head coach at Evolve Fitness, agrees.
“I’ve seen in clients’ homes all kinds of things, including an all-in-one power rack that combines multiple machines/movements into one convenient rack and a recovery room that has an infrared sauna and cold plunge next to it,” said Sontay, who trains college and professional athletes as well as those recovering from injuries and stroke victims. “While those things are really nice, a good set of dumbbells, an adjustable bench, and a cable machine are all you really need. You’ll be able to do a lot exercises and target all muscle groups in many different variations with just those three things.”
Tina Vanwagenen and her husband, Bert, turned a previously unused room in their house into a home gym when COVID hit. They were persuaded by their daughter, who had moved in with them during the pandemic. The sunlight-filled room sits above their garage and has become one of the most used spaces in their home.
“We use the gym at least five of the seven days of the week,” said Tina, whose family lives on Clark Lane. The addition has improved their health and lives. “If we didn’t have the home gym, I am not sure I would have the initiative to drive to a gym on a regular basis,” she said. A trainer helps her streamline her workouts.
Vanwagenen said they chose mostly everything on their own, but there are companies that can help you select equipment and plan your space.
Carlos Lopez, of Gym Tech Fitness in Greenwich, Conn., said you can build a gym almost anywhere in your home but you should have at least an eight-foot ceiling since many pieces of equipment are seven feet high. Lopez has sold many cardio machines, including bikes and treadmills, but in the last few years he has noticed a shift toward strength training.
So what does a home gym cost?
“Gyms vary widely in price, just like homes do,” Lopez said. “But if I were to give an average, I would say $10,000 is on the lower end for equipment spend … and it can go up from there.”
Convenience motivated Amy Baker, an international nursing consultant, to install a home gym.
“I have belonged to various gyms in the past, but with four kids and a job that requires a lot of travel, it often takes just too much forethought to get to the gym,” she said. “Having a gym at home makes it so much easier to get a workout in.”
Her gym, in a basement space, only took a few weeks to install. Some of Baker’s favorite equipment includes a yoga mat, bands, weights, and kettle balls. She also has a treadmill and a Peloton bike. She added that some of the best investments they made were soundproof walls and rubberized floors.
“At the end of the day, you want a gym you will work out in,” Centeno said. “The biggest battle you need to overcome in meeting your fitness goals is showing up.”
Photos by Alison Rodilosso
