Designing physical activity spaces with equipment for WELL / Movement / feature V08

Why choose Biofit to help you create a physical activity space in your real estate project?

Biofit creates physical activity spaces with functional fitness equipment, a.k.a gyms and fitness studios, aligned with green and healthy building certifications such as the WELL Building Standard (ref: Movement V08).

We specialise in designing green fitness spaces, such as the one shown above, that secure additional points within the WELL certification for MIND M07 Restorative Spaces and MIND M09 Enhanced Access to Nature (using biophilic design that brings the outside world in).

This equates to a total of 4 extra points on top of the 2.5 points on offer in V08 Physical Activity Spaces & Equipment!

What are the requirements of WELL Movement V08 Physical Activity Space & Gym Equipment?

WELL are looking for evidence that there is a gym or fitness faciility available at no cost for regular building occupants to. use, either in the building itself, nearby or in a nearby outdoor space such as a park.

Does this mean you have to provide a fitness room if there happens to be an outdoor gym in the adjacent public park? Clearly not but not every project is going to be that fortunate, nor is it always an entirely satisfactory solution, for example in northern hemisphere locations with a lot of rainfall, or adverse weather conditions for six months of the year.

Creating an indoor physical activity space for WELL V08

The specifications for an indoor gym space are as follows:

• The space includes at least two types of exercise equipment (e.g., free weights, treadmill) in quantities that allow use by at least 5% of regular occupants at any time.

• The space includes at least two types of exercise equipment (e.g., free weights, treadmill) and is at least 270 ft2 plus 1 ft2 per regular occupant, up to a maximum of 10,000 ft2.9

So WELL are looking for a combination of strength and cardio machines in other words but in projects where budget is limited, we would recommend specifying a spin bike or rowing machine instead of a treadmill where it is far better to spend a little more for a good quality machine that will not cause damage to the knee joints for regular users.

Good quality spin bikes and rowers are comparatively far cheaper ‘physical activity equipment'‘ choices, usually in the £1.5k - £3k price range, whereas a treadmill is more like £5k - £10k, yet the former two still offer a solid cardio training experience. In many cases, it is far better to go run outside when weather allows anyway!

Additionally, a dumbbell rack of 5kg-25kg and perhaps some kettlebells in 12kg-16kg-20kg, an exercise bench or two and perhaps some medicine balls 6kg-8kg-10kg. There is really no need for isolation strength machines that take up a lot of space, cost from £5k up and will only ever help with one movement.

If available budget and space allow, a multi-gym strength machine is a far more efficient approach, combining upper and lower body training options. We. would also recommend a pull-up bar, barbell, weight plates and a squat rack, as a bare minimum. Add in some exercise mats and a foam roller or two and you are good to go!

The off-site physical activity space option for WELL V08

• The project provides regular occupants access to a fitness facility within a 650 ft walk distance of the project boundary at no cost.

This might be an existing gym, YMCA, health club or group fitness studio for example. In order for occupants to have free access to a private facility however, the project owner would obviously need to arrange for a corporate agreement with the nearby facility, making a bet on rates of uptake by occupants.

This is unlikely to work out cheap in the long-term if the occupants are remotely interested in using the facility, suggesting that the option of creating a small on-site fitness facility, or physical activity space with equipment, might be a smarter solution in response to WELL V08.

An outdoor physical activity space in response to WELL V08

Two points are available here so this is worth looking at in detail. At least one of the following should be within a 0.25 mi walk distance of the project boundary and available at no cost to regular occupants:

1. Green space (e.g., park, walking/biking trail).

2. Blue space (e.g., swimming area).

3. Recreational field or court.

4. Fitness zone that includes all-weather fitness equipment.

5. For projects with child occupants, play space geared toward children (e.g., playground).

This is all dependent on the project location and is beyond the control of the project owner so is likely either to be a quick win in points terms, or remain frustratingly out of reach if none of the above conditions can be met.

If you are interested in our services helping you create a physical activity space / equipped gym for WELL Movement V08, contact us here.