Home gym flooring thread (foam, rubber, horse stall mats,etc)

[wes_mantooth]

If I go with the 4x6 mats from tractor supply, will i damage the concrete garage floor underneath if i drop 300 on a deadlift or if i had to from a squat?

[Accutron]

If I go with the 4x6 mats from tractor supply, will i damage the concrete garage floor underneath if i drop 300 on a deadlift or if i had to from a squat?

Yes, if you plan on bailing, rubber mats wont help as much as solid rubber bumpers. 300 lbs from 6ft+ would damage your bar (if its a cheap generic bar) and your floor.

[wes_mantooth]

Maybe I could put some plywood underneath the horse mats?

[Accutron]

Maybe I could put some plywood underneath the horse mats?

I think the best thing to do is 2 sheets of plywood glued or nailed and then a 3/4" rubber mat on top of those 2 layers, making three layers.

Thats how many people make an olympic lifting platform where you are supposed to drop the weights, but they use bumpers too and a special bar.

But if you dont plan on dumping your squat weight very often - I dont think many people do - then you should be okay with less. Or squat in a cage with safeties in case you cant make it back up...

[Squeebo]

You definitely want a pair of bumper plates if you think dropping it is a possibility. It's gonna be carnage otherwise. Most people also don't squat so much that they need more than a pair of 45lb bumpers, as anything 35lb or less of regular plates are smaller and won't touch the floor.

Rubber mats are limited in their ability to protect the floor and plates, such as lowering a deadlift bar in a controlled manner. Anything more and you need bumpers.

[wes_mantooth]

Yeah, I've never dropped the weights at my current house. But I think knowing I can't drop them if I have to keeps from lifting as heavy as I could. I was just more curious about a situation where I put too much weight and couldn't get it back up.

[bigg_K]

looking around for flooring ideas,

I was going to make my home gym in the garage, but instead I'm going to ditch the guest room and put it in there. The only problem is I have the Fake wood flooring, can't remember the name...Pergo?

I'll take some pics. It's fairly durable.

Here is a link I've found for couple other mats, I'm going to go around stores to today to see whats out there.

Otherwise I'm bumping a really informative thread.

http://www.diamond-safety.com/Athlet...20Listing.html

I measured the room its 12 x 14

[USER876]

Those are really expensive....

[pdogg57]

there doesn't seem to be any TS in southern california. does anyone know a good place to get some stall mats in socal other than CL? Thanks.

[animalfan]

there doesn't seem to be any TS in southern california. does anyone know a good place to get some stall mats in socal other than CL? Thanks.

if none of these are by you, i'm not sure where you could get them.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...AndResultsView

[pdogg57]

if none of these are by you, i'm not sure where you could get them.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...AndResultsView

umm....okay....well thanks for the post anyways...... lol

anyone else?

[drlouie]

there doesn't seem to be any TS in southern california. does anyone know a good place to get some stall mats in socal other than CL? Thanks.

Are than any horse racing tracks around you? If so, I would go there and ask around. Some horse guys are really nice and will talk to you about it, others will be "put off" that you are talking to them.

[smbear]

if you live in the IL area (BIG R) has these mats in stock out side so they dont smell regular price is 34.99 sale price is 29.99 all the time they are the same mats everyone else sells . made in canada grooved underneith and diamond plate on top wiegh 100 lbs . what a bitch to get them down stairs my self its not the wieght for most of us thats not a problem . they dont roll up and are very stiff so you have to man handle them . i rolled them up as much as possible and carried them down not bad but be prepared. it was nice doing dead lifts and letting the bar down heavy and not have to worrie .

[patrickwood]

You may not be interested in what I use but I wanted to relay my experience. I refinished half of my 2500 sq. ft. basement with Legato carpet tiles. The pool table room is awesome. You cannot see the joints at all. My gym is great! No visible seems. Also, I am one of those morons who drop the 90 lb dumbells after each set. After a year and a half the tiles are still perfect, even under the "drop zone". If one tile gets dirty or wet from an a/c leak I just take that panel outside to clean and sun dry before returning it to the floor. My gym looks very classy while providing versatility in cleaning and replacement. Thanks,

Patrick

[niktak11]

get 1/2" plywood underboarding and put the horse mats on top.

that's what I have. Works like a charm.

X2, this is what I did. (except I had 4 plywood layers so it would be the same level as my power rack) Call around some local places to get the horse mats somewhere will have them.

[ctgblue]

I looked at all the alternatives.
Because my gym is ground floor in a $200k+ home, I went with real gym flooring with the color flecks added.
I went and saw a couple of "stall mat gyms" and the still had a funky smell after 1-2yrs, and they did not line up and they had the 'corrugated' bottom, so they buckled a bit at the point where the power rack or db rack sat on them.
I got mine here http://www.magnumfitness.com/templat...ber%20flooring
The 3/8" flecked was under $3 sqft delivered to my house in 4' x 14' rolls
it went in like a charm and there is perfect seam alignment (don't mind the dusty footprints)

[knicksin2002]

Does anyone know if these horse stall mats from tractor supply would work well if they are going over carpet? Anyone have any experiences with this? Thanks!

[barracudal]

I'm going to check out these mats from fleet farm, the closest tractor supply is a decent drive away plus it looks like these ones come rolled up. not sure on the thickness, I'll report back on that.



$37 for the 4 x 6
http://www.fleetfarm.com/mff/catalog...bber-Multi-Mat

$52 for the 4 x 8
http://www.fleetfarm.com/mff/browse/...tegoryId=00162

$65 for the 5 x 8
http://www.fleetfarm.com/mff/catalog...bber-Multi-Mat

EDIT: they are in this week's ad. 1/2" thick. 4x6 on sale for $32. I'm going tomorrow!

[sharkattack]

I thought I'd chime in here. I have a very low pile carpet in my gym, with heavy duty rubber mats on either side of the power rack and under the treadmill. I know for some folks, laying down a bunch of heavy duty rubber mats is a little out of reach. To combat that, just do the important areas first, like in and around the power rack. Then, as funds allow, add them to other areas. In time, the whole floor will be covered.

Just thought I'd toss that out there. Putting down an entire rubber floor all at once is nice, but not necessary. Work with what you can and go from there.

[keyboardworkout]

I went to my local feed supply store and picked up mats on Friday. They had two types.

4x6 stall mats which were 3/4" thick and smooth for $51 each.

4x6 trailer mats which were 1/2" thick and have raised traction bumps for $46 each.

I went with two 3/4" smooth stall mats for under the rack in the garage. They do stink a bit but it isn't unpleasant. They weigh about 100 pounds each.

[RHINO240]

I thought I'd chime in here. I have a very low pile carpet in my gym, with heavy duty rubber mats on either side of the power rack and under the treadmill. I know for some folks, laying down a bunch of heavy duty rubber mats is a little out of reach. To combat that, just do the important areas first, like in and around the power rack. Then, as funds allow, add them to other areas. In time, the whole floor will be covered.

Just thought I'd toss that out there. Putting down an entire rubber floor all at once is nice, but not necessary. Work with what you can and go from there.

Exactly! I have the cheap carpet squares (low pile) wall to wall. Then I put the stall mats under my equipment. Two big one's under and around my rack (where I do most heavy lifting) and that's all you need. I could have put stall mats wall to wall, but it would have cost hundreds more.

[InclineDBPresss]

For me, the 2x2 interlocking mats work great. I have about 20 to cover my lifting area. I left them all outside on my lawn for the entire fall, winter and spring by mistake, but I just cleaned them up before this summer and they are back in action.

[Andrew_WOT]

Great thread, must be in stickies.
Another option - Body Solid Bully Mat 4X6 1/2", visit your local dealer you can get it cheaper than online price.
http://www.ifitnessdirect.com/produc...x_6_x_12_THICK

[Geekdll]

there doesn't seem to be any TS in southern california. does anyone know a good place to get some stall mats in socal other than CL? Thanks.

kahoots pet store has stall mats and they have a lot of locations in southern cali. Check out there site.

kahootspet.com

[mas43]

Why not invest in some timber, 2 sheets of plywood, Rubber and do some DIY wont cost you any more than 200! if your interested ill find you a guide to properly structure the platform ive drawn a wee scetch of what you would make it look like.

[DangerDan]

Get horse mats. They're made for ****ing horses man. They'll last forever. I have one in my barn and that bitch is serious. It's heavy as hell and hard to move too.

[Cadz]

Hi, I'm looking to buy rubber flooring and while this is an older thread it's very helpful. I've read it like 3-4 times.
The thing is the horse mats tend to smell fairly strong as our basement isn't really well ventilated.
There is a local dealer who installs rubber flooring and our soon to be workout room is 8'7"x14'.
Schleping 100 lbs. for each 4x6 horse mat isn't very appealing and of course they don't interlock.
The dealer has solid pieces that would basically be one piece wall to wall rubber flooring 3/8" thick. Cost installed is $390 It's got color flecks in it.
How durable is this stuff? He says he puts it in a lot of gyms and he has it in stock. Thicker material would cost a lot more.
I'm looking for advice and my wife's equipment will be moved around quite a bit and I'm concerned about tearing and with horse mats I'm concerned about the seams. They might end up where the equipment has to go.
Any thoughts?
Thanks

[wolfdragon]

Sounds like what Ctgblue has. He seems to be very happy with it. His post is halfway up this page.

[CFF]

Just a shout out to all. I have been reading what everyone is saying about the 4 x 6 x 3/4" mats. There are two grades. Gym quality and horse stall. The horse stall will usually be slightly off and then gym mats (grade 1) will be dead on. We sell both and thought we would hook up anyone off BB.com.
$36.41 a mat for grade 1, gym mats! They are normally $39.15 on our website so you will have to email us for the discount. If anyone buys 50 or more mats, we will offer them $32.50 a mat. In about 2 weeks we will also have them available for pick up in Lancaster, PA as well as we have locations around the country that you can pick them up to. Feel free to email us!
http://www.christiansfitnessfactory....w-all-products

[Cadz]

Sounds like what Ctgblue has. He seems to be very happy with it. His post is halfway up this page.

Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as that. I'm just hoping 3/8" doesn't tear easily.
That's what I'm unsure of.