Gym on Main Floor of House

[jawadams]

I just moved and I'm trying to set up my home gym.

I've got a lot of weights, probably 700 lbs total in plates and probably 500 lbs or so total in dumbbells, a bench which can be adjusted to be used for squatting, a smith machine, another bench with leg extensions/curls, treadmill, exercise bike, probably more I'm forgetting...

Anyway it's on the main floor, and I've always had my gyms in my basement so not sure of what to think here.

It's all (nicer) laminate and I don't want to damage it. I am planning on putting those "puzzle piece" mats all over it, which are around 3/8" of an inch thick.

My only real concern is deadlifts I'd say. I usually do Sumo Deadlifts and am up to 410 lbs (yes form is good, etc, etc) but I don't exactly set the weight down very gently.

So first concern is, will this damage the flooring (are the puzzle piece mats enough). And second is will the structure take it?

The room is in the corner of the house and it's a concrete foundation if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance!

[smcleod90]

I just moved and I'm trying to set up my home gym.

I've got a lot of weights, probably 700 lbs total in plates and probably 500 lbs or so total in dumbbells, a bench which can be adjusted to be used for squatting, a smith machine, another bench with leg extensions/curls, treadmill, exercise bike, probably more I'm forgetting...

Anyway it's on the main floor, and I've always had my gyms in my basement so not sure of what to think here.

It's all (nicer) laminate and I don't want to damage it. I am planning on putting those "puzzle piece" mats all over it, which are around 3/8" of an inch thick.

My only real concern is deadlifts I'd say. I usually do Sumo Deadlifts and am up to 410 lbs (yes form is good, etc, etc) but I don't exactly set the weight down very gently.

So first concern is, will this damage the flooring (are the puzzle piece mats enough). And second is will the structure take it?

The room is in the corner of the house and it's a concrete foundation if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance!

what do you mean when you say you have a bench that can be used for squatting? do you have a power rack? if not you should sell your smith machine and look for a used one, but if not you could just build a platform to deadlift on. stack two sheets of plywood and then get horse stall rubber mats to put on top.

[ironwill2008]

If the house was built to code within the last 20 years or so, the structure shouldn't be a problem.

You're going to need more than those 3/8" mats to protect laminate flooring though. I'd put a couple of pieces of 3/4 plywood down on top of the 3/8 mat, side-by-side (to give you an 8x8 area), and then another layer of rubber matting on the plywood, and then do your lifting on that platform.

[jawadams]

If the house was built to code within the last 20 years or so, the structure shouldn't be a problem.

You're going to need more than those 3/8" mats to protect laminate flooring though. I'd put a couple of pieces of 3/4 plywood down on top of the 3/8 mat, side-by-side (to give you an 8x8 area), and then another layer of rubber matting on the plywood, and then do your lifting on that platform.

Yeah the house is actually older.

I was thinking of maybe just deadlifting in the basement. There's not enough room in the basement for the whole gym but I should be able to DL down there. I might just do that.

I'll look into some plywood too.

Thanks!