Many of our customers spend hours, days, or even years carefully selecting and curating the perfect equipment for their home gyms. However, we find that almost as many people tend to neglect the importance of their gym flooring. The right gym flooring can make a significant difference in the safety, functionality, and appearance of your home or commercial gym. In this article, we will discuss some key considerations you should consider when choosing home gym flooring. For the budget-conscious buyer, we find the story is often the same. “The garage concrete is fine, we don’t really need to fork out for gym mats.” Followed by surprise when their equipment gets scratched or damaged. Or “Let’s just get the cheapest flooring possible, it can’t make that much of a difference!” Followed by constant annoyance when the cheap interlocking foam mats move constantly underfoot. We have definitely made the above mistakes with our first home gyms!

Below are the key factors to consider when choosing gym flooring:

• Durability: Gym flooring needs to be able to withstand heavy equipment and constant use without wearing out or becoming damaged. Choosing a durable flooring material is essential to prevent frequent replacement costs.
• Shock/sound resistant: You want flooring that will absorb sound and vibrations. This makes your your workout space more comfortable for you and less disruptive for others in your home. It can also help protect your equipment and underlying floor from damage
• Safety:A slip-resistant surface is important in a gym setting to prevent accidents and injuries. Look for materials that provide adequate grip, even when wet, and absorb shock to reduce the risk of joint injuries.
• Maintenance: Cleaning and maintenance should be considered when choosing gym flooring. Some materials require more upkeep than others, so you will want to choose a flooring material that is easy to clean and maintain.
• Aesthetics: This comes down to personal preference, but the look and feel of the gym flooring can affect the overall atmosphere of the gym You’d be surprised how much you prefer to train in a gym that looks good!

The best flooring that meets the above criteria is rubber gym mats. While this might seem the obvious answer, rubber gym mats come in a range of different thicknesses, colours, and material variations. Here are some of our tips below.

How thick should rubber gym flooring be?

If you are lifting weights, look for rubber gym mats that are at least 15mm thick. This will provide enough shock absorption to protect your floors, while also being heavy enough to reduce mat movement.

Many years ago when I started my first home gym, like any good Australian, I headed down to Bunnings and grabbed some Bunnings gym flooring. These mats were 10mm thick, and while they did an ok job, it wasn’t until I changed to 15mm mats that I really noticed how much difference that extra 5mm made.  The extra weight of the 15mm rubber gym flooring prevents the mats from sliding around under foot, and provides a lot more shock absorption. If you want to ensure that there is no movement at all in your gym flooring, check out our installation guide here.

There are 20mm and even 50mm thick mats available which will provide more protection to your underlying floors, but the cost starts going up rapidly. We have found that 15mm is the sweet spot between cost and effectiveness. If you are dropping heavy weights from overhead in your training (such as when performing a snatch), it is worth investing in thicker flooring or a lifting platform for at least part of your gym.  

Are rubber floor mats easy to clean?

Rubber gym mats are relatively easy to clean. Use a broom or a vacuum to sweep of an loose dust or debris. You can also give them a mop, however we recommend using a PH neutral cleaning agent if possible. We also recommend not soaking your mats - wring out most of the water so the mop is only damp prior to cleaning. 

If you have a higher budget, consider investing in EPDM flooring. EPDM, or ethylene propylene diene monomer, is a synthetic rubber material that is easier to clean and even more durable than your traditional rubber mats. Check out our EPDM mats here – they consist of a traditional rubber base with an EPDM top layer to keep the price lower. 

What are the colour options for gym floorings?

At VULCAN, we offer our mats either as straight black, or black with a blue or grey EPDM fleck throughout to offer a different aesthetic! The EPDM flecks can help disguise dirt, however it all comes down to personal preference!

What are the disadvantages of rubber gym flooring?

There is no getting around it, almost all rubber tiles will produce some sort of odour, particularly when new. This odour will fade quickly. At VULCAN, we air the mats out at our factory after production so the odour is limited even further. To remove this smell even quicker, we recommend ventilating the room.

Do I need to glue down rubber mats?

It depends on the thickness of your mats, and how much movement you are ok with! I have 15mm mats at my personal home gym that are not stuck down. There is some small movement from time to time, but not enough to bother me. If you do want to secure your mats, check out our installation guide here! You can use either adhesive, double sided tape, or simply create a barrier for the mats to butt up against so they don't move!

Check out our full range of gym flooring here. We provide all these products to both home and commercial facilities around Australia! If you have any questions on our range of flooring, please contact the team using on site chat or via email at support@vulcanfitness.com.au.