Cardio training is one of the basic building blocks of training in the gym. Today, the health benefits of regular cardio training are well known. A wide variety of cardio equipment and innovative training programs make cardio training a free exercise. In addition to classics such as treadmills, bicycle ergometers, steppers and cross trainers, more unusual equipment such as rowing machines, ski ergometers or boxing stations bring excitement to cardio training, and the indoor bike allows you to offer spinning classes in groups. In this way, you can open up several trendy fitness areas to your members at once, because group training in combination with Virtual Fitness and HIIT units spurs the exercisers on to peak performance and has a high fun factor in addition to its proven efficiency. To help you make a good buying decision, we have collected the most important facts and figures about cardio equipment for you here.
What are the relevant brands of cardio equipment for professional use?
The selection of high-quality brands in the field of cardio equipment is large. It is not easy to keep track of them. In principle, a distinction can be made between the big brands, which cover a wide range of all possible cardio equipment, and between specialized brands, which may not have every conceivable piece of cardio equipment in their portfolio, but have an expertise in their field that is second to none.
If you choose a brand that manufactures and sells many different cardio machines, you have several advantages: The devices fit visually well together, so you no longer have to worry about the design. You will probably buy several pieces of equipment at once, which means that you have more leeway when negotiating prices. You'll also be able to sign low-cost maintenance contracts with just one company, and you can be sure that your equipment manufacturer's digital solutions will work for all your cardio equipment. This not only saves you time, but also money. Most manufacturers offer smart solutions for gym owners that let you keep a close eye on your equipment utilization and usage. Of course, it's convenient if you only need one program for all your equipment. Complete packages are offered, for example, by Life Fitness, Precor, BH Fitness or Core Health and Fitness with its StairMaster, Schwinn and StarTrac brands.
Of course, if you want to specialize yourself, it's a good idea to choose your equipment from different brands as well. With the cardio equipment from NOHrD and Waterrower you can offer your users really great technology in an absolutely exquisite real wood design, Ergo-Fit offers with its brand Cardiowise equipment that is just as suitable for medical rehabilitation as for a comprehensive cardio workout, at ICG you get sophisticated indoor bikes of the top class, Concept2 on the other hand convinces in the area of ski and rowing ergometers.
If you are setting up a small studio, it may be worthwhile to go for exquisite, specialized brands and thus offer your exercisers an exceptional, top-class card io workout; if you need a lot of equipment, it may make more sense to identify with one of the big brands - here, too, you will get technically incredibly good equipment that guarantees motivating workouts for your exercisers, with the benefits for you already mentioned above.
Buying advice for gym owners - fascia rollers
What cardio equipment is available and which of it should I have in my studio?
First, you should be clear about the amount of equipment you need. As a guide, this little rule of thumb will help you:
With less than 500 members you should provide 4% of the membership in strength equipment and at least 3% of the membership in cardio equipment, with 500 - 1000 members the number of equipment decreases to 3% of the membership in strength equipment and 2% of the membership in cardio equipment, with more than 1000 members you should provide at least 2.5% of the membership in strength equipment and at least 1% of the membership in cardio equipment. This means that for 100 members you need at least 3 cardio machines. For each piece of equipment you should calculate with 4.5 - 5 square meters of space - this already covers the paths and the environment, i.e. the free space around the equipment.
As basic equipment you should offer at least one bicycle ergometer and one cross trainer for cardio training. There is no way around these two classics, they are among the most popular cardio machines of all. Treadmills and steppers can be used to expand your range of products. Depending on the orientation of your studio, you can stick with the classics for additional cardio equipment and add a seated ergometer to the bike ergometer and then expand your range with a recumbent ergometer. Or you can expand your offer with a rowing machine, which can be perfectly combined with a ski ergometer in the next step.
Indoor bikes are a special form of cardio equipment. They are also very suitable for cardio training, but normally you need indoor bikes mainly for your course offer. Spinning is still very much in vogue, and in combination with Virtual Fitness, the workout in a group to driving music continues to be one of the most popular fitness courses in Germany. However, it is not enough to buy one or two pieces of equipment. Depending on the size of the group you are planning for a spinning class, you will of course need to purchase a corresponding number of indoor bikes.
Special requirements for professional use
In contrast to home equipment, the cardio machines in a gym are of course subjected to completely different stresses. A cardio session usually lasts 30-60 minutes, so your goal should be to have all of your equipment in full use during your opening hours. This means that your cardio equipment will be in use for many hours a day and must be able to perform accordingly.
Due to the number of different users, you should make sure that all your equipment is easy to clean. Porous materials on pads or, for example, the saddle of an ergometer are not recommended. They simply absorb body fluids such as sweat - certainly not the most hygienic solution in the long run.
In order to keep your equipment running smoothly, you need a maintenance plan to check and maintain your equipment on a regular basis. You can take care of this yourself and consult local companies for the maintenance of your equipment, but most equipment suppliers offer attractive maintenance contracts for their own equipment and excellent support for emergencies.
In order to have your gym certified according to Din standard 33961, you must make sure that your cardio equipment complies with DIN EN ISO 20957 and DIN EN 957, class S standards. A certification of your fitness studio is not obligatory in Germany, but in the long run you should strive for it - the Din standard 33961 regulates basic requirements for a fitness studio, the compliance with these minimum standards should be self-evident even for non-certified studios. The certificate shows not only your customers and members but also your cooperation partners your excellent working methods and reliability and sets you apart from unprofessional facilities.
Latest developments
Cardio training continues to be one of the absolute cornerstones of any fitness training, but supply and demand are changing. Users today expect a high level of training comfort in addition to the actual training and want to be able to check their training progress and success. This is where the right software can help. Most brands already offer good consoles with various training programs, the most popular beinginteractive programs. In general, smart solutions are also unstoppable for fitness equipment - they offer your members a higher training comfort, the possibility to pair their wearables with the equipment and thus keep an eye on their performance and play music and movies, but they also allow you to keep track of the usage of your equipment.
In addition to classic cardio equipment, more and more innovative niche forms of cardio training are establishing themselves - boxing fitness, for example, is strongly on the rise, and the first brands are already offering equipment for it. Climbers are the stepper's modern big brother and also appeal to a male audience. Trampoline jump ing and rope skipping are also very popular - the bouncing training for endurance is fun, the sport gets a playful touch, the boring cardio workout becomes the hit of every training session. In order to stand out from your competitors, you should keep an eye on current trends and react to them as much as possible - in order to offer your users the best training experience, you don't necessarily need a lot of expensive cardio equipment. A sensible selection of equipment and the opportunity to try out current trends are the keys to success here. An open space for rope skipping or boxing fitness is sure to be found in your studio - with a little advertising for it, you'll reach your members and keep offering them a change of pace for their cardio workouts.
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Editors fitnessmarkt.de (DG)
Photo credit: #168609753-Natee-Meepian Prostock-studio / stock.adobe.com
Published on: 1 October 2019