Best Home and Commercial Gym Flooring Options

When it comes to flooring for your home or commercial gym floor, there are some things to consider. If rubber flooring is being considered, think about if it is important to have the flooring be low-smell. For home gyms, we generally recommend a low-odor option. This is because, if you have forced air and decent insulation, that smell can disperse throughout your home and be a nuisance for some time. Some rubber flooring has a strong “new tire” smell, but it’s not determined by whether or not the rubber flooring is made from recycled rubber. The binding agent (usually sulfuric or urethane based) will determine the power of the odor.

Home and Commercial Gym Flooring

If rubber or foam tiles seem to be the best option, We typically recommend a smaller sized tile option (such as our Interlocking 2x2 tiles).For a larger area, we will usually quote you a larger tile size (Geneva 3x3). This is because, in a smaller area, you will typically find yourself wasting less product when cutting for a wall-to-wall installation if your tiles are smaller. For use in a larger facility, the larger tile size is nice as it leads to fewer seams in the floor.

best commercial gym flooring

Are Gym Floor Protection Covers Worth the Cost?

When picturing a high school basketball game, the shining maple floors are a defining feature of any basketball game. The vibrant lines painted on the court and resounding smack of the ball as its dribbled.  But those shiny wood floors come at price - easily starting in the tens of thousands for a standard gym, with annual maintenance costs adding to the overall price tag. With a cost like this, most schools and institutions want a way protect their investment. While there are synthetic gym flooring options, athletic departments, coaches, and players often prefer genuine wood flooring. The timeless look and superior performance of wood gym flooring is what athletes and fans have come to expect. Perhaps your local school isn't developing the next LeBron James or Kevin Durant, but fans of wood floors believe that because of the foundation that lies beneath a hardwood floor, which absorb shock, athletes are less likely to sustain injuries.

gym floor covers worth cost

Wood flooring has a longer lifespan than synthetic flooring, but it comes with a higher upfront cost. Installing a wood floor is more expensive than synthetic alternatives, and depending on the amount of sanding and refinishing required, can deplete an institution's maintenance budget. Colleges and larger high schools, both places that have a wide range of needs for their athletic spaces, will often have a main gym with wood flooring and a secondary gym with a synthetic flooring for practices and other uses. In cities and small towns alike, school gyms are used around the clock for various school and community events, making durability and longevity of the flooring vital. The Maple Floors Manufacturers Association estimates a $2,088 annual daily maintenance cost for 10,000 square feet maple sports flooring (174 hours at $12 an hour). Plus another $2,800 for the annual cost of screening and re-coating maple sports flooring. And finally, $845 annual cost of refinishing maple sports flooring.

Even though the road to basketball glory may be paved in shining maple, it’s important to protect that flooring. That's where gym floor covers come in. Protective gym floor covers are available in two styles: roll out sheet vinyl and large carpet tiles. Both of these floor covering options are simple to install and easy to use. Either protective flooring surface will do a great job of safeguarding your hardwood gym floor. Vinyl covers are typically much faster to install while carpet tiles will offer more comfort for your gymnasium event.

gym floor protection

Vinyl Gym Floor Protection Rolls

Vinyl floor covers come in long rolls, which are typically stored on large racks, and are rolled out to cover the floor for activities other than sporting events like dances, registrations, banquets, plays and commencements. Gym floors receive heavy foot traffic, as well as the stains, scuffs, and impacts that come from their use as a multi purpose flooring. Greatmats.com, a specialty flooring retailer, carries several types of vinyl floor covering materials, and the racks needed to store the materiel. Their vinyl mesh fabric is fire retardant, ADA and OSHA compliant, and waterproof, rot and mildew resistant. As an added feature, the flooring material is both antimicrobial and anti-fungal.

The ultra durable three ply PVC vinyl sheeting is available in multiple thickness, which is measured by the weight of the vinyl per square yard. For PVC vinyl sheeting, thicknesses range from 18 ozs to 32 ozs per square yard. The number of uses per year equates to the recommended weight that you choose. For use six times a year or less, choose the 18 oz. If the covering needs to be used 6-12 times per year, Greatmats recommends the 22 oz. weight. Twenty-seven oz is preferred for usage of more than once a month. For more frequent events, opt for the heaviest 32 oz. weight.

Greatmats has nine colors available, plus three which have tan on the reverse side. You might even get your school's colors. On some weights, a raised pattern that enhances the non-slip factor of the flooring is available.

protective gym floor covering

Only two people are needed to easily set out a vinyl floor cover system over a standard basketball court. With two people it will take less than 30 minutes.

The material is easy handling, and the seams are strong and lay smooth and flat. Seams are typically taped down, and the product is stored rolled up on racks. The product comes in 10-foot widths, and it is recommended to add six to 12 inches for overlapping each section. The rolls will arrive custom cut for the space they will be installed in. Cleaning is simple, just sweep before storing.

Gym Floor Protection Carpet Tiles

Another option are durable and attractive carpet tiles. Greatmats stocks a 6mm thick carpet tile in a 3.28 by 6.56 foot size, which weighs less than 14 pounds a piece. These carpet tiles are used by schools, universities, and community centers to cover gym floors. This product is also used as a protective flooring for convention halls and sport/recreational facilities.

Carpet tiles lie flat on top of the wood gym flooring and there are no unsightly wrinkles or ripples to cause potential tripping hazards. Customers often report enjoying the added acoustic dampening that the carpet tiles provide to a room.

They are easy to install and remove by one person even for large areas and don't require tape or lots of special accessories. Carpet tiles provide a more finished and clean look when used as protective gym flooring when compared to other gym flooring protection options. They give a space a clean and finished look.

Tiles are available in gray and blue and can be stored on rolling carts for easy mobility and storage of the tiles - up to 75 carpet tiles per cart. Greatmats also offers the carts for these tiles.

Whether carpet tiles or vinyl rolls are the right choice, any facility will save time and money when its gym floor is properly protected. You will gain usable space, without damaging the quality flooring your athletes, coaches and fans expect.

vinyl gym floor covering

Comparing Folding Gymnastics Mats - The Nitty Gritty Details

With so many choices, it can be seem daunting to choose the right gym flooring. There are so many details and nuances to each flooring option that finding the exact product for your home or recreational space can seem like a hassle.

Knowing a little bit about the basic characteristics of folding gymnastics mats will make the search much easier. Folding gymnastics mats seem to be listed in a complex code (V2, 18-oz vinyl, 2.5-inch, 5x10, polyethylene; the list goes one), but once all the labels make sense, it’ll be easy to find the perfect gym flooring for any area

comparing gymnastics mats

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Below is a guide to understand the different terminology and options for folding gym mats:

Comparing Folding Gymnastics Mats

4V vs. V2

(Connectors on 4 sides vs. 2 sides)

One of the main factors you need to decide on is having hook 'n loop connector strips on four sides of the mats, which is identified by ''4V,'' or hook 'n loop connectors on two sides of the mat, which is identified by ''V2.'' The desired layout of the gym mats will determine whether 4V or V2 gym mats are the right option.

4V has velcro on all four sides of the mat, which allows you to make connections from any side and create larger mat spaces for activities such as wrestling or martial arts. If the area where the mats are going to be used is wide and large, having velcro connectors on all four sides of the mats is the best option.  V2 mats can be used for many different purposes, but because they only have connectors on two sides, they are best used for creating strips or runways of padding as opposed to completely filling a room. V2 mats are commonly used as wall padding for gyms and training areas.

foldable gym mat

18 oz vs. 19 oz vinyl

One of the aspects you'll want to choose from is 18-ounce or 19-ounce vinyl for the cover of your mat. The purpose of the vinyl is that it protects the foam mat underneath and provides traction to athletes. This helps the mat both be a durable surface that also delivers cushion and softer landings to users.

If you are going to have a lot of friction and the potential for ripping, tearing, and wearing away the mat's covering, then you will probably want to choose the 19-ounce options. The 19-ounce vinyl will provide years of reliable use and will stand up to the continual abuse that is present with use day after day. However, the lighter 18-ounce option can still provide quality results to your gym.

1.5 vs. 2 vs. 2.5 inch thickness

The thickness of the mat will also matter. Thicker mats are advantageous as they provide more protection to athletes. However, as the mat gets thicker, it also gets heavier and bulkier to store, which makes many people choose the thinner option.

A 1.5 inch thick mats is lightweight enough while still providing adequate cushioning. It can be effective for kids' gymnastics and light workouts, and the lightness makes it better for temporary surfaces, such as gyms that host basketball as well as wrestling or judo.

2-inch thickness provides a well-balanced combination of strength and weight. The mat is also thick enough to cushion heavy adults during wrestling or jiu jitsu, but the mats are still lights enough to be moved around without much effort.

2.5-inch thickness provides the most cushion but can be heavy to move. This version also utilizes a combination of both closed and open celled foams. For used in a permanent space that requires plenty of padding on the floor, 2.5 inch thick mats are the best option.

gymnastics mats 10 feet

4 vs. 5 vs. 6 foot width

Gym mats come in widths of four, five, or six feet to ensure that they can can exactly fill any space.

Four-foot mats are often the preferred choice if you simply need a narrow strip of padding. These mats are commonly used for activities such as fencing, but are also popular choices for uses at tumbling mats and gymnastics mats.

If you need a slightly larger strip of padding, or if you simply want to fill a larger room, you can choose five-foot widths as well. The five ft mats provide a large, quality surface with not being as difficult to handle as some mats of larger widths.

If an entire room is being permanently padded, six-foot mats are likely going to be the best choice. These will help you cover a large space quickly and allow you to get the large footage of padding you need. Six-foot widths are commonly chosen for covering walls as they provide head-to-toe protection for most athletes.

The Number of Panels

The overall length of the installation will be determined by the number of panels in the folding gymnastics mats. Most panels are two-feet wide, so the mats go up in overall length by increments of two. Mats typically come in the sizes of three panels (six feet), four panels (eight feet), five panels (10 feet) and six panels (12 feet).

Color Options

Gymnastics mats are available in a wide range of colors to match any existing color schemes. In most cases, the mats you select can come in blue, red, yellow, green, and many other colors. The mats can also be ordered in combinations and interchanging colors to add a design style to any installation.

One use for the different colors is organization. For a taekwondo class, different colored mats may help in spliting the class into two groups. You can use different floor coloring for different groups and send, as an example, students under 12 to the blue mats and students 12 and over to the red mats. The coloring of mats can also be used to mark boundaries of a competition space, such as wrestling boundaries or fencing strips.

folding gymnastic mats

Polyethylene (Closed Cell) vs. Polyurethane (Open Cell) Foam Cores

There are two types of materials that are very popular for folding gymnastic mats. The first is polyethylene and the second is polyurethane. It’s important to understand the differences between the two materials to choose the right mats for any space.

Polyethylene is the most common type of foam available. It has a high-impact strength and can absorb a lot of energy without breaking. It can withstand high-impact use and is able to absorb a lot of kinetic energy without breaking or deforming. It is used in a cross-linked design, creating a closed-cell foam that is resistant to mildew and mold, as well as bacteria and rot. Polyethylene is commonly wrapped in vinyl to prevent the foam from being cut or gouged. It is a preferred material for cheerleading, gymnastics and wrestling.

Polyurethane foam provides better cushioning as it is an open-cell material. It has the consistency of a sponge or a loaf of bread, with air throughout the material to provide a softer landing. As this type of foam is very spongy it’s not the best choice for activities that include walking, running, or jumping. This form of foam is generally used in combination with the polyethylene foam in folding gymnastics mats that are 2.5 inches or thicker.

4x8 gymnastics mat

Choosing a Few of the Best Options

Gym Mats 4x8 Ft x 1.5 inch 4V 18 oz

This 4x8 gym mat has four panels and velcro on all four sides. The layout makes it perfect for many different uses, including gymnastics and tumbling. This mats layout makes it a great choice for a wide array of uses including gymnastics and tumbling. It can be one of the most effective mats for filling a small space, and the 1.5-inch thickness makes this smaller mat perfect for temporary use, as it only weighs about 20 pounds.. These mats are light enough that even kids can handle them, making them a great choice for temporary padding of a gym floor.

Gym Mats 5x10 Ft x 2 Inch 4V 18 oz

If the space demands only the finest gym mats, this 5x10-foot foldable ma is the only way to go. It has two-inches of thickness, giving you plenty of padding and support, but the entire mat only weighs about 36 pounds, so most people can pick it up and fold it when needed. If the mat is too heavy for a single person to carry, it can easily be carried and layed out by two people. This is one of the most commonly used folding mats for judo or wrestling due to its thickness and connection versatility.

Folding Gym Tumbling Mat 6 x 12 ft x 2 inch V2

Available in 16 colors, this effective gym mat is perfect for flooring on many different surfaces. As this six panel mat is 12 ft in length, it can quickly and easily cover a large area. It has velcro on two sides, so it can be laid out side-to-side with other mats if needed. This is one of the longest gym mats available today, making it a perfect option for tumbling runs.

Gymnastic Mat 4x6 ft x 1.5 inch V2

This 1.5 inch thick mat has a small profile, making it one of the lightest and most compact gym floor mats available. It comes in multiple colors and only weighs 18 pounds, so creating a padding surface and quickly removing the material is no problem at all. The mat comes in a wide range of colors, allowing for it to match the character and style of any space.

Gymnastic Mat 4x8 ft x 2.5 inch V2

If heavier adults will be using the mat for higher impact activities, this folding gym mat will provide the cushion and safety needed. It has velcro on two sides so you can create long lengths of padding, and it has a total weight of only 26 pounds, making it manageable for many people. With a cross-linked PE layer topped with a PU layer in the core, it offers a much softer landing than any of the previous mentioned mats which strictly utilize the denser PE foam.

Great Mats Has Your Folding Gymnastics Mat

Greatmats' high-quality flooring will last for years of daily use.

When you need excellent gym floors, browse our selection of materials and you'll find everything you need for any home gym or recreational space!

What Are the Primary Materials Used in a Gym Floor?

Learn About the Best Materials for Gym Flooring

Gym Floor Materials

Dedicating a space in your home to exercise is a great way to maintain the drive to stick to fitness goals. From weightlifting to high-intensity interval training to yoga, a home gym takes any fitness quest to the next level.

Whether you are starting with new construction, repurposing an existing space, or renovating an area in your basement, it is best to start from the ground up by making sure you select the right gym flooring for your needs.

Typically, the flooring that already exists in the home is not ideal for exercise. Wood, carpet, vinyl, and laminate can splinter, shred, dent, and may be slippery. So what is the best gym floor material? Because everyone's needs are unique, the best gym floor material entirely depends on its purpose. In general, however, suitable flooring for home gyms includes interlocking foam and rubber floor tiles and mats, rolled rubber, plyometric rubber, plastic tiles and carpet tiles. Each kind of material carries their own benefits compatible with a variety of fitness and sports.

In order to hone in on what kind of home gym flooring might be best for you, start your planning by asking yourself a few questions.

Equipment

What kind of fitness equipment will you be putting on the floor?
Will you be moving equipment around?
How heavy is the equipment you are going to be using? Will it be lighter weight like dumbells, or several hundred pounds like treadmills and ellipticals?

Types of Exercise

What kind of exercise will you be doing? Yoga... Zumba... Weightlifting?
What kind of high impact movements will your exercise require?
Will you be dropping dead weights?
Will your back or stomach be in contact with the floor?

Portability

Would you like the floor to be a permanent installation, or should it be temporary?
Are you a renter or planning to move, or is this a dedicated exercise space for the long term?
Do you need something that can be easily carried and stored?
Pre-Existing Environment
Is it wet or dry?
What is the existing floor - carpet, wood, concrete, or something else?

The answers to all of the above questions will be a factor in choosing the best gym floor material for you. You can keep all of these in mind as you learn more about the different types of gym floors.

What Are the Primary Materials Used in Gym Floors?

As mentioned above, the primary materials used in gym floors tend to include foam, rubber or PVC plastic, and even special carpet.

Rubber

If you are primarily interested in weightlifting or exercise machines, rubber is the best gym floor material. Unlike most foam, rubber is tough enough to protect the floor underneath from heavy equipment like treadmills and weight racks and from dropping weights. Rubber will not compress or warp when used under still or moving heavy weight equipment. It is relatively affordable, very durable, and pretty easy to install.

Powerlifting Floor Mats

One challenge that does come with rubber is that it tends to be one of the heavier best gym floor material options. However, it can also be a benefit, as the weight makes it stay in place, so adhesives are less necessary. Tiles are lighter weight but rolled rubber results in fewer seams.

Another benefit is that rubber will deaden sound, whether from a noisy elliptical machine or dropping weights. Rubber is also easy to keep clean, with regular vacuuming and a damp mop. With proper care, rubber will perform effectively for decades.

Rubber Tiles

One example of rubber tiles is the American-made Geneva Interlocking Rubber Tile. The 3x3 foot tiles are popular for home gyms and easy for homeowners to install. Although tiles can be purchased in a variety of thicknesses, users most commonly choose an 8 mm thickness for a home gym. Tiles are made and shipped from Wisconsin. Geneva tiles are made from a combination of recycled scrap rubber and virgin rubber, keeping millions of pounds of tires out of landfills. That means tiles may contribute to LEED building points in five different categories. These tiles have low odor and carry a 5-year manufacturer's warranty

Rolled Rubber

Although tiles are the lightweight option, rolled rubber floors tend to be less expensive. Rolls come primarily in 4-foot widths, with lengths from 10 to 25 feet, and up to 200 feet. Again, the 8 mm thickness is available, along with 1/4-, 3/8-, and 1/2-inch thicknesses. Using rolled rubber will result in fewer seams, giving your space a custom look, and can be laid over concrete, ceramic tile, or any smooth, hard surface.

Best Commercial Gym Flooring

Rubber Horse Stall Mats as Home Gym Flooring

Serious bodybuilders and powerlifters commonly choose to use horse stall mats as their home gym flooring alternative. Horse stall mats are designed to protect the joints of horse weighing a thousand pounds or more, so what are a few dropped weights? In addition to their extreme durability, horse stall mats tend to be an economic option and readily available locally, which minimizes shipping costs. This is helpful since the weight of rubber raises shipping costs.

One thing to always have in mind about rubber horse stall mats is the fact they often emit a strong odor, somewhat akin to rotten eggs or asphalt. Although this does not bother horses, certain humans can be quite sensitive to the smell, especially in smaller, indoor spaces. Make sure to take steps to deodorize mats before installing them and also maintain proper ventilation once they are installed.

Stall mats can also vary widely in thickness. It can be hard to find two mats that are exactly the same, even after digging through a whole stack of mats at the farm supply store. The uneven appearance of seams can be unattractive. Thinner mats may not protect the floor or your weights completely from drops during Olympic lifts, so many powerlifters and bodybuilders also use plywood underlayments in addition to stall mats.

Plyometric Rolled Rubber

While rubber is durable, it doesn't add much cushion for aerobic activities like zumba, cardio activities, tumbling, grappling or floor exercises. The one exception is plyometric rolled rubberwhich can be a good, affordable option, offering enough cushion for a safe cardio workout, whether it is HIIT, P90X, Tae Bo or ''Sweatin' to the Oldies.''

This highly shock absorbent material is available in 4 foot wide rolls starting at lengths of 25 feet. 3/8 inch, 1/2-inch, and 8 mm are standard thicknesses. Plyometric has a greater cushion than standard rubber products because it is less dense. Yet, that does not decrease its durability. At Gym Rubber, plyometric rubber rolls come with a five-year guarantee but are bound to last for much longer.

Foam

Types of Gym Flooring

Foam is the best gym floor material for fitness that requires padding and protection for the body and a variety of cardio exercise as well. Foam is not a good choice for serious weight lifting as it will dent, may not decompress, and may cause weights to bounce back, which could be dangerous. However, foam won't break the budget for a simple home gym with a few machines, light weights, where you want to do cardio activity or yoga.

Foam tends to be less expensive than rubber, but it is also less durable. That being said, you can find dense foam that gets close to the consistency of rubber. Since it weighs less, however, it is also cheaper to ship, easier to install, and is durable enough for many home applications. Foam is also the simplest option for temporary installations. Foam puzzle tiles, for example, can easily be laid down for workouts and picked back up and stored at other times.

Foam mats are readily available at big-box retailers, mainly in black or mixed packs of bright primary colors. For thicker, more durable mats in a wider range of single colors, check the big box stores websites or a specialty flooring company like Gym Rubber by Greatmats.

Foam flooring is available in different hardnesses. What's available at your local retailer will probably be soft - a standard hardness best for multi-use areas. High hardness foam tiles are better for karate and aerobic activities, specifically standing and kicking drills. There are softer martial arts mats for home Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), judo and grappling with a durable tatami no-burn surface that provides grip for groundwork with enough cushion for takedowns and throws. If you want to put heavy weight equipment like a treadmill over foam, it is typically necessary to use a special mat under the equipment to prevent the foam from being damaged.

Plastic

Best Gym Flooring

Plastic is one of the best gym floor material options for basements or carpeted areas. Plastic flooring can both protect subflooring and offer cushion at the same time. Unlike foam or rubber, certain plastic tiles can be used on top of existing carpeting without the risk of the tiles separating or sinking into the carpet pile at the seams.

For intense aerobic workouts like P90X, Crossfit, and Hip Hop Dance, soft PVC gym floor tiles can provide superior cushioning and durability. PVC tiles are perfect for these sports, as they allow athletes to remain sure-footed and stable, while still lessening the shock of high-intensity impacts. Plastic tiles are also tough enough for light and medium weight lifting. Plus, it is the best gym floor material for quick and easy maintenance. They dry quickly, do not grip to dirt, and do not absorb water, which makes them super easy to clean and disinfect. are easy to clean and disinfect.

StayLock Bump Top tiles are an example of plastic gym flooring that is durable like rubber, with the cushion of foam. These tiles are made from soft PVC and are flexible and pliable, yet non-absorbent. The underside of each tile has little feet that elevate the tile above the floor surface, providing cushion but also airflow beneath the tile, an important feature if you are using them in a damp basement area.

Gym Carpet

Carpet can be a tricky one. As mentioned before, most types of carpet are not suitable for a home gym. Carpet can be ruined when exposed to moisture, and it more easily takes on odors. However, as long as you choose wisely, it turns out that carpet is actually one of the best gym floor materials when space versatility is desired. If you do not want to be bothered with picking up and putting down an exercise floor but you cannot commit an entire room solely to exercise, carpet tiles make a good compromise. The right carpet tiles will offer cushion, warmth, and stability with the convenience of modular flooring. Gym carpet tiles will have a dense ply so it also enough stability for exercise. The surface of gym carpet tiles is more durable than residential carpeting, and damaged tiles can be replaced.

Learn More

There are a lot of gym flooring options on the market. Take some time to think about how you will train. Find a reputable retailer like Gym Rubber by Greatmats, and ask questions. Do your own research, read product reviews, and make sure you order some free samples to get an actual feel for a product.

For more on this topic please review our Gym Flooring product page.