NO EXCUSES NOW

A home gym. COURTESY PHOTO For many, the "just do it" mantra is easier said than done.

Work, school, family and household commitments often derail the best of intentions.

A home exercise room can be the ticket for busy people to finally get on board and "just do it.'

Because of her schedule, Naples resident Michelle Roman found it difficult to make arrangements to work out at a gym. So two years ago she converted her seldom-used formal dining room into an exercise room. The Naples location of Busy Body Gyms To Go, a company specializing in home fitness equipment, outfitted the room with a treadmill, exercise bike, home gym including bench, exercise ball and floor matting. "It was easier for me to do it at home," Ms. Roman, 46, says. "It's like our own gym."

Originally she worked out with a trainer, but has maintained her routine without one for almost a year. She works out four times a week with her 12-year-old son, Jacob, who joined her about a year ago after initially watching and supporting his mom. "It's really become more of a family thing," Ms. Roman says. "We get the homework done, and then we exercise."

The Precor brand of the elliptical is especially popular in home exercise rooms. She's shed nearly 40 pounds and wants to lose 30 more. An asthmatic, she says her overall health, especially her breathing, has improved. She's no longer short of breath after going from downstairs to upstairs. "This was one of the smartest things I've ever done," she says. "I think it was one of the best investments."

Nationwide, interest in home exercise rooms continues to grow, according to Dr. Kermit Baker, chief economist of The American Institute of Architects. He reported in a September 2007 article in "AIArchitect" that "exercise rooms have seen the greatest gains over the past year."

Armando Perez, regional manager for Busy Body, says business has been steady in recent years and that customers come from all walks of life. "More and more people are finding it difficult to get to health clubs," he says, adding most start with a single product, which is most often something for cardiovascular exercise,

COURTESY PHOTO The Bay Forest fitness center includes this row, from left, of a weight machine, two treadmills, an elliptical and a treadmill. The Naples location of Busy Body Gyms To Go, a company specializing in home gym equipment, outfitted the room with the equipment and floor mats. Retiree Bill Mottice, 74, can attest to the diversity of fitness clientele. Although he doesn't have a home exercise room, per se, he was instrumental in helping the Naples gated community of Bay Forest open a fitness center. Outfitted by Busy Body, it has three treadmills and two each of the elliptical, weight machine and recumbent bike, free weights and floor mats.

Just doing it

Mr. Mottice uses the equipment almost every day and says he sees teens to seniors in their 80s working out there. "We have busy traffic," he says, adding people are in and out from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. "It's run more like a home gym."

Busy Body representatives equip whole rooms at one time, Mr. Perez says, noting that the typical room size is 10 feet by 12 feet. The elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike and home gym (weight station with bench) are the common pieces included. "For a customer outfitting the whole room, we help with the layout," he says, adding they even sell mats for each piece of equipment to protect flooring.

COURTESY PHOTO The Bay Forest fitness center includes this row, from left, of a weight machine, two treadmills, an elliptical and a treadmill. The Naples location of Busy Body Gyms To Go, a company specializing in home gym equipment, outfitted the room with the equipment and floor mats. Busy Body employees also instruct purchasers how to use their equipment.

Mr. Perez says he sells more elliptical machines for home gyms than treadmills, bikes and home gyms combined. The Precor brand ranges from $1,799 to $5,995, according to the Busy Body online site. The next biggest seller is the treadmill, with more options at a lower price, Mr. Perez says. A low-end Vision Fitness model costs $999 at Busy Body online

Ms. Roman says she likes the treadmill the most. She does 45 minutes to an hour of walking, jogging and running, then back to jogging and walking. "When we started I was lucky to do 10 minutes on the treadmill," she says.

Home gyms sometimes occupy more space than other apparatus because of multiple components. The highest-end Precor Fitness model allows for two people to work out at once and features three weight stacks. Mr. Perez calls the home gym an "important factor to weight loss" because "the more muscle you put on, the quicker your metabolism burns calories and fat."

Indoor bikes still hold interest. Ms. Roman says her son prefers the bike in their room, averaging 20 to 30 minutes per workout, though they both use all the equipment. In areas where there are lots of retirees, Mr. Perez, says, the bike remains popular.

Regular exercise

• Children and adolescents should do at least one hour of physical activity per day.

• Adults should do 2½ hours of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week and muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week; 1¼ hours of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week and muscle strengthening at least two days; or a combination of moderate and vigorous and muscle strengthening two or more days.

Source: Centers for Disease C ontrol and Prevention