Fitness Facilities

By Philip Shea, Associate Editor

This month MHN teamed up again with research and consulting services firm Kingsley Associates, which surveys over 1 million residents each year to find out what renters like—or don’t like—about their apartment’s fitness facilities. Many residents rent in a building that has a gym so they can save money on a fitness club membership. As such, they tend to notice when equipment and televisions aren’t working. The survey revealed that bathrooms and water fountains near the fitness facility are features that would be well received. Respondents also noted that they’d like more variety in terms of exercise classes and fitness equipment. Furthermore, they hinted that you can never have too many antibacterial wipes, so be sure to stay stocked. Several respondents remarked that personal trainers shouldn’t be allowed to monopolize fitness spaces, especially in the morning and evenings when the facility is most crowded.

“It often seems that there are always two to three pieces of equipment that are out of order or broken. The TVs currently don’t work; the music/speaker systems and one treadmill are all not working.” —Aurora, Ga.

“Bathrooms available near the gym.” —Austin, Texas

“Better security and lighting to and from the club house after/before hours for people walking to and from the gym.” —Baltimore

“I like how classes in the fitness center are selected through resident feedback.” —Chicago

“I would like blinds put up in the workout room.” —Dallas

“Fans or temperature control in the workout room would be nice. It is excessively warm on some days.” —Denver

“It would be nice to have a water fountain in the work out room.” —Frisco, Texas

“More anti-bacterial wipes. More frequent cleaning of the fitness room, including steralization of the floor and equipment. Additional remote controls for the televisions.” —Houston

“Quit allowing personal trainers in the gym. They take up space in an already compact area.” —Marina del Rey, Calif.

“Trying to work out in the morning is often difficult because everyone wants to go at the same time and tehre isn’t enough equipment to support the amount of people.” —Orlando, Fla.

“I would prefer to have 24-access to the pool and gym.” —San Diego

“We could use an iPod adapter option in the gym. If nothing good is on, I could plug in my iPod and watch something from my own collection.” —Seattle

“In a complex this large, it would be able to post things, such as trying to find walking/running partners, etc.” —Tampa, Fla.

“The TVs in the gym are connected to the same remote and it’s impossible to watch TV without changing someone else’s channel.” —Washington, D.C.