Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
For too long, the unspoken rule of the home workout was clear: hide the evidence. Brutish dumbbells, joylessly coloured yoga mats and tangles of resistance bands were banished to the darkest recesses of a room, summoned only during fleeting moments of motivation before being exiled and forgotten. But what if the path to physical wellbeing was paved not with rubber and steel, but marble, oak or Italian leather?
Addition Studio 1kg dumbbells in (from left) limestone, travertine and green marble, $109.95 each © Andy Price
Shane Reilly was inspired to launch her “decorative” weights company Obshay after tripping over equipment stored under her desk during Zoom calls. “I settled on the idea that they should look like sculptures you could keep on your desk,” says Reilly of her marble-effect silicone weights. She’s since moved from decorating New York penthouses and San Francisco homes to winning this year’s Best Multipurpose Weight at the Women’s Health Awards. Her two-year development process involved 3D printing, extensive testing and consulting medical professionals about ergonomic comfort, resulting in a clang-free alternative to traditional dumbbells.
Obshay silicone Swirl weights, from £59
Pent x Swarovski crystal, steel and walnut Lova kettlebell, £551
Similarly, Subtle Impacts’ powder-coated cast-iron “sculptures” are equally at home curling a bicep as they are positioned among antique ceramics (or as a pair of hand weights that double as bookends to cradle your reading material). They come in smooth finishes (Luna and Dusk) as well as more textured options (Black and Sand) for a firmer grip, which is recommended for heavier weights.
This new breed of kit might be pretty, but how practical is it? Forzini, a Málaga-based furnishings company, sculpts its marble dumbbells (1-3kg) and kettlebells (3-8kg) from south Asian marble, which has a natural cooling effect. They’re also shaped and weighted to be slip-free. CEO Nina Donskova admits they are “not designed to be used for 10-hour training sessions”, but for one hour they’re “fantastic”.
Equipt steel Ubarre weights, $149 each © Benjamin Holtrop
California-based Equipt, founded by former actress Kodi Kitchen Berg, has designed the Ubarre, a sculptural steel weight with an ergonomic shape “designed for comfort and utility”, while the brand’s wrist weights use metal balls instead of sand for “an extra level of security”. The latter’s vegan- leather components are made from recycled water bottles, and Berg will soon launch a travel-friendly weight strap designed to attach to handbags. “I had it on my vintage Louis Vuitton and it blended in perfectly,” she says.
Forzini marble Apollo dumbbell sets, from €160
Pent wood Sienna Premium skipping rope, £209
“Good design is almost invisible, but really good design you don’t even notice,” says interior designer Vicky Charles, who recently included a TechnoGym banquette with built-in weights and stretch band hooks in the suites of the Dolomites’ newly opened Hotel Ancora. Also noteworthy is design company Dienne Salotti’s sofa gym, a hot-stone-inspired couch that converts to a workout station with a wooden floor, hidden storage for weights and a roll-out treadmill. It was so highly anticipated that orders had begun even before its unveiling at May’s Salone del Mobile.
For home workouts, Charles recommends equipment from Polish company Pent, which kits out the likes of Rosewood Doha and the Kasper 7 superyacht with kettlebells and skipping ropes crafted from walnut, as well as offering a collaboration with Swarovski. Clients increasingly want gyms to be “as beautiful as the rest of their homes”, says Charles, “and then want to put equally beautiful equipment in the space as you would other furniture.”
Subtle Impacts cast-iron Luna 20lb kettlebell, $161 © Rachel Steffensmeier
Jessica Thompson, global brand president at activewear brand Halara, works out up to six days a week – at least half of that at home. “I do my home exercise in my closet, so I want it all to feel aligned,” she says. Aligned, that is, with her Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten and vintage Prada. Disappointed by the selection of yoga mats on offer – “a lot come in terrible colours” – she settled on an off-white padded exercise mat from Oceanfoam that doubles as a rug in her closet area. She uses Bala ankle and wrist weights, and has marble handweights from Lifted Movement on her wishlist. “I like Bala because it has that rubberised texture,” says Thompson. “Whereas with something like a marble, you’re a little more limited in what you can or should do with it. Marble weights can chip, so you have to be intentional about how you are setting them down or doing exercises where you might traditionally tap them.”
Technogym Home Gym bench, £1,450
Dienne Salotti fabric sofa gym, POA
Recommended
Of course, there are those who eschew equipment entirely. “I use a lot of my furniture to stretch,” says Clotilde Chaumet, a Paris-based wellness instructor specialising in at-home workouts. Chaumet practises yoga on the shaggy rug in her living room and deep back-stretches over the sculpted curves of her emerald-green Etcetera chair – a minimalist approach that underscores a mood. Exercise increasingly happens where we live and using what we live with. Why not use equipment that slips into the seams of our lives?