Why do I need mats?

[seniorgonzo]

this is probably a stupid question but why do I need mats with hard wood flooring?

I used to lift at home, but the room was carpeted and now its hard wood. I got squat stands and a bench. Is it primarily to prevent damage to the floor? and do I need to floor the entire lifting area or just where I do deads? If it's the latter I can getaway with buying less.

[AttyGuy]

this is probably a stupid question but why do I need mats with hard wood flooring?

I used to lift at home, but the room was carpeted and now its hard wood. I got squat stands and a bench. Is it primarily to prevent damage to the floor? and do I need to floor the entire lifting area or just where I do deads? If it's the latter I can getaway with buying less.

If there is a chance you will drop or put down weights with force, get mats. You could get by with 6'x8' of mats for deads and Oly lifts.

[JHaynes1995]

If you're trying to save money just have some mats for Deadlifting. My gym room is fully padded. The room is kind of small though so it cost around 100 total. It's a good investment though. I suggest you put pads under all of your equipment though that way if you ever decide to move there won't be scuff marks where your weights are being racked and unracked. Hoped this helped.

[seniorgonzo]

I have a area rug-more utility rug type- that I can put under the stands and bench. That way they dont move when I have wait on them.

Does it make a difference if I'm using rubber weights vs steel? ie the thickness of the mat.

I'll be moving in 6 months or so to a new place so I'm trying to be as frugal and bare bones as possible. The new place will be carpeted and therefore i don't want to go to overboard with stuff I get now.

[hulked]

I have a area rug-more utility rug type- that I can put under the stands and bench. That way they dont move when I have wait on them.

Does it make a difference if I'm using rubber weights vs steel? ie the thickness of the mat.

I'll be moving in 6 months or so to a new place so I'm trying to be as frugal and bare bones as possible. The new place will be carpeted and therefore i don't want to go to overboard with stuff I get now.

My apt has hard wood flooring. I have mats under my equipment. The mats are on an area rug. You never know when a plate/DB might slip out of ur hand. Better safe than sorry. If u damage the flooring, its gonna cost a lot more. And the mats are not going to be wasted if u move to a carpeted area. you can use them over carpet too. Rubber coated weights may not cause so much damage as iron, but u will still need some mats to absorb the impact if u drop them. And buying stall mats is going to be much cheaper than buying all rubber coated weights. U can use the 1/2" mat around the area where u work out. But 3/4" where u DL. The mats are not only for protecting ur floor. Its for protecting ur weights as well. But finally its ur call

[Detrus]

I lay down some cardboard only under the spot where plates land, on hardwood floor. I've had a few things slip off, dropped a 5lb plate 2ft on its edge and caused a dent, it's small and hard to spot. Was loading machined plates and bar rolled off the padding onto hardwood, causing no visible damage. Had rough cast plates roll off padding and stand on floor causing minor scratches I covered up with one layer of wood coat.

If you have rubber coated plates and they slip or roll off protected area onto hardwood it won't cause damage. If you have thoroughly machined iron plates without sharp edges and they roll onto hardwood there will be no damage. But rough cast iron will cause damage just standing on wood and when rolling off padding.