Now that many of us are exercising at home, you may have decided it’s time to create a formal home gym. By creating that designated space for a gym in your home, you’re more likely to stick with your exercise routines and achieve your goals. Unsurprisingly, the majority of us who are thinking about creating or updating our home gym do not have adequate gym flooring options.
If you’ve ever been jogging for an extended amount of time, you can notice the difference between the surfaces you run on. Runners who spend a lot of time on concrete tend to develop pain faster than those who choose to run on grass or more earthy surfaces. The same principle applies to exercising in your home gym.
FLOORING OPTIONS THAT ARE NOT GREAT FOR YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE
While carpeting may seem like a great choice to help lighten the impact on your joints, it’s definitely a type of flooring that you’ll want to avoid. There are multiple reasons you’ll want to steer clear. It does not provide the best traction, which increases your risk of injury, or at the very least, a nasty rug burn. Additionally, carpet tends to hold in moisture if not immediately cleaned, which is something you’ll want to avoid if you are exercising over it.
Concrete is another surface you’ll want to avoid working out over directly. Its sturdiness is extractive, considering you may be lifting weights or moving around on it frequently. The problem lies in its poor traction and its inability to absorb impacts. Not only can its sturdiness be detrimental to your joint health, but it can also easily break dropped equipment. That being said, concrete can be used as a base or “first layer” of your home gym floor. Let’s review a few of our flooring recommendations below.
IMPROVE YOUR WORKOUT BY CHOOSING THESE FLOORS
Before we dive into what flooring options you should be looking at when planning out your home gym, it’s necessary that we mention mats. For any gym that involves the use of heavy exercise machines, we always recommend that you look at purchasing high-quality mats or foam tiles. These mats can be found in a wide range of styles and thicknesses. They range from having features such as non-slip to being completely waterproof. By adding these mats to your gym floor, or at least part of it, you’ll be adding safety for yourself, your weights, and your machinery.
As for the base of your flooring, a durable hardwood floor that has a bit of give to it makes a great choice for a home gym. This is particularly true if you plan on doing a good amount of cardio and aerobic activity.
LVP, or Luxury Vinyl Planks, also serve as a superb option for your home gym. They have an incredibly realistic appearance and can be used in place of real hardwood. They’re composed of several layers, making them have a bit of give to them, which may help with joint pain. Furthermore, LVP is near waterproof and scratch-resistant, making this one of the best options for your home gym flooring.
Concrete, while being somewhat austere, can also serve as a decent flooring option. However, the catch is that you must cover the entirety of the concrete gym floor with the pads or mats we discussed above. You’ll protect your joints and equipment better with a set of proper interlocking non-slip mats.
WE’LL HELP YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE EVERY TIME
We understand that choosing the right style of flooring for your home gym can be difficult. You need to take into consideration, size, budget, and type of exercise you’ll be doing. If you need a bit of gym floor design inspiration, check out some of these home gyms. Our knowledgeable and seasoned flooring and design staff in Fort Collins have the experience you need to make the perfect gym at home. Contact our team today to get started on selecting a floor for your gym!
