Best Home Gym Equipment Guide
Creating a home gym not only involves finding the best possible equipment that will facilitate your fitness goals and objectives, but also finding the right kind of flooring as well. When choosing flooring, it is important to remember the two main purposes that the flooring will serve. Protecting your original flooring from damage and even more important, protecting yourself! Without some type of protection, original flooring is bound to take a beating. By choosing a flooring barrier, you can protect your original flooring (such as home gym flooring over carpet or tile) and maintain the integrity of your home. Choosing appropriate flooring for a home gym can also protect you! Appropriate flooring can provide you with a safe surface for working out, provide adequate footing to prevent slipping and sliding, and can provide adequate cushioning to protect your bones and joints. So what is the best flooring for home gym set-ups? Here are a few ideas and options that will help you find the flooring to best suit your needs.
Rolled Rubber
Home gym rubber flooring rolls provide nice flooring for home gym use because they create fewer seams and can handle almost anything. It is the easiest option for quick installation and is generally considered to be an all around solution for home gym flooring needs. The rolls are typically 4 ft wide and can either be custom cut or purchased at stock size lengths. They can also be purchased at various thicknesses. They are great for areas that may become wet as clean up is very easy. This type of flooring is generally used for permanent installation but does not have to be and is great for power lifting because it is less likely to shift during exercise. This type of flooring can be used indoors or outdoors.
Interlocking Rubber Tiles
When it comes to rubber flooring for home gym use, this type of flooring is usually a favorite, and is often used commercially as well. With tight locking feature, in which pieces fit snuggly together like a jigsaw puzzle, these rubber tiles can appear virtually seamless. Another great feature of rubber home gym flooring tiles is that each piece comes with a main middle tile, a border, and a corner piece for the best possible look and fit in any room. Users also love that this option provides the ability to change the location of home gym set up with ease. Just take it apart and put it back together wherever you want. This type of flooring is also ideal for heavy weight lifting equipment that will sit in any one place for long periods of time and can be used indoors and outdoors. This is also available in a variety of thicknesses.
Carpet/Carpet Tiles
Carpet tiles provide a great option and can add warmth to any home gym set-up, while not taking the home look out of your home. While they do look great and can provide adequate cushioning and footing, they may not be quite as durable as rubber when it comes to heavy weight lifting exercises. Also, carpet may require a bit more of an effort to keep clean. These come in varying thicknesses as well.
Foam/Foam Tiles
This type of flooring provides a soft foam floor surface and is most commonly used for “light duty” home gyms or even kids’ play mats. The tiles are typically waterproof and insulate against sound as well as temperature. Probably not the best option for heavy weightlifting as the softness may produce a greater strain on joints but perfect for yoga or martial arts where a softer surface will make the exercises much more comfortable and safe.
Soft Wood Tiles
This flooring option keeps things looking classy and is a fun way to combine elegance and comfort and would be a fun look for a yoga or pilates room or studio.
What You Will Be Using it For
The exercises and activities that you intend to do on the flooring surface will make a difference in your selection. Aerobics or yoga would likely require a different type of floor plan than flooring that needs to support heavy training pieces such as multi-stations, and treadmills.
Price
Of course you want to get the most bang for your buck so check out all the options and keep in mind that the most expensive flooring may not be the best with all things considered. Read more about choosing how much to spend on your home gym.
Cushion
The amount of cushioning is probably one of the most important things to consider as soft flooring is ideal for martial arts, yoga, and pilates but not ideal for heavy lifting in which soft surfaces place more stress on the joints.
Traction
Traction becomes a critical component where heavy lifting is concerned. Slipping and sliding could be detrimental as it could cause injury to the individual as well as damage to the original flooring if heavy weights are dropped.
Ease of Cleaning
How easy the flooring is to keep clean is also a big concern. Most flooring companies have made this as easy as possible by creating products that are waterproof, stain resistant, bacteria resistant, and prevent mold/mildew growth. Clean up should be pretty simple with soap and water or a vacuum (for carpet flooring).
For heavy weight lifting and heavy exercise equipment, home gym flooring reviews typically support either rubber rolls or rubber tiles for performance in durability, appropriate traction, and cushion for joint protection, but the bottom line is there is a ton of home gym flooring options to choose from. The best home gym flooring is whatever flooring best suits your needs and protects you, your family, and your home!
