The start up business would be a small fitness studio with personal training. what equipment would be best to start with?

This depends on the type of training you will be offering.
What are the needs of your clientele?
What is your area of expertise?
Who is your target market?

I have seen personal training studios jammed with machines and others with a TRX, free weights and a Bosu

Writing up a business plan and outlining your services is advisable.

Hi Laura,

this is still not very specific. I am just making the assumption that it is personal training only with 2 or 3 trainers.

You should have two pieces of cardio equipment. I would go with one treadmill and one elliptical.

For strength, you will need dumbbells and a rack to put them on, 2 sets of 2 up to 15 pounds and 1 set up to …. depends on the clientele. Tubing and bands, ankle weights, balls of different sizes, Bosus and bench(es), mats, a TRX.

As far as larger equipment is concerned, that depends a lot on your budget and clientele. At my studio, I have now a dual axis cable tower, a total gym Power Tower and a Bowflex. If I had to decide again which to get first, I’d go with the total Gym and then the cables. I use the Bowflex the least but when I started, the others were not yet available.

I wish you good luck.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com

I think it depends on your clientele and budget.

Here’s an article which details some basics. The rest will depend on your budget and clientele.

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/essential-pieces-of-equipment-for…

Hello Again Laura,

There is no “best” of anything however, have you attended IHRSA? This would be a good starting point to see what brands and type of equipment you like and what fits your business model.

http://www.ihrsa.org/convention/

I Hope This Helps,
Michael

Hi Laura,

I agree that there is still not enough information here. It depends on your budget, your clientele, the size of the studio and the type of training you or your trainers will be providing. You can have a studio with very few equipment up to a number of free weights, machines and other functional training equipment.

If you can provide more specific information we might be able to give you better answers.

Best,
Harris