If you own or operate a commercial fitness facility or a tenant workout center, you are sure to be exploring your options in heavy duty mats for your gym. There are many options to choose from, and the 5 tips below will help you narrow your choices.
Tiles Are Increasing In Popularity
With the modern options in seamless, straight edge, and interlocking tiles, most gyms opt for tiles over rolls. Rolls almost always have to be glued down as the edges curl. Although durable, if even a small section of a rolled mat is damaged or discolored, you must replace the entire mat or live with the eyesore. With interlocking mats, you can replace the individual damaged tile. Some business owners invest in interlocking tiles for their gym.
Not All Mats Are The Same
Not all mats are ideal for every area of a gym or fitness center. For example, some mats are designed to withstand the blades and water from hockey or ice skates, while others are designed only for tennis shoes and heavy equipment. In wet areas, mats should be glued down, but in most areas, interlocking is sufficient.
Mats Aren’t Just For Comfort
Your main priority is likely to provide your clients with a comfortable place to work out and a bit of additional shock absorption. While this is essential, your mats aren’t just for comfort and function but also:
- Shock absorption
- Vibration absorption
- Soundproofing between the floor beneath you
- Impact resistant for the flooring underneath
- Increased traction for wet floors
You May Need More Than One Type Of Flooring
Depending on your needs, you may opt for more than one type of flooring. For example, you may like the existing wood floors in your cardio or yoga room but need waterproof mats at the entry or your pool and a heavy-duty shock and vibration resistant mat in your weight room. For cost efficiency, you may have a less durable mat in some areas and a more durable mat in areas with heavy equipment.
Your Mats Open Up Your Rental Options
The current options in heavy duty mats for gym floors are so diverse in both function and design aesthetics that fitness centers have a far easier time finding rental spaces. For example, a popular trend for CrossFit boxes is to rent a somewhat industrial space with concrete flooring. Concrete clearly isn’t ideal workout flooring, but you can add interlocking mats on top to transform the look, feel, safety, and function instantly. Mats can also be used to cover up unsightly flooring and create a stylized gym design.
Mats provide a comfortable place to stretch, work out, lift, host classes, and play. Rubber is fast and easy to clean and resistant to mold and bacterial buildup. To learn more about heavy duty mats for gym flooring reach out to the team at Source Floor today to discuss your options.
