Best Gym Flooring Options to Build the Home Gym of Your Dreams

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When it is time to construct a house gymnasium, some individuals spend extra time planning their sound system than their gymnasium flooring. That’s an enormous mistake that may not solely have an effect on the high quality of your workouts, but additionally make or break your property’s basis—actually.

Whether you go for lengths of rubber gymnasium flooring, a range of particular person gymnasium ground tiles, or rubber-backed vinyl, you’ll be able to lay the groundwork for secure and efficient lifting. The proper flooring may even assist scale back the noise output any time gravity will get the higher of your barbell. But it isn’t so simple as throwing down some carpet scraps or yoga mats and hoping for the greatest. 

Buying correct gymnasium flooring includes selecting the proper materials and thickness to make sure you’re getting sufficient safety. Our prime choose, American Floor Mats Warrior Rubber Gym Tiles, hit the candy spot in offering a flexible gymnasium flooring possibility that matches most peoples’ wants.

“For people starting a home gym, you don’t have to finish it on day one and get the best of the best of everything,” says Chris Howell, CEO of SPX Fit, a consulting firm specializing in custom-built gymnasium designs.

Start from the floor up—sure, with gymnasium flooring—then spend money on high quality items of gear that can stand the check of time, like a stable residence treadmill, adjustable dumbbells, and a squat rack. After a while, you’ll be able to determine if you need extra bells and whistles like a good residence gymnasium setup. 

Below, Howell provides his prime picks for residence gymnasium flooring, whether or not you are still in the preparation stage or wanting to improve an already-outfitted area.

Best Overall Gym Flooring: American Floor Mats Warrior Rubber Gym Tiles

Gym flooring tiles enable you to place the supportive squares exactly the place they will provide the most safety. They’re additionally versatile sufficient to match practically any sized room, as opposed to rolled rubber flooring, which should be minimize to dimension and custom-fit. The Warrior Rubber Gym Tiles from American Floor Mats are available in a variety of thicknesses, however the 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch tiles will provide lots of help and sturdiness for any residence gymnasium lifting wants. The interlocking design retains the mats firmly in place—no pesky seams separating and inflicting a tripping hazard.

• Size: 24″ x 24″ sq. tile
• Thickness: 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, or 3/4″
• Price: $28 per 1/2″ tile, $37 per 3/4″ tile

Best Rubber Gym Flooring: Ecore Performance Rally

“Ecore is probably the biggest distributor and manufacturer of rubber flooring in the country,” Howell says. And the model delivers high quality that warrants its foothold in the area. 

The model’s Performance Rally Flooring is obtainable in tiles or a roll in up to 20 completely different shade patterns, so you’ll be able to add a component of fashion to your property gymnasium. 

“I’m a big fan of Ecore for several reasons: It has multiple densities and the top layer resists wear and tear,” says Merrick Lincoln, CSCS—a Michigan-based bodily therapist, assistant professor of kinesiology, and strength coach—who has Ecore flooring in his private residence gymnasium. “I’ve dragged heavy equipment across it without scratching the surface. The lower-density layer underneath has a nice amount of give, which feels great for plyometrics.” 

Compared to horse stall mats—a preferred different for storage gyms—Performance Rally flooring is dearer, however value the value since you do not have to fear about the rubber odor and off-gassing. Overall, it offers a extra polished look.

• Size: 23″ x 23″ interlocking tile or 4′ x 25′ roll
• Thickness: 14.5mm or barely greater than 1/2″
• Price: $450 at 4′ x 25′ roll

Best Gym Flooring Tiles: Eleiko Gym Floor Tiles

When it comes to discovering the greatest “anything” in the weight room, Eleiko is commonly a prime contender. With an extended custom of producing high-quality barbells and weight plates, it is no shock the model’s gymnasium ground tiles are of an analogous caliber.

Eleiko Gym Floor Tiles solely are available in one thickness—a beefy 1.18 inches—which is thick sufficient to stand up to even the heaviest residence gymnasium lifting. If you fancy your self an Olympic or energy lifter, that is your choose.

• Size: 24″ x 24″ tile
• Thickness: 1.18″
• Price: $67 per sq.

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Best Durable Gym Flooring: Kodiak Sports Megatile Rubber Flooring

So you’ve got arrange your storage gymnasium and have your buddies and children utilizing it, too? With that comparatively high visitors and heavy use, your gymnasium flooring wants to be substantial to deal with the elevated put on and tear.

Kodiak Sports is a lesser identified however dependable Texas-based outfit Howell has typically used. The model provides 1-inch-thick gymnasium flooring tiles in 2-foot squares. The thickness is on par with some industrial services, so it’s going to survive virtually any quantity of residence gymnasium lifting (even when you start charging for memberships and attendance spikes dramatically).

Kodiak Sports Megatile Rubber Flooring Tiles present flexibility along with your format, making it extra handy for any dimension gymnasium. And they’re out there in black or 16 shade patterns—if you may get the crew to agree on a motif.

• Size: 24″ x 24″ tile
• Thickness: 1″
• Price: Check value

Best Cheap Gym Flooring: Tractor Supply Company Thick Rubber Stall Mats

Just since you want residence gymnasium flooring doesn’t suggest you essentially have to select a product designed for residence gyms. Designed to stand up to horses and cattle, that is one of the most cost-effective gymnasium flooring choices per sq. footage you may get, says Howell. 

Tractor Supply Company Thick RubberStall Mats is a superb no-frills possibility for the budget-conscious lifter. At 3/4-inch thickness, the vulcanized rubber mat is hard sufficient to take no matter your lifting program requires. Whenever you end up standing on the mat between sets, take into account repeating the mantra, “Strong as an ox.” 

• Size: 4′ x 6′
• Thickness: 3/4″
• Price: $57

More Home Gym Flooring We Love

Best Turf Gym Flooring: Plae Attack Turf

One of the extra specialised flooring choices on the record, devoted turf is usually a answer for lifters wanting to incorporate extra athletic-based training together with sprints, plyometrics, and sled work with out leaving their residence or yard.

Plae’s synthetic turf incorporates an underlayer of 3/16-inch foam padding. This supplies slight cushioning or “give” for a extra pure really feel. A profit of synthetic turf is a runway free of rocks, sticks, and different harmful obstacles you would possibly discover outdoor. A transparent disadvantage, nevertheless, is the important area required for such a particular piece of flooring. Rogue has a minimal order dimension of 300 sq. ft, or 15 ft by 20 ft.

• Size: 15′ width
• Thickness: 3/4″
• Price: Check value

Best Vinyl Gym Flooring: Ecore Heritage Motivate Performance Vinyl Tile

Rubber gymnasium flooring is way and away the most popular alternative when it comes to weight training, however (gasp) not all people with a house gymnasium lifts weights. Vinyl flooring is not sturdy sufficient to survive extended heavy lifting, however is right for cardio training, body weight exercise, mobility, yoga, and comparable lower-impact exercises.

Ecore’s Heritage Motivate Performance Vinyl makes use of a 5-millimeter (1/10-inch) rubber base layer supporting a 2-millimeter (1/16-inch) vinyl floor. The aesthetic outer vinyl creates a sensible wooden look in a range of colours and shades, making it a best choice when a room’s visible enchantment is as necessary as its perform. The padded sublayer provides better efficiency and luxury than precise hardwood.

Notably, Ecore’s Heritage Motivate gained Silver at the 2023 Best in Biz Awards for the Most Environmentally Friendly Product of the Year.

• Size: 6″ x 4′ plank or 6.25″ x 4′ plank
• Thickness: 7mm, or simply over 1/4″
• Price: Check value

Best Sustainable Gym Flooring: Zandur Sustain Rubber Cork Flooring

You have photo voltaic panels on prime of your storage gymnasium and also you recycle empty protein powder containers, so possibly you additionally need to create an eco-friendly exercise area utilizing sustainable supplies. If that is a precedence, you would possibly think about using cork in your residence gymnasium flooring.

Zandur Sustain Rubber Cork Flooring is produced from 60 p.c renewable and recycled cork. Available up to 3/8 inches, which needs to be sufficient to help any moderate-intensity lifting, it is a distinctive and environmentally aware different to rubber that does not comprome sturdiness.

• Size: 39.4″ square tile, 38″ sq. tile, 19″ square tile, 19″ x 38″ plank, 9.5″ x 38″ plank, 4.6″ x 38″ plank
• Thickness: 1/16″, 1/4″, or 3/8″
• Price: $9 to $11 per sq. foot (1/4″), $13 to $15 per square foot (3/8″)

Best Gym Flooring for Heavy Lifters: American Floor Mats Ultimate Stand-Alone Gym Mats

If your sole focus in the gymnasium is hitting large PRs, you are in all probability geared up with a barbell, a pile of weights, and little else. The Ultimate Stand-Alone Gym Mat is a space-efficient and cost-effective alternative to help barebones strength training—particularly the 4-foot by 8-foot mat in 3/4-inch thickness. A single 8-foot-long mat will completely cowl your barbell’s footprint, whereas the 3/4-inch thickness will assist to shield your flooring from heavy deadlifts. Thicker mats, 1 inch or past, might provide barely better safety for very heavy lifts, however as a standalone equipment for lifters, this suits the invoice.

• Size: 3′ x 4′, 4′ x 6′, 4′ x 8′, 4′ x 10′
• Thickness: 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, or 3/4″
• Price: $212 for 4′ x 8′, 3/4″ thick

Best Soundproof Gym Flooring: Rogue Crash Cushion

OK, so this technically is not flooring, however there is a good purpose why it is on our record. Sound does not instantly disappear when it touches the mat. Some soundproof flooring boasts specialised designs that lure or redirect the sound of influence, however Howell asserts particular person cushions are extra pragmatic. 

“If you’re lifting in the morning and trying not to wake someone up, these are your best bet,” he says.

Rogue’s Crash Cushions provide a 6-inch-thick pillow of firm, versatile rebond foam to squelch the noise from dropped deadlifts, cleans, and different high-impact exercises. True soundproof flooring requires wall-to-wall protection whereas these cushions are solely wanted at the level of influence, immediately below your weights.

• Size: 30″ x 24″
• Thickness: 6″
• Price: $255 for a pair

Why You Should Trust Me

When I turned an ISSA-certified private coach in the early 2000s, I skilled shoppers of their properties utilizing no matter gear that they had readily available. Often, that additionally meant the workouts have been relegated to picket yard decks or furnished (and absolutely carpeted) basements.

The inconsistent setting and lack of devoted training area immediately affected our exercise choices and total program design. Simple pushups have been off the menu after “The Splinter Incident of ’04.” Similarly, carpeted flooring embedded with pet hair and allergens made any form of floor-based ab training a no-go.

A couple of years later, after I was managing a fitness gear retail retailer, I developed a greater understanding of the residence gymnasium gear business. We provided every little thing from cardio machines to cable pulleys to barbells. And, yep, the gymnasium flooring to go below all of it.

As I put collectively this record, I reached out to Merrick Lincoln, CSCS—bodily therapist and strength coach—and Howell not solely as a result of residence gymnasium design is Howell’s bread and butter, however as a result of he approaches it with an even bigger image mindset that many purchasers overlook.

“Mainly, it’s about protecting the foundation of your house,” he says. “I’ve heard nightmare stories of people trying to move out of a rental after they’ve dropped a bunch of weight and the landlord is like, ‘What the hell did you do here?!’ And then they’re having to basically pay twice, if they would’ve done it right the first time.”

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What Is Gym Flooring?

The inclination could also be to merely “make do” with no matter floor occurs to be in your training area whether or not it is naked concrete in the storage or carpet in the spare bed room. Or you would possibly merely choose up just a few cheap yoga mats at the native sporting items retailer and repurpose them as “lifting mats.” However, correct gymnasium flooring can function a essential barrier between your weight plates and the comparatively delicate floor beneath.

If you personal your property, an errant crack or two is not simply an aesthetic concern, it is a potential place to begin for bigger issues together with water leaks, bugs, or an ever-expanding crack not too completely different from a automotive’s windshield. If you are renting, it is that rather more necessary to take each precaution in avoiding everlasting structural injury, nevertheless superficial it’d seem.

Adequate gymnasium flooring may assist to scale back put on and tear by yourself body, making every footstep, lunge, or bounce extra comfy with barely minimal impact. This 44-year-old guarantees that, over time, your joints will thanks.

Related: 50 Best Chest Exercises for 2024

What We Look for in the Best Gym Flooring

When you are selecting residence gymnasium flooring, two of the greatest variables are the materials it is made of and the thickness it provides. Knowing the kind of training you will be doing is one other influential issue. If you are a devoted yogi or bodyweight-exercise fanatic, your setup will not want to be as strong as somebody working towards a 500-pound deadlift.

Materials

Material is one of the most substantial variations in residence gymnasium flooring choices. Even at the identical thickness, completely different supplies can present drastically completely different safety. 

Rubber

“Rubber is the best because it has the strongest density,” Howell says. Rubber provides extra sturdiness than vinyl, foam, or foam-rubber blends typically present in less-expensive selections. Ultimately, rubber gymnasium flooring is the proverbial gold customary for secure and efficient lifting.

Howell does warn in opposition to shopping for any generic rubber gymnasium mat you discover on-line, although. “On Amazon, you’re probably not going to get a full rubber product,” he says. “You’re likely to get a blend with foam. When you step on that, it feels almost like a child’s play area.” That’s what’s known as EVA foam. You don’t desire that make-up as a result of, with weights dropping, it might get unsafe. 

Vinyl

If weight lifting is not your training precedence, your choices broaden. Vinyl, sometimes with a rubber base layer, can present a nicer-looking completed product than extra industrial-looking rubber flooring. This is very helpful if your property gymnasium serves twin goal as a household room or different shared area.

However, vinyl comes with a caveat: It’s designed to appear to be a wooden veneer prime, however scuffs are very noticeable, revealing the rubber beneath.

Carpet

Carpet is one other seemingly apparent and ample alternative in a house setting, however Howell once more highlights some points with high-intensity training on a carpeted ground. 

“I’d say probably 10 or 15 years ago, you got carpeting for the acoustics,” he says. “But you’re ripping it up every five to seven years. And it’s hard to get the scents out. It’s just not a hygienic product.”

Related: Hybrid Athlete Training Isn’t a Workout Hack—It’s Better

Thickness

There are some floor guidelines when it comes to selecting the proper thickness. In common, you want greater than a quarter-inch. 

“Typically, three-eighths is great; half-inch is super safe, even if you’re doing CrossFit; and one inch is what you see in college weight rooms and high-footfall commercial gyms,” Howell says.

The thickness of your gymnasium mat flooring can also be associated to how a lot safety it provides to the subfloor beneath your gymnasium. Even storage gymnasium flooring, for instance, would wish to be sufficiently thick to shield concrete from repetitive reducing of free weights.

Sound Dampening

Lastly, and arguably most necessary to a house gymnasium proprietor, is the sound-dampening high quality it provides. However, soundproofing is extra difficult than many understand.

Howell works with an acoustician on tasks, and whereas they’ve discovered that thickness does [affect] sound absorption, it isn’t solved by going from a half-inch to one. 

“Sound doesn’t travel like that,” Howell says. “It travels through those pads, through your regular flooring, to the walls, then up. You can, mathematically, reach a [certain] decibel, but you’re never going to get library-quiet.”

Armed with this data, discover the gymnasium flooring that greatest meets your wants.

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