The gym equipment are conveniently located in the living room, behind the sofa and television set
Civil servant Shahibul Kahfi’s morning routine begins with a session in his personal gym located within his five-room Build-To-Order (BTO) Housing Board flat in Bukit Batok.
A squat rack, a dumbbell rack, a flat bench, an adjustable bench, rubberised weight plates and commercial-grade gym mats occupy the space behind his sofa and TV in the living room.
The 31-year-old, who is currently studying full time at Nanyang Polytechnic, set up his home gym in March this year when he and his wife Nuraishah Ibrahim, 30, moved into their new flat.
He says the gym equipment he has at home is enough for him to do all his main exercises such as squats and bench presses. He works out at home three to four times a week and occasionally supplements his home workouts by going to the school gym for accessory exercises which are smaller muscle-specific exercises.
“Our initial plan was to leave the space as a play area for our future kids. But we have two other spare empty bedrooms so I decided to turn it into an adult play area,” says Mr Shahibul, who set it up with the help of home gym contractor DirectHomeGym.
While having a gym set up in a HDB flat might not be the norm, Mr Shahibul is far from being the only one.
Founder of DirectHomeGym, Wayne Poh, 33, estimates he sets up an average of 30 home gyms each month and with almost half of them installed in new BTO flats. His biggest customer group are clients aged between 25 and 35.
He adds that young couples who are into the fitness lifestyle are more likely to invest in a gym set up in their first home after moving out of their parents’ home.
“The sporting and fitness culture is quite big these days and young people want to look good. It makes sense to build a gym at home, even if it’s in your bedroom, so you can work out anytime,” says Mr Poh.
For many home gym owners, the convenience of having exercise equipment within their living space is the biggest draw.
