The Best Home Gym Flooring Options
Do you love the look of the floors in your home? If you do, then when you start to lift weights in your home gym, you are going to need to protect them in some way.
If you are throwing weights onto the floor constantly, no matter what material they are made of, they are going to scuff the floor up something chronic.
Thankfully, there are a lot of home gym flooring options available on the market. Some of them are better than others.
On this page, I want to talk to you about what I believe are the five best options available. Each of them does have their pros and cons.
However, I genuinely believe that you will be happy with any of them. Choose the right fit for you.
#1 Rubber Tiles
This is, perhaps, the most popular home gym flooring option. These tiles will click together with ease. They are water resistance and can take a serious beating.
If you pick up a good set, you won’t even need to have them in place on your floor at all times. When you are done with your workout for the day, you can unclip them and pack them away for storage.
Rubber home gym flooring tiles are fantastic when you lift heavier weights, or if you are a bit heavier handed when you are putting your weights on the floor. The shock absorption and durability is second to none.
You do have the issue of them being a bit more expensive than rubber carpet and the like. Plus, if you are constantly putting them together and taking them apart, it is going to get incredibly annoying.
While there are several options on the market when it comes to rubber flooring tiles, I prefer the Sivan Fitness Exercise Rubber Tiles.
This is because they have been designed in such a way that each tile can either be in the middle or on the outside (parts of the tile are detachable).
Not to mention the fact that these rubber home gym flooring tiles have been built to hold heavy machinery.
#2 Rubber Rolls
These have, roughly, the same pros and cons that the rubber flooring tiles are going to have. This means fantastic shock absorption, water resistant and a high amount of durability.
However, you will find that they are going to be a little bit cheaper than rubber tiles. The sacrifice that you need to make is the fact that they are going to be incredibly tough to install.
They are really heavy too, which means that you are probably not going to want to be rolling these up all the time and putting them into storage. It is going to be more hassle than it is worth.
Therefore, you will probably want to opt for rubber flooring rolls in your home gym if you are looking for a more permanent solution.
The IncStores rubber home gym flooring is one of the best options on the market here. It is affordable, yet at 8mm thick is more than capable of dealing with most things that you throw at it.
It is also made of recycled rubber, which means you can feel as if you are doing your part for the environment when you work out.
#3 Foam Tiles
Foam tiles are the same as rubber tiles insofar as the fact that you can put them together in an interlocking pattern.
The main difference you will find is that foam tiles are going to be a lot cheaper than rubber tiles. However, this comes with the downside of the fact that foam tiles are not going to be as durable, but they are also water resistant.
If you are lifting some of the heavier dumbbells out there, or you like to throw your weights on the floor with a bit of attitude when you have completed your exercise, then foam tiles are barely going to last you any time at all.
Honestly, due to the low amount of durability, I probably wouldn’t be taking these apart all that often. Foam tiles are designed as a permanent solution more than anything.
Although, that being said, I probably wouldn’t be taking the rubber tiles apart all that often either.
One of my favourite tiles comes from BalanceFrom. Not only are their tiles affordable, but they are some of the most durable around.
They also come in a variety of different thickness. This way you know that you are going to end up with a foam floor solution that is perfect for you.
#4 Carpet Tiles
Just your standard carpet tiles that you can pick up from any carpet store.
Obviously, these have the benefit of being incredibly cheap. However, do bear in mind that they have next-to-no shock absorption, and they are not going to be as hard wearing as your typical tile that has been designed specifically for the gym.
However, it is going to be easy to replace if you do damage a tile. Obviously, they are going to be as quick and easy to install as carpet.
You should only be going for carpet tiles if you are lifting lighter weights, and perhaps have a lighter touch when you are putting them down.
If you don’t, then carpet tiles are unlikely to protect the floor underneath.
You can head to any carpet store and pick up carpet tiles.
However, I favor the Nisorpa Adhesive Commercial Tiles, mostly because they are affordable for what you get, but they have been built for heavy foot flow, which means that they are going to last longer.
#5 Artificial Turf
Finally; if you want a look which looks amazing, then opt for artificial turf. It is going to be a lot more expensive than some of the other options, but it is going to make your gym look so stylish.
The problem is that artificial turf doesn’t work with heavier weights all that well because it doesn’t have much in the way of shock absorption. You may want to opt for this if you are building an outdoor gym.
CustomRug artificial grass is some of the best out there. Not only is it affordable, but it really looks the part. As long as you are not lifting incredibly heavy weights, it should last an age too.
My Choice
I would probably opt for rubber tiles, or foam tiles. They are both good options. I’ve been using my rubber tiles for years. They do have some visible wear and tear after 12 years of use, but they still look good and do their job.
Sure, both options are more expensive than the other options, but you can be sure that they will offer the highest level of protection for your floor.
Article by:
Daniel DeMoss
I’m a personal trainer based in Denver (Matrix Gym) and a true fitness nerd. If I’m not training clients or working out at my home gym, I’m probably skiing, cycling or hiking with my dog Rufus.
Get in touch: daniel@dumbbellsreview.com