Rubber gym floor mats provide the most durable and protection workout flooring for home gyms due to its impact absorption and anti-slip surface. Home gyms can include many heavy equipment and vibrating fitness machine that can severely damage expensive home floors without rubber sports mats underneath them. Rubber home workout mats are made of durable rubber materials that will offer long-life in the most abrasive of home gyms. They can efficiently absorb the force of impact and help maintain non-slip safety which are both important factors to have in home gyms. Rubber home gym mats are also available in different forms, allowing you to find the perfectly sized flooring for the space available in your home.

What Kind of Mats Do Gyms Use?

Gyms use rubber mats made of either post-consumer tire rubber or synthetic rubber due to their long-lasting impact absorption and anti-slip properties. Rubber gym floor mats are made of either recycled rubber, reclaimed rubber, SBR, or thermoplastic rubber. Using long-lasting rubber gym floor mats is extremely important as home gyms can contain heavy and abrasive gym equipment and fitness machines. Rubber, regardless of the type, can efficiently absorb the force of impact and prevent damaging energy from reaching your home floor. Recycled and reclaimed rubber workout flooring are both made of post-consumer vehicle tires whereas SBR and thermoplastic rubber gym floor mats are both synthetic rubber flooring options made of a blend of chemical compounds. Although they are different types of rubber, they will provide long-lasting protective properties that are necessary for gym flooring.

Recycled rubber is made of tire crumbs that have been re-adhered back together while reclaimed rubber melds post-consumer rubber into a solid material. Tires are extremely resilient products that frequently experience rough terrain and harsh settings without suffering much damage. The same durable properties seen in vehicle tires will be seen in the performance of recycled and reclaimed rubber products, making rubber gym floor mats made of post-consumer tire rubber long-lasting and extremely durable. Contrastingly, SBR, or styrene-butadiene rubber, is made up of styrene and butadiene monomers which give the material its properties. These two monomers give the material excellent abrasion resistance, impact strength, resilience, and a high tensile strength (omnexus.specialchem.com). On the other hand, thermoplastic rubber is a unique elastomer that retains the properties of both rubber and plastic. Case in point, thermoplastic rubber retains “plastic properties such as high-temperature performance, thermoplastic processability, as well as good tensile and tear strength [as well as] …the elastomeric properties such as low-temperature performance, durometer hardness…flexibility as well as compression and tension set” (polymerdatabase.com). The resilient properties of both post-consumer tire rubber and synthetic rubber allow rubber gym floor mats to provide long-lasting floor protection against impacts, vibrations, and abrasions.

Despite their difference in compositions, rubber has one universal property: a tacky surface. Rubber’s tacky surface creates traction for people, workout equipment, and fitness machines. This grippy surface offers safety benefits as it can keep feet firmly in place while performing an exercise and keep fitness machines and equipment in place while in use. In addition, rubber is a moisture resistant material, allowing it to retain its grippy surface even when moisture in present. Many times, rubber gym floor mats are available with a traction-enhancing surface pattern that is meant to enhance rubber’s natural grippy surface. Other times, in the case of recycled rubber gym floor mats, they retain a surface texture that is produced through its production process. Non-slip workout flooring is an important for maintaining safety by keeping feet firmly in place during workout and by keeping fitness equipment or machines in place while in use.

• (a) What Rubber Mats Do Gyms Use?

  Gyms use rubber mats in the form of interlocking floor tiles and flooring rolls. Interlocking rubber gym flooring tiles are a mobile flooring option that can easily be installed and customized simply by connecting the tiles together through their puzzle-like edges. To customize the size of an interlocking floor, continue adding on tiles until you have reached your desired size; if it is too big, remove some tiles. Rubber gym flooring tiles are ideal for growing home gyms as it is easy to add more tile according to the new equipment being added. On the other hand, rubber flooring rolls are larger flooring products that are available in long lengths. Rolled rubber gym floor mats are available in set lengths or in custom lengths of up to 50 consecutive feet, upon request. Unlike interlocking tiles, flooring rolls must be installed using double-sided tape along the bottom perimeter of the mat; however, the double-sided tape is a semi-permanent installation method that is easily removable without damaging your existing home floors. Flooring rolls are ideal for larger spaces, such as wall-to-wall flooring. Having two forms of rubber sports mats available allows you to find the perfectly sized floor for the space available in your home.

  (b) How Much Does It Cost to Floor a Gym?

  The cost to floor a gym depends on the size of the gym flooring as well as the type of rubber used to create the flooring. Rubber interlocking gym sports mats can cost anywhere between $16 to $35 per tile or $56 for a pack of 4 tiles. On the other hand, rubber flooring rolls can cost anywhere between $415 to $840 per roll – the price of flooring rolls is highly dependent on its length. The more rubber flooring material, the more the cost of the overall gym floor. The cost of rubber gym flooring also depends on the material. For instance, post-consumer tire rubber, such as recycled rubber and reclaimed rubber, will cost less than synthetic rubbers, like SBR and thermoplastic rubber. Post-consumer rubber will cost less because it is made of repurposed materials. Contrastingly, synthetic rubber is made of a blend of chemicals, making them more expensive than post-consumer rubber products.

Rubber home workout mats are made of resilient recycled rubber, reclaimed rubber, SBR, or thermoplastic rubber. As post-consumer tire rubbers, recycled and reclaimed rubber will retain the same long-lasting and durable properties seen in vehicle tires. Contrastingly, SBR and thermoplastic rubbers are synthetic rubber variations that are made using a blend of chemical compounds, giving them enhanced strength and resilience. Workout flooring is available in the form of interlocking rubber gym flooring tiles and rubber flooring rolls, allowing you to find flooring that will fit both small and large home gyms. The cost of home workout mats depends on the type and material; however, the cost of rubber gym floor mats will be well worth protecting your expensive home floors.