GymCrafter Podcast Episode 3 | Gym Flooring

[@TheKurtlocker]

I disagree on the 3/4" debate though. It goes beyond durability. I have a lot of things I build into my platform and a lot of them are about 1/2" to 1" thick. 3/4" flooring is ideal for installing these flush with the floor. Additionally, as a strongman I drop stones and other implements from a platform because it is simply unsafe to unload these through any eccentric action from a platform. The other thing is for drops, intentional or otherwise. I can log press 275 lbs. that is a 275 steel bar with pins. If i miss a lift, I am going to save myself versus my equipment or floor. Having that 3/4" floor protects my flooring because it can take the hit. Totally understand the "not for most", but I can't go along with the "there is no reason for 3/4" flooring" comment. Awesome video and I appreciate you making it

[@GymCrafter]

Thanks for this! I'm pinning this comment so other people can see it. I'm always happy to be shown where I'm wrong and those are some really good use cases for 3/4" floor. I watched a few people fail on the log lift at HGC and no joke I thought someone was gonna die. I can see that bailing on that thing doesn't really allow you to always place it back down where you'd like, just get the heck out of the way and it falls where it falls. Thanks again for the correction, it will for sure help some people!

[@carps_gym]

Flooring is the one of the most underrated parts of the home,gym space

[@GymCrafter]

100% agree!

[@TheKurtlocker]

Thanks for the shoutout bro! I do currently have a pallet of the new flooring and am waiting on getting some tings figured out so i can spend a day doing the install

[@GymCrafter]

Can't wait to see how it turns out. Are you taking the opportunity to move your gym around too? Or will it be put back just how it is now?

[@TheKurtlocker]

@@GymCrafter​​⁠it’s gonna stay in pretty much the same layout. I will move things an inch or two one way or another but the current config is pretty awesome for the space I have.

[@HughLeFitness]

For flooring I use virgin rubber tiles that are 3/4" thick with white speck that comes with connectors. Durability is exactly the same as horse stall mats minus the smell and connects easily and also looks gorgeous with the white speck.

[@GymCrafter]

I bet that does look awesome!

[@meisdetermined]

Where is yours from?

[@HughLeFitness]

@@meisdetermined A Canadian vendor called Fitness Avenue.

[@Eccles_basement_gym]

When I built my shed I had 12x24 inside dimensions. I grabbed em from tractor supply from the yard. They were off gassed long before I got em. Super easy to install i just had to make a tiny cut around my door jam and that was it.

[@GymCrafter]

Lots of people have used them and like them. Glad you had a good experience, that's not usually the norm

[@Living.Fit.]

Great video!

[@GymCrafter]

Thanks!

[@shiwakuseven5859]

I went with artificial grass with a few rubber mats under my Titan Fitness T-3 Half Rack and my deadlift area in my garage gym. From my perspective, rubber mats are only needed where you might drop dumbbells or barbells on, not for the entire floor of a garage gym. This frees up a lot of money to buy home gym equipment, instead of horse stall mats. I also have Titan Fitness silencer pads, so the only place I need rubber mats is my deadlift area. I have four home gyms: a garage gym, a basement gym, an extension room gym, and a backyard patio gym. I bought a lot of rubber door mats for the flooring of my basement gym. I use a 200 lb Yes4All to do light deadlifts with in my basement gym (I am 67-years-old, so I am only trying to keep from getting sarcopenia and osteopenia (loss of muscle and bone density due to aging or inactivity). I used 4 rubber door mats, which I doubled up, to make a deadlift area for my backyard patio gym (I use vinyl-covered concrete weight plates on a standard 1-inch weight bar because they are water-resistant), and I used a foam hunter's seat on top of rubber door mat to do in-door deadlifts with a Titan Fitness kettlebell swing in my extension room home gym.

[@GymCrafter]

That's awesome! I like the grip of the rubber as I do a lot of carries and ground based stuff. I strongly considered turf, but I don't like how it feels when I'm on all fours, doing pushups, etc. Thanks for the comment, it's cool for people to see what others are doing. There's so many great ideas out there.

[@bobbyhunt3009]

Happy Memorial Day to all the Veterans and their Families!!! God Bless You!!! I have those rubber tiles that interlock and the biggest complaint I have are they are slippery, I keep a bottle of water in the gym with a spray nozzle on it and periodically I spray the floor with water and that helps our shoes have traction. Reason we have this as flooring is because when we built the gym we already had these inside of the house and most tiles were not even open yet so we tried them. They work but not the best but they also are not as bad as most influencers make them out to be. They are fine as far as padding goes but we dont drop weights on them other than deads. Take Care

[@GymCrafter]

Interesting as mine are interlocking tiles as well and they provide great grip. Are you referring to the EVA foam tiles?

[@bobbyhunt3009]

​@@GymCrafter Yes, mine are foam, sorry, I must've described them wrong, they are foam but they all seem like rubber to me. Mine are slippery but to change now I'd gave to take everything out and put back in. Put it this way when they start bothering us more than we care to be bothered we will change them and until then they work fine. I do not recommend them but they are not the end of the world either. I like yours but I will never use horse stall mats. The look of the mats and tape used to tie them together to me looks cheap. Do not like the look and around here horse stall mats are not cheap. I dont get the attraction everybody has with them. Not me

[@ven412]

Just saw this and you gave me a lot to think about with stall mats. I think this may be an issue with any crumb rubber (bumper plates, the flooring you recommend, the stuff Home Depot sells, etc) just because of the crumb process so I doubt different crumb flooring would help. I’m also considering an entirely plywood only setup and maybe a couple rubber or foam tiles for deadlifts. While I’m still in my return policy with tractor supply, the thought of disassembling my T3 + Lat attachment has me considering a $350 air filter instead.

[@GymCrafter]

@@ven412 You are right, all that recycled rubber is the same. The issue isn't with the rubber itself, but with the binder that holds the ground rubber together. If ou are looking at air filters, I recently made a video on one that I really like. Liked it so much I bought a second one!

[@hwangeric]

Hi Tim: Great video. Very informative. My question is, for the same why, same amount of space, same collection of resistance equipment and same cardio equipment (see I did watch and remember your episode 1), would you recommend 3/4 inch thick flooring for a home gym in an apartment building? I don't want to get any complaint from downstairs but at the same time I don't want weights to "bounce". Thank you so much for sharing your advice and experience. Eric

[@GymCrafter]

@@hwangeric Good question. While 3/4" will make a small difference in sound, using crash pads in the spot you want to drop weights is a better solution. That will not only kill the sound to other floors, but will completely eliminate bounce as well. AbMat and Titan Fitness are my two go to recommendations for those. 3/4" won't cause bounce issues, though. Hope that helps!

[@EricM_305]

Ive been waiting for a video like this, I bought some "high quality" gym mats from a fitness company and my garage AND house smell like a tire shop. Im going to have to sell them and maybe go with freedom fitness

[@GymCrafter]

They'll take great care of you! Use code GC1 for 5% off too!

[@johnmizanin3550]

Here's the one area everyone fails on the gym flooring, and its understandable because its such a niche requirement: Latex/Rubber allergies. So that rules out all the recommendations. I can't put hundreds of pounds of rubber in my basement gym and chance my kid's health. Wife bought the EVA tiles, and I've grudgingly put some down, and yes, they're terrible. Just had a barbell on the ground for a week and it has left permanent impressions. Thinking I'll let these get destroyed, use a few crash pads, and when we finally get around to finishing the basement put in an epoxy floor and continue with the crash pads. Any other recommendations?

[@GymCrafter]

I agree 100%, and you are not the first person to ask about this. I have a close friend here locally in the same situation. I've been doing some research, and it doesn't seem that there is a great solution other than possibly some LVT type flooring that's meant to be more durable (but still not the grip of rubber). I've asked around and will continue to do so. I don't think it's as niche as you might think as a lot of people have rubber and latex allergies. If I come across a good solution, I'll be sure to publish it somewhere for sure. Thanks for the comment, I'm sure there are more than a few people in the same boat.

[@gregoryanderson7103]

I followed your recommendation a few years ago and went with American Floor Mats 3/8 fit lock or inter locking rubber Flooring. I've had no issues with this floor and I'm pleased. If I was purchasing today, I would go with Freedom Flooring. Are there any differences with my Flooring and what you got from Freedom? Thanks

[@gregoryanderson7103]

My Flooring from American Floor Mats says: premium Fit-Lock Rubber Tiles are interlocking rubber gym tiles that easily and seamlessly snap together. Are there differences with the Freedom Flooring you purchased?

[@GymCrafter]

@@gregoryanderson7103 as far as material, quality, etc, no difference. But they don't lock together, the two brands are not compatible. They look like they might, but they do not.

[@gregoryanderson7103]

So if I'm understanding right, you are saying the ones from American Floor mats don't lock together, but the ones from Freedom do lock together, correct?

[@GymCrafter]

@@gregoryanderson7103 No. Freedom locks with Freedom, AF locks with AF, but Freedom doesn't lock together with AF. You can't cross brands on the same floor.

[@BrockOBauma]

Does the rubber flooring leave black marks on the surface underneath?

[@GymCrafter]

I had mine over epoxy flooring in my garage for 6+ years and just replaced it. No marks underneath at all except two small spots where I deadlifted for that whole time.

[@BrockOBauma]

​@GymCrafter thanks. I'm getting ready to put down new lvp with rolled rubber over part of it. I'm going to put an underlayment under the rubber just to be safe.

[@BrockOBauma]

I'm not sure if I should do the whole room in LVP, then rolled rubber over half of it, or do LVP in half the room and butt it up to the rolled rubber. It's over a plywood subfloor.

[@GymCrafter]

That's a great question. I have a close friend who owns a flooring company and he said it depends on what you want down the road. If you're never gonna move the rubber, it doesn't make sense to spend the money to put LVP across the whole floor, plus you have less of a bump where the rubber starts. If you are going to change things around, maybe LVP the whole floor.

[@DingusSquatfordJr.]

I would love your thoughts about Titan's 2' x 2' lifting tile. They are made of rubber too, would it smell?

[@GymCrafter]

Everything I've bought from Titan (including their high end calibrated bumpers) that was made of rubber smelled awful. those plates were absolutely terrible. I've not used these lifting tiles, but I won't ever buy anything rubber from Titan again. I tried too many times and every time I was sorry.

[@DingusSquatfordJr.]

@@GymCrafter Thank you! That's very helpful. I guess I have to keep looking for an alternative. Besides the smell, I like this style of tile.