How to Choose Gym Flooring

Perfecting your workout routine can be tricky. After all, finding the right balance between cardio, strength training and fun activities like basketball can be confusing. Throw in calisthenics and yoga and creating a routine that helps you meet your fitness goals is even more troublesome.

The good news is that creating the gym of your dreams doesn’t have to be painful. In fact, you’re halfway home once you’ve found the right flooring material for your space. After all, most gyms are all about freedom of movement and healthy activity, so you don’t have tons of décor to pick out!

Use this guide to learn more about gym flooring for your space. We’ve got gym hardwood flooring, rubber styles and more so you can finally have that gym you’ve always wanted.

Choose the Right Flooring for Fitness and Group Exercises

Designing a gym for a high school, college or group exercise space means taking unique needs into consideration. Here are some of the things you need to consider when choosing flooring for your gym:

•   What activities will take place in your gym? Are you designing a gym for basketball or you creating an all-purpose gym for your community? Knowing your needs before you begin is essential.

•   How will the flooring material impact your intended exercises? A gym designed for high-impact circuit training may require different flooring than one set up for a senior’s exercise group, for example.

•   Utilize colors, patterns and textures in your flooring to create an inviting workout space. Mixing and matching different wood tones and types is one easy way to do this while creating solid, consistent flooring underfoot.

Home Gym Flooring Options

Having access to a home gym means that you can exercise on your schedule without commuting to a shared gym space. You’ll also have the ability to easily exercise and do fun physical activities with your family.

Below, you’ll find some of the best home gym materials on the market including natural and engineered hardwood. They’ll all make excellent home gym floors when installed correctly.

Best Versatility: Rubber

Rubber is a popular home gym flooring material around the world. Here are some of the benefits of installing a rubber floor in your home gym:

•   Rubber is comfortable. A natural shock absorber, rubber can reduce the impact on your joints and bones while you’re exercising.

•   Rubber is relatively cost-effective.

•   You can do a wide range of workouts on rubber. Soft yet resilient, rubber is a great choice if you’re building a home gym with lots of different activities in mind.

Best Portability: Foam

Another popular gym flooring material, foam is a great choice for spaces where portability is important. Here are some of the benefits of foam flooring:

•   Foam flooring is ultra-portable and can be re-arranged. You may also be able to take it with you if you’re moving down the road, making foam a smart pick for those spare bedroom home gym setups.

•   Foam can be installed in combination with other flooring materials like natural wood or engineered wood. This gives your home gym a unique look and a few different workout spaces.

•   It is waterproof and shock absorbent, making it a great material for high-intensity exercise.

Engineered Hardwood

The cost of natural hardwood can be high in a gym space. While it may be essential for a collegiate-level basketball court, natural wood isn’t always required for a community gym or home environment. In fact, you can still get the look with a reduced cost by choosing engineered wood or laminate.

These materials are strong and supportive while also offering a few other benefits. Most designs are waterproof and won’t warp if the humidity changes, which may be important for spaces where you don’t utilize air conditioning.

Best Overall Design: Wood

Looking for the best gym design money can buy? In many cases, this is natural hardwood. For many gyms, maple is king due to long-term durability and a certain style standard. For basketball flooring, maple has long been the go-to material.

Wood is also an ideal material if you’re looking to create a gym that’s visually appealing. Mixing and matching different wood tones is easy, giving you lots of visual depth.

Gym Flooring FAQs

Got more questions about choosing durable gym flooring? Here are some FAQs we get all the time at BuildDirect:

Q: What kind of wood is used for gym floors?

A: Maple is the most common hardwood flooring material used in gyms. In home environments and community gyms, engineered wood is a very popular choice because of its reduced cost.

Q: How much does a wood gym floor cost?

A: This varies greatly depending on the size of the gym space and the end user’s goals. On average, wood flooring can cost between $10 and $20 per square foot.

Q: How do you protect hardwood floors from gym equipment?

A: Rich hardwood floors are designed to be durable, but heavy exercise equipment can take its toll. Protect your hardwood floors with heavy-duty mats to prevent denting. This is particularly important if you’re placing large, heavy exercise machines in your space.

Q: What is the best wood effect flooring?

A: While this varies greatly on your needs, engineered wood is strong, durable and designed to last. It also looks like natural wood. Laminate designed to look like wood is an excellent choice for multi-purpose gyms as well.

Q: Does a hardwood floor provide safety and resiliency?

A: While it’s true that hardwood floors are indeed hard, they do have some give and they are much softer than common outdoor materials like cement. Think of a basketball court with players regularly falling down without being injured. Hardwood provides a safe, resilient surface for many activities.

Shop BuildDirect today to see all of our fitness flooring materials online. Our beautiful, easy to maintain styles will ensure that you have a space to exercise at home for years to come.

Not sure which flooring material is right for you? Reach out to one of our trained representatives today to learn more about wood, wood look laminate flooring and special materials like rubber and foam. They can help you learn more about the different flooring materials suitable for gym floors. We can even provide you with free samples so you can see your options in person at home.

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