Finding the right home gym flooring is daunting. The most popular surface option for home gyms is rubber flooring. This is because rubber is affordable, cushioned, and durable. Rubber gym flooring provides traction for safety, has sound-cancelling properties, and is easy to install. The typical rubber home gym floor is 3/8 inches thick. However, there are many different uses for these floors. This makes answering the question "how thick should home gym flooring be?" a little bit more complicated. It depends on many different factors, including what you want to do in your home gym and where you'll put it in your house.
First of all, you need to consider what you'll be doing on your floor. Will you be lifting weights? Will you use it for cardio? The activities you'll be doing on your floor will be a big part of how thick it needs to be. The second question you must ask is "what flooring will be under my rubber gym floor?" You want to protect the subfloors in your home from damage, especially if you're dropping weights regularly. This requires thicker tiles and rolls to cushion the impact.
The differences between vulcanized and recycled rubber are big factors when discussing rubber workout flooring. They both have their advantages, but recycled rubber has the edge in affordability, shock absorption, and slip resistance. Vulcanized rubber is denser, can withstand more high-point loads, and tends to last longer than recycled rubber, although that depends on the care the floor receives. With these differences in mind, these are Abacus' recommendations for how thick home gym flooring should be for different exercises:
5/32 inch, 1/4 inch, and 5/16 inch Rubber Home Gym Flooring
Rubber flooring of these thicknesses tend to come in rolls rather than tiles. You'll be able to drop weights on floors like this, but the weights should be very light if you do so. These floors are typically used in areas where treadmills, ellipticals, and other large exercise machines are kept. Many fitness centers choose flooring of these thicknesses in rooms where they keep their equipment, and you certainly could use it for wherever you keep yours at home as well. A rubber gym flooring roll like this will protect both your floor and equipment from scratches and damage and will allow them both to last longer and perform better. We offer POWERStock® rubber rolls in each of these thicknesses.
3/8 inch Rubber Mats
3/8 inch rubber is the standard for home gyms and many fitness facilities. This rubber is very durable, functional, and affordable, which is why it's the choice of many fitness professionals and home workout enthusiasts. Abacus offers rolls in this thickness. Our Home Gym Kits and POWERStock® Tiles both boast this thickness as their standard, and we believe it to be the optimal choice for your home gym. 3/8 inch isn't made with so much material as to be extremely expensive, but it's thick enough to protect your subfloor from dropped weights. We highly recommend this thickness to people who are looking to casually work out at home.
1/2 inch Rubber Gym Flooring
1/2 inch rubber is extremely durable and perfect for performing higher-level lifts. Weights over 100 lbs can be dropped onto this flooring with no concern about damaging the subfloor. If you'll be lifting heavier weights in your home gym, 1/2 inch may be the floor for you. Abacus offers this thickness in both rolls and tiles, as well as both vulcanized and recycled rubber.
1 Inch Rubber Tiles
1 inch tiles are usually reserved for areas where Olympic-style power lifting will occur. This home gym flooring is typically used in weight rooms and fitness facilities for collegiate and professional athletes, and sometimes can be found in high school weight rooms as well. We offer recycled rubber POWERStock® Pro tiles online. Abacus has extensive experience installing this type of flooring in weight rooms all over the Mid-Atlantic region, and we are available to give advice on how to install your home gym flooring if you select 1 inch tiles.
The Solution to How Thick Should Home Gym Flooring Be:
It depends! As you've read throughout this post, it matters entirely on what your personal goals are and how much you'd like to ensure the protection of your current home flooring.
For questions about installation, check out our installation page or abacussports.com.
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