How to Set Up an Office Wellness Room: A Procurement Checklist for Peloton, Yoga Blocks, and Headphones

Who this checklist is for

Since 2021, I have handled purchasing for a 220-person company. That means around $80,000 in annual orders, 15 or so vendors, and a permanent list of people who need things yesterday. When the VP asked me to turn an empty 190-square-foot room into a wellness space, I had a process. This checklist is the one I ended up following.

It is designed for a shared room, not a full commercial gym. Use it when you need to buy equipment, accessories, audio, and a few non-obvious extras in one pass.

Step 1: Find out what your employees will actually use

Do not start with equipment. We sent a five-question survey to staff before anyone emailed a catalog. It was simple: What do you want to do in the room? Would you use instructor-led classes? What time of day would you use it? Do you prefer strength, cardio, or recovery? Would you use the room for quiet breaks?

The answer killed my assumptions. We had three groups: lunchtime class people, stretching-on-a-mat people, and people who just wanted a couch that was not in the kitchen.

All three are valid. The WHO 2020 physical activity guidelines recommend 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, but a wellness room also has to fight sedentary time. If someone uses the space for a ten-minute break, that counts as a win. If finance pushes back on floor space, SHRM's 2024 Employee Benefits Survey makes the business case easier: wellness benefits are increasingly expected. I use it as a reference before budget meetings.

Step 2: Pick connected fitness equipment and check the programming

For our office, one connected bike made more sense than three pieces of basic equipment. The Peloton Bike was the name people knew, and the screen made it approachable. But the hardware is only half of it.

The membership is what keeps the equipment from collecting dust. Before you sign, check the class schedule and instructor lineup for your team's timezone. For our London colleagues, Peloton's London studio classes were the deciding factor. The time slots line up better with GMT than the New York broadcast, and the class energy feels different. If your company has multiple locations, ask for a demo of the schedule before buying.

Also ask about commercial terms. A home membership does not cover a shared office room. Get the business membership, pricing, and included users in writing.

Step 3: Budget for accessories people forget, like yoga blocks

This is where my first quote almost went wrong. I focused on the bike and almost ordered an accessories package without looking at what was inside. It had one mat, one set of blocks, and zero straps. For a shared room, that is not a package.

Make a separate line for: yoga mats, Peloton yoga blocks, straps, towels, sanitizing wipes, and storage.

We bought eight blocks, ten mats, and four straps for a room that holds up to 12 people in a class. That is still not a huge stock, but it is enough for two people to work out without waiting. If you are ordering for a smaller room, buy at least two mats and two blocks per yoga spot.

Peloton yoga blocks are fine; just make sure the material is compatible with your cleaning routine. In a shared room, wipeable foam beats porous cork. That matters more than the color. Write a cleaning protocol before the first class, not after someone finds a used towel under a mat.

Step 4: Choose shared headphones that survive daily use

Earbuds are a dead end in a shared room. They are a hygiene problem and they disappear. Over-ear headphones with replaceable ear cushions are the practical choice.

When people ask about the Beats headphones Studio Pro and the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, I ask them to think beyond sound quality. Both are fine for a workout class. The real question is how they hold up when six different people wear them each week.

The Beats Studio Pro has a tighter clamping force. Some users like that for cycling classes; others find it annoying by the halfway point. The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones felt lighter and easier to forget you are wearing. If the XM6 is not in stock in your region yet, check the WH-1000XM5 as a close substitute.

Before ordering a set, verify that the manufacturer sells replacement ear cushions and headbands. If you can't buy spare parts, you're buying a disposable product.

Step 5: Add a not-a-workout corner (and learn how to play fish card game)

The most overlooked part of a wellness room is the space for people who are not exercising. We added a small table, two chairs, a lamp, and a couple of decks of cards.

I hear the same question all the time: how do you play fish card game?

The rules are short. Deal seven cards to each player, or five if there are more than three players. Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle. On your turn, ask one player if they have a specific rank, like kings or fours. If they do, they must hand over all of that rank, and you get another turn. If they do not, they say Go Fish, you draw one card from the middle pile, and your turn ends. If you happen to draw the rank you asked for, put it with your set and go again. Whenever you collect four cards of the same rank, put the set face down. The game ends when the draw pile is gone and no more complete sets can be made. Count your sets; the player with the most sets wins.

A printed instruction card in the drawer takes away the barrier. The card game is a tiny thing, but it makes the room feel less intimidating to people who do not want to sweat.

Step 6: Compare total cost, not the headline number

Here is what I learned the hard way in 2023. A vendor quoted a great price on a bike but could not produce a proper commercial invoice. Finance rejected the expense, and the delay cost us more than the savings. Since then, I ask every vendor the same questions: What is the total delivered cost? What setup or onboarding fees are included? Are accessories itemized? What does the membership include per month? What are the replacement parts costs?

The vendor who lists everything upfront—even if the total looks higher—usually costs less at the end. The lowest headline bid looked better at first, but after delivery, setup, and accessory line items, it was not the winner.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Buying equipment for 100% of the office at full utilization. Start with a realistic class size, usually a quarter of headcount at most.
• Treating accessories as an afterthought. The bike is useless if people are unwilling to lie on a dirty mat.
• Choosing headphones without spare parts. Verify that cushion replacements do not cost as much as a new pair.
• Forgetting the quiet corner. The card table is the lowest-cost item we bought and arguably the most used.

That is the checklist. Six steps, no magic. The room won't build itself, but now you know what to ask for.