Designing Cambridge Stud's world-class gym

Demanding premium for premium, General Manager of Life Fitness Colin Walker, Head of Marketing for Life Fitness Elysia Mills, and owner of Cambridge Stud, Brendan and Jo Lindsay, closely collaborated to design the best of the best for fitness facilities, ensuring top-tier technology for Cambridge Stud’s team of professional horse riders and maintenance staff. 

When curating a gym, we discover there’s much more to it than meets the eye. Space optimisation, identifying design aspects, and ensuring the perfect collection of fitness equipment to suit all needs are some of the many priorities considered in the process. We dive into the details of Cambridge Stud and its brand-new facility with Colin, and along the way, discover how you can take these pointers into your own home gym project.

Cambridge Stud is one of the world’s most famous thoroughbred nurseries. Founded by Sir Patrick and Lady Justine Hogan in 1976, it became internationally renowned thanks to the exploits of champion stallion Sir Tristram and his equally successful son Zabeel. The farm has been the birthplace of many champion racehorses that have won many of the biggest races in New Zealand, Australia and further afield. Under the ownership of Brendan and Jo Lindsay since 2018, the farm combines modern facilities with the farm’s rich history of success.

Its robust heritage and range of accolades were essential factors to consider in the design process, ensuring the staff gym truly reflected its incredible achievements and state-of-the-art grounds. Going into the Cambridge Stud Gym’s design process, Colin was able to tap into his creative side and bring a loose brief to life. Using his expert eye, collating the perfect combination of equipment to optimise staff training whilst maximising the space, especially for such a specific sport, was crucial. 

“Everything's perfectly manicured at Cambridge Stud, so it's spotless and modest but not ostentatious. We took this and decided the design for the gym had to be refined. Ultimately, we were working to blend the equipment and make the whole facility seamless,” explains Colin. 

“Brendan was open to all ideas, and we went through many different layout options whilst incorporating their branding and colours. This creates more work from a design perspective, which is what I love the most when it comes to gym design: taking a space and making it unique to fit the brief.”

“It's about trying to position all the specific equipment together to make sense. Working with a personal trainer perspective to make sure it's all in the right order, so when they're training, they can train someone in the right way. We made sure to keep the space down the middle clear, with the addition of the turf, so that they can run a class as well. Our team also designed the large wall graphic to compliment the aesthetics of the gym,” explains Colin.

The approach of designing this gym with Brendan is much the same as a classic home gym installation, with complete trust in the team to deliver precisely to his brief. Using Life Fitness’ advanced CAD programme, Colin meticulously designed the gym, providing Brendan with detailed 2D and 3D renders to illustrate the final result. Colin explains, “By providing floorplans and renders, we ensure clients can easily visualise their future gym.”

Once the equipment arrived, the Life Fitness Install team came onsite for the build, installation and rigorous testing. Finally, to ensure maximum value, Life Fitness provided comprehensive training sessions for Brendan, the Cambridge Stud staff and their families.

Guiding you from the initial concept and consultation to the final touches and installation, Life Fitness ensure your home gym reflects your unique lifestyle and needs. With Life Fitness, you’re not just creating a workout space; you’re crafting an extension of your home that seamlessly integrates with your home’s aesthetic. Trust the team to bring your vision to life, delivering a dream fitness space tailored exclusively for you.

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