Is gym flooring necessary?

Gym flooring is a necessity if you want to protect your floors and equipment from damage. We provide a range of gym flooring to cater for home and garage gyms, as well as options for commercial gyms and training spaces.

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Why you rubber flooring for your garage gym

Reduce damage

You might not be precious about your gym floor, but you probably don’t want to ruin the brand-new dumbbells you’ve purchased by dropping them on concrete. Hard flooring can do some serious damage to your gym equipment, even if it is tough. You might also want to protect your underlying flooring from wear and tear especially if it’s easily marked such as wood or tiles.

Safety for your gym equipment

The most important factor to consider when building a home gym is safety. If you’ve got heavy equipment such as a weight bench the feet need to grip well to the floor. Rubber gym floor mats are extremely supportive for grip and therefore help keep equipment such as your weight bench planted, reducing the risk of injury.

Be kind to your neighbours

Soundproofing your gym is another aspect that you need to think about when converting a garage. If you’re performing heavy lifts where you will likely be dropping weights on the floor then you can reduce the sound impact by using 40mm thick rubber gym flooring. Your neighbours and the rest of your household will thank you. If you’re dropping weights from an overhead position, then we’d also recommend using drop pads to ensure your equipment stays safe.

The benefits of using gym floor mats

Aside from saving your neighbours from the sound of weight plates smashing on the ground, there are several other benefits to using gym flooring in your home gym:

● It helps to insulate the gym
● Easy to clean
● Long lasting and durable
● Easily replaced
● Reduces damage to equipment and flooring
● Improves the look of the gym

Without a suitable gym floor, you could reduce the longevity of your equipment, which makes it an essential purchase. It might not be cheap, but it’ll save you money in the long run when you don’t have to keep replacing your dumbbells and bumper plates.

How do you secure a gym floor?

Securing gym flooring is easier than you might think, all of our flooring and mats are designed to be fitted hassle free.

The interlocking floor mats are made with a jigsaw design so they can easily be attached together. This interlocking structure also leaves no room for manoeuvre once the mats are secure.

Our tile floor mats can be placed directly onto the floor without any adhesive to secure them in place. To reduce the chances of movement, we recommend you place them in a brick pattern. Our premium floor tiles also come complete with sunken fixing connectors to prevent any movement, making them ideal for commercial gyms where footfall is higher.

Can you put gym mats down on concrete?

Yes, all of our gym mats are suitable to cover concrete. If your garage gym currently has concrete flooring, rubber mats will act as shock absorbers to reduce the chance of damage to both your concrete flooring and the weights. If you are dropping weights, then we always recommend at least 40mm thick flooring.

How do I cut gym mats?

Our gym mats come in a variety of sizes, but it’s likely that you’ll need to cut some of them down to size to meet the spec of your gym. This is a simple task that requires some essential equipment:

● Retractable utility knife
● Safety gloves
● Steel ruler
● Measuring tape
● Thick cardboard or an alternative

1. First, make sure the mat you’re cutting is on a flat surface and place it on top of a piece of thick cardboard so that the knife won’t mark the surface below when you cut through. You should also kneel on the mat to stop it from slipping.
2. Measure out the area you need to cut and line up the steel ruler as a marker.
3. Make sure you’re wearing your safety gloves at all times to reduce chances of injury.
4. Take one shallow cut along the line you want to cut before then making multiple subsequent cuts along that line, gradually getting deeper until the cut is complete. This makes it easier to control the blade as you make the cut and requires less force.
5. Keep any offcuts as they might come in handy if you need to fill in areas of the flooring.

Tips when converting your garage

Before you go ahead and purchase your gym flooring, take measurements of the area you want to cover. Our rubber tiles come in various pack sizes so make sure you’ve done the maths to get the right number of tiles.

Another thing to consider is which areas of the gym you want rubber flooring on. It’s essential that you use it in areas where you will be dropping weights, however you should also consider using it in areas that you might be doing floor work as it will provide more comfort.

What’s the difference between gym flooring and gym floor mats?

Gym flooring can be used to kit out your whole gym or large areas of it. We also offer a range of PVC Gym Equipment Mats in pre-set sizes which are designed for placing under specific cardio equipment and gym machines such as rowers or exercise bikes.

Finally, remember that this is one of the most important purchases you’re going to make for your gym, so don’t try and cut corners. Rubber flooring comes at a higher price for a reason, it’s long lasting and the best chance you have of taking care of your gym. When planning your gym fit out consider flooring as one of your first priorities.