Your Complete Guide to Home Gym Flooring Installation
If you have a home gym, you probably gave a lot of thought to the equipment you needed. But have you considered the importance of high-quality home gym flooring installation? Your choice of home gym floor can be just as important as your choice of weights or machines. Flooring in home gyms is not just for aesthetics, but it plays an essential role in your home workout routine.
Your home gym floor must withstand any impact of your training or exercise program. Training on hard floors can be painful for cardio routines, not to mention damaging to joints. Additionally, the floor in a home gym should prevent slipping and avoid any issues with safety when exercising.
Choosing the best type of home gym flooring can be challenging. Flooring options include rubber floor mats, hardwood floors, cork, carpet, vinyl, and stall mats. Then, there is the question of budget. With so many options to choose from, which is the best floor for your home gym? This article aims to guide you in choosing the ideal type of flooring to install in a home gym.
Why Choose to Install Home Gym Flooring
Most people typically start a home gym by putting some equipment in an unused part of the house. This could be the corner of a bedroom, in a garage, or an unfinished basement. Usually, the type of flooring in the exercise area is never a consideration. But as you get serious, it’s clear that your home gym needs a dedicated space and the correct type of flooring.
Think about the equipment you use. You invest in the right kind of weights, running machine, exercise bike, resistance bands, and exercise balls. You realize that you could injure yourself or others if you don’t use the right equipment.
The same is true when it comes to flooring. Home gym floor installations should be durable but also help reduce impact. It would also help if your gym floor absorbs sounds and is easy to clean after a strenuous workout. There is also the question of safety. The floor should have a non-slip surface, even when damp, to prevent accidents and equipment from moving.
5 Types of Home Gym Flooring
Let’s look at the pros and cons of various best home gym flooring solutions for your exercise and training needs.
1. Rubber floors for home gyms
One of the best choices for a home gym is rubber flooring. Rubber is a durable material that will absorb the impact of vigorous training routines at home. Even if you drop heavy weights, rubber floors won’t suffer any damage.
Also, rubber flooring in a gym keeps its non-slip properties even if there’s a lot of sweat on the floor. This is an essential feature of any gym if you are lifting heavy weights, using skip ropes, or doing CrossFit style workouts.
Another advantage of installing rubber home gym flooring is that it cleans up nicely. This means that odors won’t build up—a common problem with some types of flooring.
2. Home gym concrete floors
Concrete floors are common in home gyms because they are inexpensive and durable. The chances are that if your gym is a garage or basement, you already have a concrete floor installed. If you decide on a concrete floor for your home training area, then you’ll need to apply a coat of non-slip or non-skid paint.
Of course, concrete floors are easy to clean, so your gym won’t end up smelling bad after a few months.
While concrete floors have some advantages in a home gym, they are not ideal. For example, the hard surface can cause impact injuries if you’re doing aerobic or cardio workouts. Also, there aren’t many sound-absorbing properties, and concrete floors can chip easily if you drop weights on them.
3. Carpeting for home gyms
A popular option for home gym flooring is carpeting. Many people choose to repurpose carpeting from other areas of their house when doing renovations.
From one point of view, carpeting seems like a good solution. It’s relatively inexpensive, and it provides good traction, making it suitable for all types of workouts. Additionally, carpeting helps reduce impact.
However, anyone who has carpet in a home gym will tell you that it soon begins to smell. Old sweat builds up in carpets because they are difficult to clean. And apart from the unpleasant odors, there is the risk of dampness and mold. Consider the fact that you breathe heavily when working out, you don’t want to risk inhaling toxic mold spores.
4. Home gym wooden floors
Hardwood flooring can be a suitable and attractive option for home gyms. In fact, hardwood floors are the material of choice for dance studios, sports halls, and some training facilities. So, depending on how you use your home gym, hardwood flooring may be a good option.
One thing to consider is that hardwood isn’t as durable or impact-resistant as rubber flooring. So, you could easily damage the beautiful wooden floor if you drop weights on it. Also, water and sweat tend to make wooden floor surfaces slippery—not something you want if you do squats or jumping jacks. It is also to maintain hardwood gym floors so that they always look their best.
5. Rubber stall mats
Some enthusiasts recommend buying rubber stall mats as a home gym flooring solution. On the surface, rubber mats seem like a great, budget-friendly idea. The mats help decrease the impact of aerobic exercises and provide a non-slip exercise surface. For some people, rubber gym mats are a great flooring option due to their versatility.
However, suppose you have a permanent home gym. In that case, it’s better to install rubber home gym flooring rather than putting mats on an existing floor covering.
In this guide to home gym flooring installation, we have not examined other options such as foam tiles or cork tiles. This is because they are highly impractical for home gym floors. The materials lose traction when wet and are not durable.
Home Gym Flooring Installation: The Bottom Line
Proper flooring in a home gym is vital to ensure that you can work out in comfort and safety. Most people agree that rubber flooring is the best solution for home gyms. Not only is it low impact on your body, but it also doesn’t harbor odors, is easy to clean, and looks great. However, whatever option you choose, make sure that your home gym flooring is durable, safe, and suits your exercise needs.
