The Best Gym Flooring for Home Use
Building a Home Gym Starts at the “Bottom”
Since everything starts with a good foundation, that’s where you need to start when thinking about building a workout room in your own home. For many people, your excess space will be in the garage or a corner of the basement which is a real good place to have a workout area. We will be looking at mats made of rubber and rubber products, and vinyl.
Your equipment is going to be heavy which includes a power rack or squat rack, weight bar with weights and dumbbells. Dropping weights during power lifting can be hard on your flooring so you need something that will support rough treatment. If you are going to be building your gym on new flooring, I would suggest putting down a layer of plywood before adding your mats to protect that new floor.
There are many types of covering you can use for a workout room floor from yoga mats to thick carpet, to stall mats, to a product called puzzle mats. Most likely you will be looking for a product that will cover a cement floor and one that will prevent damage to the cement surface. Let’s talk about a few types of mats.
Most Popular
BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat
The BalanceForm tile mats are current the best selling out there when people are putting home gym mats down to protect their floor and to workout on. They are the most affordable and they come in a wide variety of thickness ranging from 1/2, 3/4 and 1 " thick. They are easy to put together as well.
Feature List
- Thickness comes in 3 sizes
- Lightweight and interlocking
- Made of EVA Foam comes in different colors
- Slip resistant, easy to care for
- Different size packages with a 2 year warranty
Types of Gym Mat Flooring For Your Home Gym
Yoga Mats and Carpet
As you can guess, a yoga mat is not going to work if you will be using heavy weights. Although they work great for yoga, it’s just not the right fit for weight-lifting and setting heavy exercise equipment on. The same is true for carpet, it is not going to absorb the bounce and noise of a piece of heavy weights being dropped on it and think what that action would do to a garage cement floor.
Having room for a yoga mat is a good idea but use it for what it was made for, yoga and a safe place to do your stretching on before and after your workout.
Puzzle Style Mats
This style of mat is just what it sounds like, the pieces fit together like a puzzle and if put together right, the lines are almost impossible to see. They come in different thicknesses, but most are 24” x 24” x ½” pieces which makes for quick installation. They also come in different colorsif that is a concern of yours or if you wife is helping you plan the home gym you know everything is going to have to match!
Many of the tiles are made of rubber materials and work good at absorbing weight pressure and sound plus they will be slip resistant and water resistant. Some are not recommended for super heavy weightlifting so check out what the manufactures suggested uses are.
If you need to move your home gym for a week-end or so for any reason, the tiles come up easy to give you more living space. Maybe you need to park your extra car in the garage because of a big storm is moving in your area, no problem, it’s a 15 minutejob to take up the tiles.
Supermats and Stall Rubber Mats
If you have ever used horse stall mats, you know that they are rugged, thick, and are usually 4 x6 feet but when installing them no two mats are the same size and they change with the temperatures. When I used them in horse stalls,I was always having to rearrange them.
They are probably the cheapest way to go but be aware of the smell when you first set them in a closed area. They do put off a toxic odor for a good amount of time. In my horse barn, the odor was noticeable for 2+ months. The mats are ¾” thick which is a good thickness for dropping weights on but don’t plan on moving them around a lot as they weight around onehundred pounds apiece.
The super floor mats are a fairly descent product and are safe for use around children. They do help dampen noise and vibrations and are odor free and can work well for exercise room flooring. They can be rolled up out of the way, but it is a chore to do so.
Questions To Consider When Buying Home Gym Flooring
- How much floor space do I have for creating a home gym?
- What is the height of the area I want to use?
- What is the floor made of where I want to create my gym?
- Will I be using extremely heavy weights?
- What basic equipment do I need, and do I have room for it?
- What type of flooring will absorb noise the best?
- What flooring will allow me to drop weights on for shock absorption?
Best Flooring For Home Gym Options
Supermats Heavy Duty Equipment Mat 13GS
The Supermats can be ordered one at a time or in packs of 2,3,4, or 5. You can use them over carpet, wood or cement flooring. Each mat is 30” x 60” but is only 1/4” thick so I would suggest putting a piece of plywood down if you will be using it on cement or a new hard wood floor.
Feature List
- Five different buying options
- Measures 2.5’ x 5’
- Made without harmful chemicals or heavy metals
- About ¼” thick
- Made in the USA
- Great to put exercise equipment on
They are made of PVC composite material and are odor free. They will work great for your stationary equipment to set on and will prevent it from sliding around on you. You can do your warmup and cooldown exercises without slipping and sliding around which will help prevent accidents. If you are into heavy weights, I don’t think this would be a good fit for you unless you put board under the mats. You will need flooring that is much thicker to handle weights being dropped on it.
- Helps keep dust off and out of workout equipment
- Protects under flooring from permanent damage
- Lessens vibrations and muffles noise
- Easy to clean and is slip resistant
- Will extend the life of your equipment
- Since this mat is only ¼” thick it is not suitable if you are dropping heavy weights during your work out. If you do put down a layer of plywood on your floor first, this mat could work for a home gym flooring.
BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat with EVA Foam Interlocking Tiles
Now if you are a puzzle freak, this is your cup of tea! These pieces are of uniform size which is 24” x 24” and you can order them either ½” thick or ¾” thick depending on your personal needs. You will also have your choice of colors, black, grey or blue and you can decide how many packages you will need depending on how many square feet of designated floor space you have at home.
Feature List
- Designed as interlocking pieces
- Each piece is 24” x 24”
- Comes in black, grey, and blue
- Can purchase either ½” or ¾” thick
- Non-slip service
These mats are super easy to put together and come with side pieces that give all sides of the mat a finished look. They are made of high-density EVA foam which is a vinyl product and makes for easy maintenance and is slip resistance. I love the 2 year warranty that this product comes with, almost like an insurance policy.
Using a good quality mat for a home gym floor can practically do away with slipping and tripping incidents while doing your workout. When ordering, the tiles come in packs of 6 that covers 24 square feet.
- Light weight and easy to work with
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Good cushion for knees, hips and spine
- Made of high density EVA foam
- 2 year warranty
- Since this comes in ¾” thickness, it will work well for a home gym floor and will support heavy equipment and heavy weights being dropped on it.
ProsourceFit Puzzle Exercise Mat
The ProsourceFit style mat is another puzzle product that is easy to install and comes in packs that will cover a 24 square foot area. Just measure the area you need covered and order the exact number of squares that you need. They come in half inch thickness only, each piece is 24” x 24” and you purchase a pack of 6 at a time with end borders for a finished look.
Feature List
- Interlocking blocks
- Six tiles in a pack
- Measure 24” x 24” x ½”
- Noise-reducing design
- Pack covers 24 Square feet
The materials used to make the tiles consist of EVA foam and contain no toxic phthalates. This also makes them an excellent product for the floors in a child’s playroom. Customers use these tiles for garage floors, home gyms, or workout rooms.
If you do a lot of standup exercises these tiles work well for that part of your workout sessions as they will be easy on your knees, ankles and spine. The outside texture provides you with a slip resistant and water-resistant surface.
- Made of high-density EVA foam
- Non-skid surface
- Easy to clean and maintain
- No toxic materials used in manufacturing
- Choice of three colors
- I would prefer a mat that is at least ¾” thickness for doing extreme weight-lifting
Forest Floor 3/8 Inch Thick Printed Foam Tiles
This style of puzzle mats is pretty cool looking, it resembles a wood floor in appearance but is made of EVA foam. It comes in seven different colors that are sure to please everyone in the market for a home gym floor. The pieces are the same as other brands, 24” x 24” squares but are 3/8” thick which is thinner than ½”.
Feature List
- This is a six pack of tiles
- 24” x 24” squares, 3/8” thick
- Comes in several colors, even premium wood grain
- Made of EVA foam
- Anti-Fatigue Flooring
This is easy to assemble and comes with 2 borders per tile and there are 6 tiles per pack. You can put this brand of tile over concrete, hardwood and other hard services but is not a fit if you want to put it over carpet or under furniture. This leads me to think that you wouldn’t want to put heavy workout equipment on it.
The Forest Floor is high-destiny EVA foam, is non-toxic and safe for small children to play on and is lead-free, latex -free and phthalate-free. Sounds like a healthy product to use but I am concerned about the durability of the mats.
- Easy to install and maintain
- Wood look finish
- Provide extra cushioning that is safe
- Use over concrete and hardwood
- Reduces strain on joints
- These are not for outdoor use and the wood finish does have a tendency to fade and wear off.
Clevr EVA Gym Foam Floor Mat Reversible Tiles
This set of tiles have a thickness of 1” which is premium when talking about a mat for a home gym or workout area. You will be able to drop those heavy weights without any consideration to damaging the floor under the tiles! This package is more expensive than the others listed in this review, but it also covers 48 square feet which means that there are twelve pieces that measure 24” x 24” each.
The material they are made of is safe health wise as it is BPA free, non-toxic and Phthalates free. You get the ultimate in shock absorption to protect your joints and spine while you still protect the floor under the mats. The mats are water-resistant, non-skid, and noise resistant so you don’t bother the rest of the family while working out.
The tiles come in reversable dual colors, black/grey or red/blue and feature a steel grip pattern on both side and are light in weight but durable. The company offers a 1-year limited warranty on tears or rips caused by normal use.
Feature List
- Covers 48 square feet of floor
- Comes in dual colors
- 12 interlocking pieces
- Pieces are 24” x 24” x 1”
- Water resistant surface
- BPA free, non-toxic, Phthalates free
- Will handle heavy impact weightlifting
- Easy to install and uninstall
- Nonskid and easy to clean
- Use on all surfaces
- The price on this package is higher but then you are getting a true 1 inch thick product.
Sivan Health and Fitness Exercise Mat Tiles
The Sivan mat tiles are a heavy duty grey speckled tile that comes in a six pack and will cover a 24 foot square area. The tiles are 24” x 25” s ½” and of course work in an interlocking fashion. Each tile has two detachable edge tiles to give the entire mat that finished professional look.
This tile comes in two colors, black/grey and black/blue and with the speckled design it is almost impossible to see where they interlock. The material used to construct the tiles is EVA foam with a rubber top and will accommodate heavy equipment. The surface is non-skid for the ultimate in safety and is easily maintained.
Although this is ½” thick, the construction method makes it a good cushioning mat for a home gym and works great over a cement floor. I like the idea of putting double sided tape in each corner of the mat to help prevent it from sliding especially on a new slick cement floor.
Feature List
- Mat pieces are 24” x 25” x 1/2”
- Made of EVA foam with a rubber top
- Covers 24 square feet
- Comes in two colors
- Great for heavy workout equipment
- Has a non-skid finish
- Made of high-density materials
- Strong enough to hold heavy equipment
- Easy to install and clean
- Help absorb noise
- Good quality mats for creating home gym flooring.
AmazonBasics Exercise Training Puzzle Mat
Amazon offers their own brand of puzzle mats and they have all the features of other brands and of course it is their best seller. They are made of high-density EVA foam and will create a very comfortable workout flooring. The tiles come in packages of six and includes 12 borders pieces that give the mat a finished and complete look.
The AmazonBasic tiles come in three colors, black, blue and grey and will cover 24 square feet. Each tile is 24” x 24” x ½”, are easy to assemble and easy to clean. The tiles will help protect your floor from the use of heavy weightlifting equipment, but they can slide some so it’s best to use a double stick tape on the underside.
Amazon offers you a 1-year limited warranty if you should have a problem with their construction under normal use.
Feature List
- Made of EVA foam
- Interlocking squares with end borders
- Pieces measure 24” x 24” x ½”
- Textured surface for safety
- 1-year limited warranty
- Comes in three colors
- Easy to assemble and disassemble
- Provides cushioning for joints
- Has a non-slip surface for safety
- Help reduce noise
- The biggest complaint buy customers was that the mats would slide a bit during a workout.
We Sell Mats 3/8 Inch Thick Multipurpose Exercise Floor Mat
Wow! Now this brand of tiles come in 17 different colors so there isn’t anyone out there that can’t be pleased when doing a workout area or playroom. I mention playroom because as you’ve probably noticed, I’m all about using tiles that are at least a half inch thick if you are going to be lifting heavy weight on this flooring. If you are just doing light weights, or using an exercise bike, you could use this tile.
Each tile measures 24” x 24” 3/8” and you order the quantity depending on the square feet that you want to cover and of course you can order different colors in the same order. If you are planning on using a squat rack or power rack, I don’t think you will be happy with this tile and just from the appearance of these tiles I think they are geared for very light use.
You can place them over a hardwood floor or cement floor and the company suggest that they will work well for the flooring in a camping tent.
Feature List
- Come in multiples of color
- Measure 24” x 24” square
- Interlocking pieces
- Made of high density EVA foam
- Lead free, lead free, and phthalate free
- Safe for small children to play on
- Non-toxic material
- Good for exercise areas
- Easy to install
- Easy to clean and maintain
- I would recommend this for an exercise area but not for a workout room where you plan on lifting and storing heavy weights or other heavy equipment.
Gorillamats Premium Exercise Mats
Gorillamats can be the perfect workout surface for your home gym or workout center.This tough mat is 6” x 4”x ¼”. Not as thick as I like to see but it is a well built mat with a double-sided design. Since it weighs around 15 lbs. it is easy to move and comes with its own carry bag and a towel to wipe it down with. When you roll it out, it will stay flat and not curl up.
The company is so confident about their product that they offer a 100% money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty. Now that’s quite a statement! The non-toxic, 16p free material used to make the mat isof a professional grade and boasts a non-slip surface that is shock-absorbing.
I believe this is a top quality mat that would be perfect for cardio workouts, dancing or Zumba class, doing gymnastic on, strength training and many more activities on. The circle -pattern on the back of the mat is for gripping the floor underneath to prevent it from sliding around.Most customers were happy with the mat but wished that it was thicker.
Feature List
- Measures 6’ x 4” x ¼”
- Premium quality high density
- Work great on any flat surface
- Balance of stability and comfort
- Plyo, Cardio Equipment ready and MMA mats
- Use with or without shoes!
- Easy to roll out and roll up for storage
- Colors are silverback gray or midnight blue
- Helps protect your feet, knees, ankles, elbows and spine
- Has an anti-slip bottom
- Non-toxic and odor-free materials used in construction
- This is a great quality mat and I think it will work fine for just about everything you want to do in the way of fitness BUT, I still would like it to be at least ½” thick.
Conclusion
Today you looked at many brands and styles of gym mat flooring you could use to build that foundation to your future home gym workout area. If you aren’t going to do extreme weight lifting some of the thinner products will work amazingly. On the other hand, if you are going to pump iron like a big dog, spring for the thicker mats, you won’t be disappointed. Good luck with your new home gym flooring and don’t give up, ever!
Click Here to buy the top rated BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat on amazon at the best price and add this to your home gym that will give you a whole new set of exercises you can add to your workout..