Leasing Gym Equipment

Written by Michael Thompson

For small and medium-sized businesses, leasing gym equipment may hold many advantages over a straight-out purchase. Companies that provide exercise equipment leasing point out many benefits, including:

• Leasing fitness equipment enhances federal tax benefits.
• No cash outlay is required.
• Fitness equipment leasing allows flexible payment terms.
• Rates are fixed, rather than adjustable.
• Leasing gym equipment preserves bank credit for other purposes.
• Potential delays in opening the fitness and exercise center are eliminated.

Establishment of on-site employee fitness centers has gone beyond a short-term trend to become a long-term staple. Hewitt Associates, a human resources firm, conducted a 2007 survey entitled "The Road Ahead: Emerging Health Trends." Nearly two-thirds of employers agreed that they would become "much more involved" in their employees' health. Meanwhile, establishment of on-site exercise centers was the top priority among workers.

CHD Meridian HealthCare is among sources that seek contracts from businesses to oversee workplace health, but the company's web site provides a neutral in-depth report on exercise centers that does not promote CHD over its competitors. "Until the late 1990s, worksite wellness and fitness centers were seen as just a nice thing to do for employees," the report states, "but today, it has truly become a business decision, benefiting the company with lower medical costs, better productivity and less absenteeism. The cost of doing nothing keeps rising."

An Associated Press writer notes, with irony, that the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, lacked its own modern fitness center until two years ago."For decades, the nation's top public health agency has promoted exercise and healthy eating -- and offered its own employees high-fat cafeteria food and a lackluster fitness center," the AP reported.

Of course, the Centers for Disease Control can tap into the federal government for big money. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, also caught up with modern times recently with a multi-million dollar gift from philanthropist S. Daniel Abraham.

Leasing Gym Equipment For Small Businesses

Large corporations see multiple advantages of on-site fitness centers: IBM asserts that employees who make regular gym visits file annual health claims 17 percent lower than other employees, and Prudential states that participating employees take 43 percent fewer disability days. Of course, small and medium-sized businesses lack the options of the CDC, the Mayo Clinic, IBM, or Prudential.

The option of leasing gym equipment allows smaller enterprises to get into the fitness game quickly, adding a hugely popular employee benefit without a significant capital investment. In addition, leasing lets you stay on top of changing trends in the fitness industry. With a lease arrangement, you can simply exchange older machines for the newest models as they're available.

If your company is on an extremely strict budget, some providers will provide reconditioned older equipment for a fraction of the cost. Another option for a smaller enterprise is to contact equipment manufacturers, who may wish to test some of their new items with a small group of fitness enthusiasts.

To start, you'll need to evaluate several equipment leasing providers to see what they can offer and how much it will cost. To find the best providers in your area, try BuyerZone's free request for equipment leasing price quotes. We'll connect you to leading suppliers, and you decide what the best deal is for your unique situation.