He learned tools as a teenager working out in the Wood Gym that have helped him continue to play at a high level as a 35-year-old. The simplicity of Petrone’s Wood Gym is its secret sauce.

Mario Tarabbia visits the gym about six times a week. But he doesn’t have to go far. When he moved to his 900-square-foot, one-bedroom rental apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he embarked on ...