In a Clinic/Gym Hybrid, you want to be able to use all the equipment for both sides of the house.
It should be able to be used for rehab in the clinic, and workouts in the gym.
And if you have equipment that can't work in both areas, then I'd say it's probably not worth owning it.
Because a common thing you see in gyms is a leg extension machine or a hamstring curl machine. And there are those pin-selected exercise equipment.
Those things are
- really big
- really heavy
- really expensive
- take up a lot of space
- and they're kind of one trick ponies.
What we want in an efficient Clinic/Gym Hybrid is your ability to start small, around 500 square feet of gym space, then grow into 1,500 square feet…
…and then REALLY grow to 3 to 5,000 square feet over a few years.
If that's what you're working towards, every single piece of equipment you buy has got to be working doing multiple jobs.
And if that's the case, you can't have one trick ponies.
So I would say that every piece of equipment should be able to be used in both sides.
I've seen rehab go on with a 70-pound kettlebell teaching hip hinging exercises, and then that same person went to the gym and used that kettlebell for a different exercise, kettlebell swings. It's fantastic.
Even though that seems like a big, heavy weight, it should be still used in the rehab setting.
If you're not using exercise equipment in your rehab setting, you're probably not pushing your patients hard enough, and it's important to do that.
So if you want your Clinic/Gym to grow, think about how to eliminate one-trick ponies. Get everything you can on both sides!