How Gym Flooring Can Make Or Break Your Setup-Gym Direct

How Gym Flooring Can Make Or Break Your Setup

How Gym Flooring Can Make Or Break Your Setup - The Ultimate Help Guide

A girl doing a sit-up while sitting on black rubber gym flooring tiles.

To get started...

If you're anything like us, then gym time is one of your favourite times of the day. This affinity with fitness and training overall is definitely boosted if you're training on equipment that you've purchased yourself! Therefore, how you maintain this equipment is super important, right?

This blog article will talk about gym flooring, and why it is an essential part to any gym setup. Gym flooring not only gives your gym a nice look but also ensures that you're protecting the equipment you've invested in.

In this article we'll go over everything from how to choose the right flooring for your gym setup, where it's sold, how to clean it, all of its benefits and why your choice in flooring will have such a big impact.

So without further ado, let's get started with everything you guys need to know about the flooring of your setup!

A barbell with yellow weight plates placed on thin gym flooring

What is the best flooring for a gym?

To put it simply: gym flooring is very important as a whole because it protects your equipment from the negative impact of weight and movement, as well as protecting you from injuries by giving your gym a softer surface. If you engage in weightlifting, you most likely drop your barbell and weights quite frequently on the floor during training and rest periods. For obvious reasons, dropping heavy items like these is not suitable on most surfaces and will almost guarantee damage over time.

If you're training in a warehouse or garage, it's likely the floor is hard concrete which is unable to absorb the impact efficiently and will result in cracking. If you're training indoors like most home gym enthusiasts, the floor is likely to be carpet or floorboards. It's a no-brainer that over time, training on these surfaces is a disaster waiting to happen - and very bad for your home gym equipment! This is especially the case for heavier categories of equipment, like rowers, exercise bikes, treadmills, Olympic bars, heavy weights and so on.

A group of people high-fiving while sitting on rubber gym flooring tiles.
A couple resting on epoxy gym flooring.

What about noise reduction?

Most people will also agree that training can be quite loud. This is also problematic in a home gym situation, as you may have neighbours that don't appreciate the noise.

Thankfully, proper gym flooring alleviates this problem as well as it acts as a layer of sound insulation, absorbing the sound of equipment upon contact and limiting the vibrations around your training space.

What kinds of gym flooring are there?

When it comes to gym flooring, there are a few different categories that you can pick from that differ in a variety of ways. On the expensive side, you have more permanent solutions like epoxy flooring. You may find some people stating that this is the best option, but there are much cheaper products out there that require much less fuss in the installation process, are more versatile, and much cheaper. If we had to give our personal pick for the best gym flooring, we'd have to say commercial rubber gym flooring. These typically come in one metre by one metre tiles - and are cheap, easy to install, and very protective thanks to their thickness.

You can also find options like foam mats, vinyl and cork - but we wouldn't recommend this as being the best solution. Rubber flooring may be slightly more expensive, but with its superior durability, safety and noise-reducing properties, it's the clear winner when it comes to gym flooring.

You'll notice that shipping prices in Australia vary depending on the material you choose, due to the heaviness of the products themselves. This might be something to consider before you guys purchase.

How thick should a gym floor be?

This is a very interesting topic to consider, but it must be said - gym flooring that's too thin (a common issue with some gym mats) defeats the purpose of the investment. You'll see these super thin gym mats advertised quite cheaply online - the problem with gym flooring that's this thin is that you lose much of the benefits that gym flooring is supposed to offer in the first place. After all, you get what you pay for. If the tiles you purchase are too thin or soft, it dramatically reduces their ability to absorb shock and vibrations.

They'll start to lose their protective strength over time when exposed to constant training like most gym setups experience. If you want to invest in good gym flooring that will last, gym tiles that are at least 15mm are perfect. This ensures they're soft enough for your gym floors, but also protective enough to keep you safe when training!

We wouldn't recommend thin flooring like this...

Jigsaw mats work for those without robust setups at home!

How much gym flooring do you need?

It really depends on how large your training space is, and how much you are looking to cover. If you're looking for full coverage, you need to measure the length and width of the entire floor space, and work out how many 1m2 tiles of rubber flooring would fit.

On another note, if you're looking for a slightly cheaper solution, you can just buy enough to protect the area where you'll be using the heaviest items in your setups. For instance, buying four tiles to cover 4m2 of space underneath your deadlift or bench press space - or a few tiles to sit cardio machines on like exercise bikes, and so on. The amount of flooring required really depends on how much you are willing to spend, and how much is necessary to protect your individual space. Everyone's needs are different!

Focused woman uses kettlebells to do push ups on black rubber gym flooring tiles

Okay, so... How much does home gym flooring cost, and where can you buy it?

You will find a huge variety of prices online, depending on the materials you choose. If you're following our advice and choosing rubber flooring for your setup, you want to match a great price, with a great quality item. At Gym Direct, you can pick up a 1m2 tile for $38 online in Australia - with affordable shipping options to suit. We also offer a huge range of packages for those looking to buy in bulk!

The fantastic thing about these items is that we almost always have them in stock, with large quantities always in our warehouse. They are 15mm in thickness, and feature different colour options depending on what look and feel you are going for. They've been designed to perfectly withstand the 'gym' environment, and include anti-slip properties that ensure they never become a safety hazard. Choosing to purchase premium rubber gym flooring will ensure you have peace of mind knowing your gym equipment will always be safe.

You can visit the collection page for this flooring on our website below:

Commercial Rubber Gym Flooring - All Black-Gym Direct

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Commercial Rubber Gym Flooring Black With Blue Fleck

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Interlocking Black Gym Flor Mats In A 4 piece set

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Can you cut rubber gym flooring?

Indeed, you can! A sharp Stanley knife makes quick work of cutting these floors up, to trim off excess rubber and ensure the flooring is properly fitted to your individual space.

How to install gym flooring?

Installation is quite simple - but the only thing we have to stress is that due to the density and thickness of the rubber, gym flooring can be quite heavy. Please have a friend help you when lifting and moving these items! After you've placed the rubber tiles on the ground, you'll notice that they connect seamlessly side-by-side - however we do recommend laying these products in a brick pattern to minimize any potential gaps from appearing in between them over time.

Frequently Asked Questions in Australia:

Can gym flooring get wet?

It depends on the material. It's possible with rubber gym flooring! The appeal of these products is that they are waterproof. This also implies you won't be slipping around during a strenuous workout session. All you have to do to clean them is sweep over them with a broom and wipe the debris off with a mop. You can then use an array of gym cleaning products that will ensure bacteria doesn't develop in the pores or crevices.

Gym flooring, or gym mats?

It depends on your budget and training needs. If you're only really going to be engaging in light training activities like body conditioning or yoga, that don't really involve heavy equipment, interlocking gym mats are a great cheap option with cheap shipping to match.

Rubber flooring is only really suited to those with more of a robust setup of gym equipment.

Gym flooring tiles vs rolls?

It all boils down to personal choice, however gym flooring tiles are simpler to manage and more adaptable. Gym flooring rolls are generally far too big for most individuals and don't have the ability to precisely fit a training area like tiles do.

Tiles also allow for a more professional gym setup, whereas flooring rolls are much less sophisticated and come in a variety of different colours and patterns.

Conclusion

Group of athletes posing in front of a wall

Regardless if you're a home gym enthusiast or the owner of a commercial space, it's an investment that we highly recommend you make. Proper flooring is essential for protecting you, and your equipment.

Gym flooring tiles are designed to be the best gym flooring you can buy online in Australia, so shop with us today! At Gym Direct, we have everything you need to ensure your items have the longevity they deserve.

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About the author:

We write all of our blog posts as a group - consulting members of our sales, marketing and customer service teams to give you the content that you deserve. At Gym Direct, we know how important it is to stay informed when it comes to the equipment you invest in - so we've made it a top priority to write content periodically to assist you in doing so. Happy training!

Written by Gym Direct

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