Choosing the right flooring for your gym is an utterly crucial decision and can play a significant role in the functionality of your space. Whether it’s home gym or full commercial kit outs, you need flooring that’s going to be suitable to handle the various levels of physical abuse it’ll be forced to endure.

Luckily high-quality gym flooring for a variety of uses from barbell slamming CrossFit circuits and bodybuilders dropping big boy weights, right through to general floor routines and functional fitness use, is more cost efficient than you might think. To help out we’ve narrowed down some of the best options on offer.

There are a few things you’ll want to consider though before you get started.

Things to Consider

Many gym owners or home gym enthusiasts allow their thinking and planning to go straight to equipment and machinery. Selecting suitable flooring is actually one of the primary planning points before you jump too far ahead.

Layout Planning

Take a good look at your overall space. The type of gym flooring you need will depend entirely on what is going to be taking place in any given area. So, first things first will be to designate areas to the types of activity you expect to be performed. Some home gyms and specialist studios will only require that you cater for a select set of specific needs eg. Yoga & Pilates studios. These will only require one consistent set of flooring throughout but if you’re breaking your space down in to heavy free weight areas, functional fitness areas and perhaps even incorporating some type of sled or weighted drag work, you’ll need to well think through your overall layout before you progress.

Durability and Longevity

Naturally when it comes to your gym infrastructure one of your primary concerns will be durability. How long is everything going to last with repetitive use day in and day out. In the exact same way you would consider the durability and life cycle of your equipment, the same philosophy should be applied when buying flooring.

Depending on the type of equipment you’re planning on buying alongside any potential service plans if you are a larger commercial gym, you’ll be looking at an expectant life cycle for each piece of equipment or machinery you buy. Particularly with the heavy-duty equipment, the last thing you’re going to want is for your flooring to wear out and need replacing ahead of the equipment. This is going to cause you a whole host of issues later down the line and may require you to consider refurbishments earlier than you’d had planned.

Consider cost versus life cycle to avoid short-term thinking. Even if you’re simply kitting out your home space, buying right the first time will save you needing to replace your flooring as soon as you otherwise might.

Breaking up the Space

In the midst of picking the right flooring for the desired use, it’s easy to forget that particularly in larger commercial gyms, flooring can be used as an excellent way to break your gym floor space into sections nice and clearly for consumers.

Changing the type of flooring or even the colour can be a really effective way to showcase your gyms intended layout. Not to mention also creating a more aesthetically pleasing looking space. We can’t promise it’ll stop the odd rebel from dragging the monster dumbbells over to the cardio space, but it should reduce the risk.

 

Flex Equipment Top Picks

To help you find the best flooring for your needs, we have given you some key insights across our range.

Armortech Commercial Gym Flooring

Armortech commercial gym flooring is suited to busy commercial gyms and higher-end personal spaces for those serious about their home gym. It couples extreme durability with longevity and won’t flake, scratch or degrade, even in high traffic locations.

This is a perfect choice of gym flooring if you’re looking to kit out your fitness club with a premium, 100% recycled material which has been smartly designed to suit the needs of even the busiest of gyms. The 800kg density rubber tiles might have a light eco-footprint but the surface is hardcore; Armortech commercial flooring is slip resistant, anti-static, absorbs sound, has an anti-microbial finish, can be used indoors and outdoors, reduces vibrations and is rigorously lab and fire safety tested to AU standards.

You’ll find Armortech commercial gym flooring suitable for use in a range of locations including cardio spaces, CrossFit classes, free weight areas, functional training spaces, spinning and cycling sections, around suspension training areas and fitted under and around weightlifting cages and rack machinery.

Features:

• Available in a range of sizes
• Easy to fit and maintain
• Extremely durable
• Anti-microbial, anti-static and slip resistant
• Sound and vibration absorption
• Heavy duty surface perfect for high traffic areas
• Won’t bend, flake, scratch or degrade  thanks to the anti-fatigue design
• Made from 100% recycled materials
• Choose from different colour flecks

Use for:

• CrossFit
• Free weights
• Spinning / Cycling
• Functional training
• Weight cages and racks
• Cardio
• Suspension training

 

EVA Jigsaw Flooring

EVA jigsaw flooring is a perfect choice for gyms with boxing, karate and wrestling spaces. It protects from falls with a shock-absorbing cushioning system that’s non-abrasive and non-slip. If you regularly spar, grapple or box, these interlocking mats provide a safe training surface for dojos, commercial clubs and home gyms.

Easily interlocking, EVA jigsaw flooring is quick to install and is suitable for use on the floor and walls as well as to define training or workout areas. The high-density, non-toxic EVA foam is fully reversible, so you can use it to create patterns, borders or center spaces for added functionality.

Easily cleaned with detergent, it’s a flexible, hardworking and multi-purpose choice. A deep interlocking jigsaw design means that once in place, the mats won’t pull apart when in use, so this flooring is safe to use in higher traffic spaces. The non-slip finish ensures users get just the right amount of grip, whether boxing, MMA fighting, wrestling, ground grappling or stand up sparring.

Features:

• Suitable for use in private and commercial spaces
• Interlocking jigsaw design is easy to install and won’t pull apart when in use
• Cushioning surface breaks falls
• Reversible designs can be used to delineate practice areas, create borders or center spaces
• The shock-absorbing, non-toxic foam can be cleaned with detergent and is easy to maintain 
• Can be used on walls and floors
• Lightweight and water resistant

Use for:

• Boxing
• MMA
• Karate
• Wrestling
• Sparring
• Ground Grappling

 

Smart Turf Premium Artificial Grass

If you thought artificial grass was just for your garden, think again. An increasing number of gyms are incorporating this versatile, modern flooring solution into their spaces for a variety of uses.

While it’s obviously a smart choice for any fitness club wanting to make more of its outdoor areas and incorporate a durable, hardwearing exterior surface that requires minimal upkeep, there are also plenty of ways to bring the outdoors in and make use of premium artificial grass within a busier commercial health club or gym.

If you want to create a new contemporary training area indoors, premium artificial grass is the ideal surface for your venue. Likewise, if you love to exercise in the fresh air at home or want to hold outdoor training sessions at your gym but don’t want to ruin the lawn, artificial turf is a versatile, hardwearing and low maintenance sports flooring option.

Unlike real grass, it doesn’t need mowing or watering and won’t show signs of wear or tear after heavy use. Our synthetic grass is all-weather and non-slip with the look and feel of natural grass while also being anti-microbial, pet and child-friendly and free of chemicals and pesticides.

Features:

• Premium quality artificial turf with a luxurious 35 mm pile height
• Hard-wearing and robust, perfect for high traffic areas
• Suitable for use indoors and out, it’s easy to maintain and comes with a five-year outdoor warranty for peace of mind
• Use for communal and leisure outdoor areas where normal grass isn’t a good fit due to weather and wear issues
• Can be used indoors for a variety of purposes
• Extremely versatile and long lasting
• Great for home gyms if you want to train outdoors but don’t want to subject your lawn to wear and tear
• Has the same look and feel or natural grass with none of the maintenance
• Great for pets and kids

Use for:

• Outdoor communal spaces and leisure areas in your commercial gym
• Perfect for indoor fitness club use
• Ideal for introducing new fitness spaces
• A natural choice for golf clubs
• Use at home when you want to work out outside without damaging your lawn
• Suitable for use in schools, playgrounds and community spaces
• Perfect for creating an outdoor, all-weather sports surface

 

Armortech Astro Turf

Perfect for multi-functional and CrossFit gyms, Armortech Astro Turf has been extensively tested and stands up against heavy use in all manner of spaces.

This artificial turf is durable and long-lasting and can be put to work in a number of different environments, making it a flexible and value for money choice. Made from premium materials and 100% UV resistant polyethylene fibrillated yarn synthetic turf material, it uses the very latest production methods to deliver a high-quality surface that won’t warp, indent or bubble up.

Incredibly versatile, you can use this artificial turf to dramatically increase functional work out space in your venue. It can be used indoors and out and is the Ideal track surface for indoor weight sleds, running, plyo work, cardio and other floor work. It’s also easy to fit and low wastage and can be laid directly on any flat, clean floor.

Features:

• Premium artificial turf with 15 mm pile height
• Can be used both indoors and outdoors
• Ideal track surface for indoor weight sleds, running, plyo work, any other cardio or floor work
• Tried and tested in commercial gyms to stand up to heavy-duty use
• Gyms and functional fitness gyms that specialise in Interval training methods and Crossfit style workouts
• Heavy equipment such as sled weights won’t leave an indention
• Easy to fit and join together

Use For:

• Premium surface for indoor and outdoor weigh sleds
• Use for running and indoor sprint work
• Stable surface for plyo exercises
• Can be used to create a tyre flip area indoors
• Farmer walk workouts
• Popular weighted sled pushing and pulling exercises

 

Treadmill Protection Mat

When you have heavy equipment in your gym like a treadmill, there is a danger the floor can be damaged with regular use. A treadmill protection mat acts as a buffer and will safeguard the floor and the treadmill, extending the lifespan of both for a single low cost.

Cost effective, easy to maintain and incredibly quick and easy to position, treadmill protection mats are a smart addition to your home or commercial gym. In addition to protecting your floor and expensive treadmill, a mat has other practical uses too – it will prevent lint build up in the motor area and reduce vibrations and noise, making for a more pleasant fitness experience for your members or yourself.

Features:

• Cost effective addition to commercial gym or home gym
• Prevents lint build up in motor area
• Reduces vibrations and noise
• Extends life of cardio equipment and floor
• Easy to position, maintain & clean

Use For:

• Place under cardio equipment such as a treadmill to protect the floor

 

Final Thoughts

Overall gym flooring selection comes down to necessity and careful consideration of not just the overall layout, look and feel of the gym you’re trying to build, but the respective level and type of physical punishment each area is going to need to endure.

The Eva Jigsaw flooring will fulfil the vast majority of home gym needs in an easy to assemble product which is flexible enough to be easily re-arranged if need be. It’s also perfect for functional fitness, stretching and general floor work areas in a commercial gym setting. For the specialists, it serves as an excellent surface for combat and MMA gyms in which sparing, or grapple areas are required.

However, it’s worth considering that if you are going to allow the use of kettlebells and other weighted equipment in those areas, then the thicker 40mm jigsaw tiles are going to be your best bet for durability and cushioning.

Armortech’s commercial gym flooring is the obvious go to product for public gyms with high foot fall and heavy day in day out use which includes free weights of major rack and cage installations. Its durability means it’ll last as long as your equipment if not longer and you won’t need to worry about having to shift around your machinery or rack installations for regular maintenance or replacements of your flooring. Given the variety of colour options we have available, you’re not short on find the right aesthetic match either.

While artificial grass solutions aren’t something you’ll see in most gyms, its use is on the rise and overall top-quality grass alternatives like Smart Turf are in high trend from basic lawn replacements to sports and recreational areas. With functional fitness and athlete training studios also popular, we expect many more gyms are going to consider premium artificial turf as well. Whether that be for creating an sports like flooring area for specific training needs, a versatile space for dragging or even just to bring a bit of an outdoor vibe into an otherwise indoor space.

For those spaces keen to add a new dimension to their fitness options, Gym Turf is an ideal choice for sled pulling and tyre flipping but also provides a suitable surface for indoor sprint work and farmer walk workouts.

High quality flooring options don’t need to be expensive and if you opt for highly durable respected brands and products you’re going to get the functional use you need, and you’ll see a long-life cycle from your investment.