Want to save the planet while improving your body and health? With an eco-friendly gym, you can do precisely that. The fitness industry has a growing interest in eco-friendly gym equipment to ensure your gym journey is one of green energy and reuse.
What Is Eco-Friendly Gym Equipment?
Sustainable gym equipment incorporates green practices. This means it is made to the highest standards, lasts longer and doesn’t follow harmful production methods.
When you imagine a gym, you probably picture steel dumbbells and large gym equipment. Many don’t think these are sustainable, but they can be. More importantly, your entire gym can contribute to a much greener footprint with the right mindset.
How to Choose Eco-Friendly Gym Equipment
Look for gym equipment that is:
- Long-lasting
- Energy-efficient
- Made from natural materials
- Made from recycled materials
- Refurbished
13 Best Green Gym Equipment and Accessory Ideas
Here are some practical ways to incorporate green gym equipment and eco-friendly ideas into your gym.
1. Best Eco-Friendly Treadmill Ideas
Consider some green or energy-efficient options when purchasing your next treadmill. These machines can easily include energy-generating mechanisms to help your clients create energy while they run.
Use the energy to power the onboard music and display functions, or incorporate the power into a localized battery that could even help reduce your gym’s overall energy use. A treadmill can generate 220 watt-hours of electricity per hour — even 30 minutes is enough to run a lightbulb for six hours.
2. Most Innovative Rope Tips
Source your gym’s battle ropes by finding recycled rope materials like shipping lines, anchor straps and cargo nets from your local marina. These have the weight and strength to provide an excellent cardio workout. Additionally, recycling nylon nets saves the planet, as netting takes approximately 40 years to fully decompose, so removing them from nature helps prevent harmful dumping.
3. Using a Sustainable Recumbent Bike
Like the eco-friendly treadmill, an energy-efficient recumbent bike can include the capacity to generate energy, which can power the bike’s computer. It may also include a fan in the front wheel to create wind and reduce the over-reliance on air conditioning. A recumbent or stationary spinning bike is ideal for your next high-intensity interval training session.
4. Natural Gym Chalk
Gym chalk may not seem like an environmental biggie, but every little bit helps green the gym. Replace store-bought gym chalk with natural materials like corn starch and baking soda, which you can scent with essential oils and even tint with a few drops of food coloring.
Corn starch is an excellent hydrophilic material, which means it dries hands for an improved grip that rivals traditional chalk powder. It’s also more eco-friendly and widely available than chalk and chemically produced gym chalk.
5. Water-Renewal Shower and Garden
Most gyms have showers for their clients, so why not drain the wastewater into a collection tank and use it for a rooftop vegetable garden? Here, you can grow vegetables and greens or wash floors at the end of the day.
6. Refurbish Gym Equipment
Don’t throw out worn gym equipment. Instead, look into refurbishing it for a second lease on life. Alternatively, you can sell old gym equipment through refurbishing agents to ensure these don’t end up in landfills.
7. Organic Yoga Mats
You’ll need several yoga mats when your gym includes a yoga studio. Opt for natural fiber mats or recycled ones made from woven fabric. The market also has some fantastic recycled rubber fiber yoga mats to consider.
8. Best Upcycled Fitness Benches
Fitness benches are vital to a gym but quickly become worn out. Ensure yours last longer with quality care methods, and when they need a facelift, contact an equipment refurbisher.
Used gym benches are always a good option — many are in top condition. Reusing and refurbishing make up the basic tenets of green gyms.
9. Responsibly Recycled Medicine Ball
The medicine ball is a clever and oh-so-easy-to-recycle gym staple. Choose medicine balls made from recycled materials, and always buy the best quality to ensure an extensive life. Your local refurbisher can help repair minor damage.
10. Reclaimed Flooring Materials
Gym flooring is vital to the overall workout experience. Fit gym flooring in modular sections, selecting a recycled rubber flooring supplier. When an area wears down, you can easily replace the worn module. Remember to send the waste pieces to a reclamation center to keep the rubber off landfills.
11. Sustainable Workout Wear
Select workout clothing brands you know use eco-friendly materials and production methods. If you own a gym that has its own fitness line, invest in top-quality natural materials where possible. Or, invest in high-tech nature-inspired materials that offer increased moisture-wicking properties to clothing design.
12. Natural Light and Air
Reduce your gym’s reliance on the electric grid by using natural light and air to maintain a comfortable indoor climate. Open windows and redirect light with large mirrors to illuminate the whole space during the day. Consider installing solar lights to provide indoor lighting at night.
13. Other Green Gym Ideas
Your eco-friendly gym needs to focus on more than just equipment. You can also include green innovations such as:
- Creating a recycling station at the gym for athletes to recycle their home waste materials.
- Using sustainably sourced cotton towels for increased moisture absorption.
- Cleaning towels with natural materials like baking soda and essential oils instead of chemical or petroleum-based soap.
- Providing natural soap in the showers to ensure your graywater system remains chemical-free.
- Creating a smoothie bar that makes vegetable smoothies from the vegetables you grow in your garden.
- Encouraging gym members to carpool to further reduce their carbon footprint by reducing travel pollution that single-occupant cars cause.
- Offering discounts to gym members who carpool or use public transportation to get to the gym.
- Heating water during the day with a solar heating system to reduce the cost of a traditional water heater.
- Creating a free charging station for devices in your gym charged by the treadmills, recumbent bikes and static spinning bikes.
Create a Green Gym Experience Today
Plan your gym’s sustainability and join the global eco-friendly efforts of other health industry experts. You’ll also see a significant overhead reduction when you use equipment to generate energy for lights, fans and onboard computers. Refurbish used equipment, purchase quality used equipment and ensure your gym adds more than just muscle to your clients’ lives.
