Buying Guide
How to Build a Commercial Gym
10 min read
Space planning, equipment mix, budget and timeline for opening a commercial gym.
Space planning
Allow roughly 25–35 sq ft per cardio machine and 40–50 sq ft per strength station once walkways are counted. Free weight areas need more, plus reinforced flooring.
Equipment mix and phasing
Open with the machines members use most and phase in specialist equipment once you know your traffic. Leasing or buying refurbished for phase one frees cash for marketing.
Timeline
New commercial equipment can carry long lead times. Used and refurbished packages usually ship within weeks, which is often the deciding factor for an opening date.