Rogue Barbell Club

[Farley1324]

You can put one of the mats smack in the middle of the rack, I mean, 4'x6' is clearly larger than inside of the rack where you stand, and then work out from there, trim if needed because they hit a wall etc. You can also, say, put the seem between two mats down the middle of the rack where it will be between your feet as you step so you aren't thinking about it. If you really wanted to (I don't think it would be an improvement) you could black tape that seem down the middle where you don't step, but I just wouldn't do the tape thing at all.

The mats are exceptionally durable, and the ones that have a freakin' RML-6 on them probably aren't going to be doing any moving.


For my smaller rack I did two of those mats 'vertical', as in the 6' long seem ran down the middle of the rack as the rack straddled them, then I did a third mat side to side behind them, behind the rack, for deads and cleans and the like. When I got the larger Rogue rack in the same basement space I picked up a 4th mat, rotated the one outside the rack to be in line with the others, and filled in the 4th quadrant with the new. The two that were outside the rack did move a little sometimes and need kicked into place, the ones under the rack did not.

[HeavyIron8]

You can put one of the mats smack in the middle of the rack, I mean, 4'x6' is clearly larger than inside of the rack where you stand, and then work out from there, trim if needed because they hit a wall etc. You can also, say, put the seem between two mats down the middle of the rack where it will be between your feet as you step so you aren't thinking about it. If you really wanted to (I don't think it would be an improvement) you could black tape that seem down the middle where you don't step, but I just wouldn't do the tape thing at all.

The mats are exceptionally durable, and the ones that have a freakin' RML-6 on them probably aren't going to be doing any moving.


For my smaller rack I did two of those mats 'vertical', as in the 6' long seem ran down the middle of the rack as the rack straddled them, then I did a third mat side to side behind them, behind the rack, for deads and cleans and the like. When I got the larger Rogue rack in the same basement space I picked up a 4th mat, rotated the one outside the rack to be in line with the others, and filled in the 4th quadrant with the new. The two that were outside the rack did move a little sometimes and need kicked into place, the ones under the rack did not.

If I'm gonna do this, I might as well do it right. I am going to get 5 of the horse stall mats and cover a 10' x 12' space in the garage with them. Use a weight tree, the rack, and some double sided gorilla mounting tape to hold them down and prevent them from shifting over time. I did some google research and apparently three 6 inch strips of the 30 lb strength heavy duty gorilla mounting tape should hold down the 4 x 6 horse stall mats from shifting (areas not covered by rack).

My garage is 20 feet wide, so 1 of the horse stall mats will be split in half length wise + 2 more horse stalls side by side = 10 feet wide. This will still allow me to park my car inside the garage on one side, and the other side will be a full fledged horse stall mat covered gym lol. I already made a 8' x 4' deadlift platform 3 years ago so that will go directly south of the 10 x 12 horse stall mat covered flooring.

[mrcheeze36]

My garage is 20 feet wide, so 1 of the horse stall mats will be split in half length wise + 2 more horse stalls side by side = 10 feet wide. This will still allow me to park my car inside the garage on one side, and the other side will be a full fledged horse stall mat covered gym lol. I already made a 8' x 4' deadlift platform 3 years ago so that will go directly south of the 10 x 12 horse stall mat covered flooring.

I had similar requirements - dedicate one side for lifting and other side available to park a car in.

Here’s an old pic of my setup. I went with a platform for below the rack...2 layers of plywood on the bottom and top layer with the nicer wood and stall mats. Pandobearninja went with 1 layer of plywood on the bottom (instead of 2) on his old setup and he didn’t have issues. I didn’t glue anything together, just screwed the top layer to the bottom layers:

[HeavyIron8]

Nice set up. Is the width of the center wood in the rack 4 feet?

[mrcheeze36]

Nice set up. Is the width of the center wood in the rack 4 feet?

Thanks. Yes, 4ft wide for the wood and the stall mats are 2ft wide on each side.

[Froggert]

No need to cut stall mats if you want to cover a 10’x12’ space. Just lay them like this:
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[irongrandpa]

Anyone try taping the seams with black gorilla tape? Even if it doesn't affect safety of lifting, its gonna give me OCD lol.

My magnum rack sits on 4 stall mats. It's centered on the mats so I have the seam in the middle of the rack. I didn't tape the seams and the crack has stayed tight even in the winter. The arrangement I have them in has a 8'wide x 12' deep set up.



I have moved it out from the wall from the original position a little, the rack weighs about 600lbs and it has over 1700lbs of York plates stored on it and it didn't leave any impressions in the mats from where it had been sitting.


Apologies for the sideways picture, I've since learned how to take them to appear upright.

[rpark]

Apologies for the sideways picture, I've since learned how to take them to appear upright.

Funny, the pic shows sideways on my computer, but right side up on my iPad....

[HeavyIron8]

If I were to build a platform, does the top layer wood need any kind of polyurethane coating? I realize it’s a personal decision, but just want draw from yall collective experience. Only thing that I can think of that might stain the wood would be blood if I accidentally scrap my shins during deadlift.

[Farley1324]

If I were to build a platform, does the top layer wood need any kind of polyurethane coating? I realize it’s a personal decision, but just want draw from yall collective experience. Only thing that I can think of that might stain the wood would be blood if I accidentally scrap my shins during deadlift.

It does not.

When I looked into it some people talked about the potential warping effect treatments and the like can have on the wood and how you should do both sides etc, so I just said **** that, the expensive really smooth finished surface look plywood (like $50/sheet) is good enough. I used the full 3/4" expensive hardwood stuff for the top layer and less expensive slightly less than actual 3/4 for the bottom two layers...like 23/32 or some really weird specific fraction

I wanted simple and I know it's only been 1 year but I'm happy with it. The plywood, stall mats, and screws. No glue or adhesive, no sealant, etc.

[gym62richard]

If I were to build a platform, does the top layer wood need any kind of polyurethane coating? I realize it’s a personal decision, but just want draw from yall collective experience. Only thing that I can think of that might stain the wood would be blood if I accidentally scrap my shins during deadlift.

Another option is to use timber engineered flooring for the insert portion of the platform, this is pre finished and once fixed is extremely stable.

Not a great pic but hopefully you'll get the idea, I have rolled rubber in place of stall mats.

[thejosef]

Another option is to use timber engineered flooring for the insert portion of the platform, this is pre finished and once fixed is extremely stable.

Not a great pic but hopefully you'll get the idea, I have rolled rubber in place of stall mats.

[HeavyIron8]

Another option is to use timber engineered flooring for the insert portion of the platform, this is pre finished and once fixed is extremely stable.

Not a great pic but hopefully you'll get the idea, I have rolled rubber in place of stall mats.

Great idea. I should just be able to buy these in pieces from home depot and use wood glue to attach them to the plywood right?

[HeavyIron8]

Other than regular cleaning, what else do you guys do for long term platform maintenance?

[gym62richard]

Great idea. I should just be able to buy these in pieces from home depot and use wood glue to attach them to the plywood right?

Yes, the boards are tongue and groove or click system, so they slot together easily, they can be glued to the plywood, however I chose to screw fix, if 20 plus years of having a home gym has taught me anything it's that things evolve, so permanent fixing isn't always a good idea.

[alexthaman]

Yes, the boards are tongue and groove or click system, so they slot together easily, they can be glued to the plywood, however I chose to screw fix, if 20 plus years of having a home gym has taught me anything it's that things evolve, so permanent fixing isn't always a good idea.

is the wood thicker than your rubber flooring?

[gym62richard]

is the wood thicker than your rubber flooring?

My gym floor is multi layered, the idea is to replicate the shock absorbing effect of a platform. Concrete sub floor, 3/4" layer of industrial Evo foam, 3/4" plywood and 3/8" rolled rubber. The insert in the rack consists of 2 layers of 3/4" plywood and 3/8" engineered floor on top, so the rolled rubber and rack insert are level.

[alexthaman]

My gym floor is multi layered, the idea is to replicate the shock absorbing effect of a platform. Concrete sub floor, 3/4" layer of industrial Evo foam, 3/4" plywood and 3/8" rolled rubber. The insert in the rack consists of 2 layers of 3/4" plywood and 3/8" engineered floor on top, so the rolled rubber and rack insert are level.

man, this is an awesome flooring job. I have the rubber flooring directly on the concrete subfloor but it is not the best. In my basement, the ceiling is lower than 8 feet tall so adding thickness on the floor would have changed a lot for equipment as a lot of machines require the tallest ceiling possible. But if i had to do it again, i would do something like you have done. I also did it as simple as i could in the garage part of my gym so if someday i want to sell the house or get rid of the gym, it is easier to move the equipment out and remove the rubber tiles and have a regular garage... But nice job!

[gym62richard]

man, this is an awesome flooring job. I have the rubber flooring directly on the concrete subfloor but it is not the best. In my basement, the ceiling is lower than 8 feet tall so adding thickness on the floor would have changed a lot for equipment as a lot of machines require the tallest ceiling possible. But if i had to do it again, i would do something like you have done. I also did it as simple as i could in the garage part of my gym so if someday i want to sell the house or get rid of the gym, it is easier to move the equipment out and remove the rubber tiles and have a regular garage... But nice job!

Thank's, I didn't want a raised platform, but I still occasionally perform and coach weightlifting, so the multi layered solution was a good compromise.

I doubt I would have taken this route if I couldn't have bought the materials through my construction company, purchasing complete packs of plywood significantly reduced the cost per sheet.

[HeavyIron8]

I just spent the last 9 - 10 hours working on this platform. My lower back is sore, but I think it's ready for the RM-6! All materials are from Home depot and Tractor supply co.

Total dimension is 16' x 8'. 2 layers of 23/32" plywood on the bottom. The top 8' x 4' plywood is maple. An uncut 4x6 stall mat divides the 8x4 maple and another piece of 4x4 maple. Total thickness is ~ 2.2 inch. I used some Gorilla wood glue to stick all the plywood together. Also nailed them together using 2 inch construction screws. Cutting the stall mats was a huge pain in the ass, had to run down to home depot for a 2nd trip to buy a 6 inch PVC pipe for easier cutting.

The side against the wall is just 1 layer of 16' x 2' of horse stall mat. So entire area is 10' x 16'. I left a 4 feet space between the edge of the maple plywood and the garage wall. Should be enough clearance on left side of the rack.





By the way, I was shopping for a set of dumbells and ended up with these: https://www.ironmaster.com/products/...-dumbbells-75/

Also bought the 120 pound upgrade. Reviews for it are pretty high, and I can load it in 5 pound increments. Seems much better than buying a full set of DB for 3000 bucks. Anyone own these?

[Farley1324]

I'm jealous that your TSC apparently has the smooth sided stall mats.

But I'm more jealous of the 120lb ironmaster kit. I don't own them but others do, they are highly reviewed and seem to me like the perfect home gym solution. Fairly quick to adjust, durable, sturdy, handle just like a regular dumbell no weird sticking your hand inside or anything

[dailob]

Not a great pic but...

Cutting the stall mats was a huge pain in the ass, had to run down to home depot for a 2nd trip to buy a 6 inch PVC pipe for easier cutting.

if you have any barbell tubes lying around, they would have made cutting the stall mats easier...

edit: or something similar to what thejosef said below

[thejosef]

if you have any barbell tubes lying around, they would have made cutting the stall mats easier...

I've always just slid a length of 2x4 or two under the line you're cutting and they cut like butter. Use fresh, sharp box cutter blades too.

[HeavyIron8]

Looking at my platform again, wish I did a better job. It's fully functional obviously, but it just doesn't look the prettiest. Feels like some of the slight imperfections near the edges are inevitable.

[vhd16]

Looking at my platform again, wish I did a better job. It's fully functional obviously, but it just doesn't look the prettiest. Feels like some of the slight imperfections near the edges are inevitable.

You came to the right place then lol.. It is fine and looks nice considering this is the first time. Once you get the rack and new bumpers , you will not notice it or you will be redoing it again..lol

[thejosef]

You came to the right place then lol.. It is fine and looks nice considering this is the first time. Once you get the rack and new bumpers , you will not notice it or you will be redoing it again..lol

Yep. HeavyIron8, you'll be ordering rolled flooring to replace the stall mats in a year or so anyway.

[HeavyIron8]

Yep. HeavyIron8, you'll be ordering rolled flooring to replace the stall mats in a year or so anyway.

is that better and more durable than even stall mats?

[vhd16]

is that better and more durable than even stall mats?

I really like your enthusiasm and zeal . In the process i am not sure you are registering everything that you are reading. Gymrichard has rolled rubber flooring in the above posts.

Yes, it is look lot better and does not have any seams. As per choice 3/8" roller rubber flooring is the first choice/recommendation around here . Next is stall matts. But 3/8" rolled rubber flooring is will cost you some coin. Stallmatts are cheap and effective alternative plus they give you good workout lol..

Every serious home gym will have v1, v2 and v3 so on.. Hopefully if you can keep the revisions less than 3 then that is is great but it is not easy. Looks like you are at v2?

[HeavyIron8]

I really like your enthusiasm and zeal . In the process i am not sure you are registering everything that you are reading. Gymrichard has rolled rubber flooring in the above posts.

Yes, it is look lot better and does not have any seams. As per choice 3/8" roller rubber flooring is the first choice/recommendation around here . Next is stall matts. But 3/8" rolled rubber flooring is will cost you some coin. Stallmatts are cheap and effective alternative plus they give you good workout lol..

Every serious home gym will have v1, v2 and v3 so on.. Hopefully if you can keep the revisions less than 3 then that is is great but it is not easy. Looks like you are at v2?

I was just curious. I'll be good with the horse stall mats for now. I think what I got is already a huge upgrade vs what I had before (Titan T3 squat rack on bare concrete).

The stall mats are 3/4" thick and seems very durable. Are the 3/8" rubber even more effective at doing the job or are they just prettier to look at?

[gym62richard]

Looking at my platform again, wish I did a better job. It's fully functional obviously, but it just doesn't look the prettiest. Feels like some of the slight imperfections near the edges are inevitable.

Don't worry your platform looks fine, aesthetics won't help you lift anymore weight.

I replaced stall mats with rolled rubber earlier this year, I struggled to get the seams on the stall mats lined up to my satisfaction, but it was a perfectly functional surface, to be honest it was much easier to cut, line up and lay the rolled rubber.

With the Rogue RM6 your gym has a great foundation, my set up has evolved over the years and I'm sure your set up will change over time