By Paige Cerulli
Rubber flooring is an ideal choice for gyms, thanks to its excellent strength, its ability to absorb shock, and its impressive durability. But when choosing rubber for your gym, it’s important to select a product that’s thick and strong enough for how it will be used.You can successfully use 8mm rubber flooring for many purposes in gyms. This flooring is equivalent to 5/16 inch flooring, and it’s a great choice for most gyms.At the 8mm thickness, rubber can accommodate weight machines and exercise equipment. It can also handle occasional drops of barbells weighing up to 75 pounds, protecting your subfloor in the process.Dumbbells and kettlebells concentrate their weight into a smaller area when they’re dropped, which is harder on the flooring. In areas where these weights will be repeatedly dropped, it’s best to opt for a thick rubber, like a ¾ inch or one-inch option. Thicker options can also help reduce noise and vibration, depending upon their design.At Greatmats, we offer a broad selection of rubber floor tiles, rolls, and mats suitable for gym use. If you’re looking for 8mm rubber flooring, you’ll have plenty of options, and similar ones, from which to choose.The Interlocking Rubber Floor Tiles Color 8 mm are durable, long-lasting tiles that can withstand the weight of exercise equipment. Measuring 3x3 feet, these tiles are an ideal choice when you need to cover a larger surface area.The tiles are easy to install, thanks to their interlocking puzzle edge design, and they require no adhesive. As a result, they’re ideal for both commercial and home gyms, as well as weight rooms.You can choose from three different color fleck options for the specific look that you desire. Cleaning the tiles is easy, and you can damp mop them with a neutral pH cleaner.The Rubber Flooring Rolls 8 mm 10% color are manufactured with recycled rubber content, making them an eco-friendly option. They may contribute to LEED points for your construction project.Thanks to their low odor, the rolls are an ideal choice for indoor installations in gyms, sports facilities, and weight rooms. They’re highly durable and are non-slip even when wet, making a safer environment for athletes.You can install the rolls with a tape- or glue-down method. When installing them in a home gym, you can dry lay them for an easy, time-saving installation choice.The Rubber Tile Utility Black Mix 8 mm is a value rubber flooring option with a light color fleck mix. These tiles are ideal for weight rooms, workout rooms, basement flooring, and more.The tiles are double-sided, so you can get maximum use out of this economical flooring choice. Their non-slip surface helps to keep athletes safe.The tiles feature precision waterjet cut edges, which allow the tiles to lock together securely so they won’t separate while in use. You can easily trim them to fit a space as needed.Cleaning the tiles is easy, too. You can sweep or vacuum them, or you can mop the surface with a neutral pH cleanser.The Rubber Flooring Rolls 8 mm Black are a highly durable commercial gym flooring option. This rubber produces a low odor, so it’s suitable for indoor installations.The rolls are non-slip even when wet to help keep your gym safe. They’re made in the USA with recycled rubber content, and they may contribute to your project’s LEED points.Available in custom cut lengths measuring 25 feet long or longer, these rolls are ideal when you need to cover a larger area, like an entire weight room.With the Rolled Rubber Pacific 8 mm Regrind Per SF, you can floor gyms, weight rooms, and fitness rooms. It’s suitable for home and commercial applications, and is highly durable. As a regrind material, it’s also one of the cheapest options available.These rolls are economical and ship from Oregon, so they’re a great choice for West Coast customers. They can be ordered by the square foot, and you can install them with a tape down or glue down method.This rubber is made from recycled materials, so it may qualify for LEED points for your green building. The rolls have a low smell, making them suitable for indoor use.The Plyometric Rubber Roll Sport 8 mm Natural Per SF offers excellent cushion and shock absorption, helping to keep athletes comfortable during workouts. The smooth non-slip surface helps to prevent slips and falls, giving athletes just the right amount of traction.The rubber roll is designed specifically for repetitious workouts, like plyometric drills and aerobic exercise. It combines a solid foundation with the shock absorption athletes need for activities like box jumps and jumping rope.While this rubber is a lower density to create a more forgiving surface, it’s strong enough to withstand the weight of gym equipment, but we don’t recommend dropping weights on this floor. Each sheet measures 4 feet wide, and you can easily cut it yourself to fit your space as needed.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade your own garage gym or home gym flooring, or looking to outfit a professional weight room or commercial gym, you’ll find rubber flooring mats a useful investment.
Rubber flooring mats for your gym are a must-have piece of equipment for any kind of exercise space. These are great for protecting your floors from heavy equipment and providing a comfortable place for users to perform floor exercises, and other workouts.
When shopping for gym flooring mats, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options. One of the biggest considerations should be the thickness of the mat, which will hold distinct benefits depending on what you plan to do on the mat.
That’s why we’ve written this guide, so you can invest in a rubber flooring option for your space that will suit your specific needs. Read on to learn more about the benefits of investing in gym flooring mats, what the different thickness levels are ideal for, and the different kinds you’ll see on the market.
First, let’s get into all the benefits of outfitting a workout space with thick gym mats. Just why should you look into a rubber mat for your workout space?
The biggest benefit to investing in gym floor mats is the shock absorption a rubber floor can offer the user. When performing floor exercises, a floor tile solution can protect users from injuries caused by hard surfaces. It provides a soft cushion as they move their weight around in a workout. Rubber tile or foam tile can also withstand the shock of heavy equipment like weights when dropped onto the flooring.
We also love gym floor mats for reducing vibration on the floor, which can be caused by heavy-duty cardio equipment, or other weight machines in the space. If you plan to work out on any kind of concrete floor or wooden flooring, this will be especially necessary.
Just like the shock absorption, gym mats will also help to reduce the amount of sound in your workout space. Heavy weights, equipment, and floor exercises can cause a lot of noise. Rubber roll mats or flooring tiles can be an easy solution for reducing the amount of echoing noise in the gym.
Finally, rubber gym flooring is beneficial as it will keep users safer during a workout. As we touched on above, their shock absorption ability can do a lot to lessen the amount of impact on the body during a workout. Another way it increases safety is by making the workout surface a lot easier to grip.
During a workout, users are going to sweat, which can make a home gym floor or commercial gym floor slippery if it’s tile or wood. Rubber flooring will provide a much more stable grip, keeping equipment in place, and those working out safer.
How thick your gym flooring should be will depend on a number of factors, including the kind of equipment used on the flooring, the kinds of exercises being performed, the heaviness of the equipment, etc. Let’s walk through the common thicknesses you’ll find, and what they are ideal for:
A mat that is 1/4 thick is the smallest you’ll find. These mats are ideal for light workouts like yoga and can withstand drops from very light weights.
This is the standard gym flooring thickness measurement you’ll find in a home gym or commercial gym. A mat of this thickness is ideal for most exercise equipment like treadmills and ellipticals, and high traffic weight rooms with 50-75 lb (or 23-34 kg) weights.
If you’re looking for gym flooring for more heavy-duty workouts like Crossfit, then this size is ideal. Gym flooring of this thickness can withstand drops from weights over 100 pounds, protecting floors underneath.
This level of thickness is recommended for professional powerlifting, where 100+ pound weights will be regularly and repeatedly dropped on the floor. These mats are great for shock absorption, and will fully cushion any and all kinds of gym equipment.
If you’ve been shopping for the best gym flooring for your space, you’ve likely encountered two main kinds of gym floor mats: mat rolls, and interlocking tiles. Let’s look at the differences between these two kinds of mats.
Interlocking tiles, sometimes called puzzle tiles or foam tiles, are one of the easiest kinds of gym mat flooring to install. These come in the form of set square tiles that interlock together like a puzzle.
These are super common in home gyms, as they are highly cost-effective, and easily relate to square foot measurements. They’re the perfect solution for someone looking for a DIY solution in their exercise space. However, it’s important to get ones that are at an appropriate thickness if you’re serious about protecting yourself and your floors. There tend to be more thin options for this style of floor tile than thick ones.
For those looking to invest in rubber flooring, you’ll find tons of rubber rolls on the gym mat market. These are extremely versatile and are a good solution for larger spaces. They can cover a lot of area, are highly durable, and are better suited to professional, commercial gym environments.
Those who need rubber flooring on the thicker end of the spectrum will likely have to look into mat rolls as their flooring solution. Rubber flooring thickness will come in a wide range here, and they can often be customized to suit your space.
If you’re looking for flooring solutions for your gym space, reach out to us at Cascadia Sport Systems! We have a wide range of different solutions that we can customize to suit your space. Click here to learn more, and request a quote today.