How to Choose the Right Gym Flooring: Thickness, Materials & Buying Guide

Gym flooring is often overlooked when starting your home gym. We dont blame you! It can be exciting looking at the versatile range of strength and conditioning equipment that we have to offer. However, having the correct flooring is an essential part of your gym. It will help protect your equipment and subflooring, lessen the impact on your joints, reduce noise and add a professional, sleek look to your space. However, we understand that many gym flooring options seem similar at the surface level. This can make it difficult to decide which flooring design best suits you. But the different thicknesses and materials can influence the comfort, noise and stability (and therefore safety) during certain workouts. We also have specific flooring types to match your exercise goals and preferences. All of which we will discuss in this blog post, to help you choose the right gym flooring. 

What Thickness Gym Flooring Do You Need?

One of the most important aspects when deciding what gym flooring to go with is the thickness of the flooring. The type of training you do and the demands of that training style largely determine the thickness you should choose. For instance, bodyweight workouts typically involve lower-impact exercises, therefore do not require thicker mats. However, for those looking into gym flooring, you will likely do more than bodyweight exercises, so you will likely need flooring 15 to 20 mm thick. 

15 mm thick flooring

When implementing free weights in your training, you should include at least 15 mm flooring in your home gym. For example, if you include light to moderate dumbbells and/or kettlebells in your training routine, the Exersci® 15 mm Heavy Duty Black Rubber Tiles are a perfect fit. This will provide increased impact absorption, making it especially ideal for functional training and plyometric training. 

20 mm thick flooring

If you plan to progress to heavier-weighted exercises, then you should definitely opt for thicker flooring. For instance, our heavy-duty or premium red-speckled rubber flooring provides thick, protective flooring suitable for heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, squat racks, and power racks. These thicker floorings provide maximum force absorption. This will reduce the force transfer to the subflooring, protecting the base of your home gym. This force absorption also plays a major role in protecting your equipment. This is especially important when completing exercises such as deadlifts or Olympic weightlifting. 

Both flooring options will help reduce the impact on your joints, improving training comfort and aiding in long-term joint health. Having the correct flooring will also improve your confidence when training, knowing that your equipment and subflooring are protected. 

Rubber vs Foam vs Other Materials: Which Gym Flooring Is Best?

Gym flooring comes in many different materials, with each material serving a purpose. For example, we provide: 

• Rubber 
• Foam
• Artificial grass
• Weightlifting platforms
• Gym mats

The most popular materials are rubber and foam. Here at Exersci, we mainly offer rubber flooring over foam flooring. This is because rubber flooring is typically more versatile and protective of heavy equipment, offering better value for money. Now, we are not saying foam flooring is useless. In fact, foam flooring is typically more affordable and is a great option if you are only performing low-impact exercises. For example, if you were doing yoga, Pilates, and/or bodyweight workouts. However, if you implement weight training into your programme, you should consider rubber gym flooring. Rubber flooring provides an excellent protective barrier for your subflooring and equipment. It also reduces stress on your joints, allowing you to confidently complete strength training.

We also offer more specialised flooring choices, for instance, the Exersci artificial grass and the Exersci Premium Olympic Weightlifting Platform. The Exersci artificial grass provides a premium 20mm thickness for excellent durability and shock absorption, combined with the realistic look and feel of artificial grass. This makes them perfect for functional training zones, sled tracks and outdoor work areas. Additionally, the premium Olympic weightlifting platform is a valuable addition, especially if you perform heavy deadlifts or weightlifting. This provides a stable non-slip surface for lifting weights. It also helps reduce noise and protects your subfloor from damage by dropped weights. 

Not forgetting, if installing flooring is not on your to-do list or in your budget, we also provide thick folding gym mats. These provide a transportable mat that provides a thick and comfortable surface for you to perform yoga, pilates, gymnastics, core workouts and other floor exercises. However, it is important to know that this should not be used for strength training and should only be used as an option for bodyweight exercises.

Choosing Gym Flooring Based on Your Training Goals

As with nearly all gym equipment, the choice of flooring should be based on your training goals. If strength training is a priority for you, then thick (20+ mm) rubber flooring should be what you go for to provide excellent durability and shock absorption to protect your equipment and subflooring. On top of this, if you want to implement weightlifting or heavy deadlifts, you should definitely consider including a weightlifting platform in your space to improve grip, stability and safety while lifting.

If your main focus is on functional fitness and conditioning, thinner (15 mm or less) rubber flooring or foam flooring should be considered. The main priorities here are to improve grip and shock absorption to protect your joints, while providing some protection to lighter-weight equipment and the subflooring, all while remaining more budget-friendly. Furthermore, if wanting to include cardio equipment, then you should opt for rubber over foam flooring to handle the heavy weight of the cardio machines. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now have an idea of which flooring you need based on thickness, material and your training goals. If you are doing strength training, you should include thicker (20+ mm) rubber flooring in your space and consider adding a weightlifting platform to accommodate heavy deadlifts and Olympic weightlifting. If you want to include sled training, including artificial turf is essential. On the other hand, if lighter weights are going to be used for functional training, thinner (< 15mm) rubber flooring or foam flooring should be included. Whatever you decide, be sure to consider the space you have to avoid over or worse, under-buying. You also need to consider future investments and progression. You may start at light loads and only require thinner flooring options, but do you plan on progressing to heavy strength training? If so, consider thicker flooring from the start.

Looking to build a safer, more durable training space? Explore Exersci's range of gym flooring, functional training and strength training equipment to create the perfect gym set-up!