Flooring for home gym in the garage

[bob1776]

Working on setting up a home gym in my garage. I saw some floor padding in a sporting goods store which only covered 16 sq ft and it was quite expensive. Is it worth it, or am I better off with basic materials from home depot? Keep in mind it is in the garage, so there's some moisture from humidity. I want to protect the floor and weights from impact and help with noise too (my wife's not going to like deadlift day). I have metal plates (cast iron?), but am shopping for bumper plates too. I suspect I'll have both when doing heavy deadlifts.

[Flounderbout]

I would suggest horse mats for stabling. Much cheaper and more robust than the stuff aimed at gyms

[anonymous]

I would suggest horse mats for stabling. Much cheaper and more robust than the stuff aimed at gyms

X2 on this

[Requitor]

I would suggest horse mats for stabling. Much cheaper and more robust than the stuff aimed at gyms

Great hack for flooring, thanks!

[Flounderbout]

Incidentally if you want a lifting platform but don't want to spend $1000 (they cost at least that over here anyway), here is a good vid (don't worry it turns the right way up pretty quick!)...

[olyw8lifter]

I agree that you would be better off just building a platform for your deadlifts, similar to the one shown in the video above. It won't be quiet because of the noise the plates will make, but bumpers will lessen that somewhat. Horse stall mats would be your second best option, but just cover a small section, not the entire floor.

[TouaregV8]

1 more vote for stall mats. I used these in my home gym. I ran them wall to wall in my finished basement and used a jig saw to cut them. I used quarter round to finish off the edges at the baseboards and they looked great when done. IIRC they come 4'x8' and are about $35 each at your local Tractor Supply or feed store.

[Vancemac]

Incidentally if you want a lifting platform but don't want to spend $1000 (they cost at least that over here anyway), here is a good vid (don't worry it turns the right way up pretty quick!)...

+1. Dozens of videos and plans all over the internet that are all basically the same. Quite easy, and I think I was under $300 even with going overboard on a few items. And I LOOOOVE that thing.

Damn, still can't post photos: tinyurl.com/o3rgtk3

[GKC45]

I love my Tractor Supply horse stall mats.

By the way, that guy in the vid blathers on waaaayyyy too much. Just shut up and build than damn thing already. lol

[bob1776]

Wow guys, thanks for the awesome input. I never heard of horse stall mats, actually I thought it was a joke at first, but I've been edumacated. I know where the closest Tractor Supply is now, and will be making a visit soon.

Founderbout's video is exactly what I was thinking of without really thinking it through. Yeah, he's a bit long winded, but its a good example of how easy it is & I can do it for well under $200 too. Now if only you guys can help me this much at cleaning out the garage

[RT1957]

I bought subflooring from home depot. Should have out horse mats down on it but I put indoor/outdoor cheap carpet and then bought some cheap rubber squares for the sides of my rack for deadz...

[ScottAllan77]

Nice thread. I had no clue about these and I'm finishing my basement in the next 12 mos.

My local Tractor Supply has 4x6 sheets for $40. Not bad, but they also list them at 100lbs. Is that right?

[TouaregV8]

Nice thread. I had no clue about these and I'm finishing my basement in the next 12 mos.

My local Tractor Supply has 4x6 sheets for $40. Not bad, but they also list them at 100lbs. Is that right?

Yes, they are bulky, heavy suckers.

[GKC45]

They are a little easier to get into position with a buddy. I had a lot of fun getting them downstairs into my basement.

[ScottAllan77]

They are a little easier to get into position with a buddy. I had a lot of fun getting them downstairs into my basement.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking 2-3 and damn that's going to be a fun day. LOL

[CropDusterMan]

Going rate for the horse stall mats is 40-50$, and they are great. They do smell a bit when you first get them, but I find
washing them with palmolive soap really cuts down on that. As far as a lifting platform goes, if you aren't doing dynamic
movements like the snatch or split jerks, you don't need the wood...especially deadlifts. Having said that, the platform
is great. You can do an entire area with the mats, or put them under drop areas like adjustable incline and flat benches
if using dumbells.

[ShaneWY]

Good plan on the horse mats. I don't know if they are the same, but look into the mats that are installed in horse trailers, too.

[yaaar]

I got this stuff, really like it... although I don't have much experience with other types.

http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Cal-Rev...dp/B00IOFSX0W/

I found it a little less expensive on their actual site than on amazon, they shipped it right out and it works great. Interlocks and comes with ramp edges so it's a little nicer to walk on the edge.