Gym Flooring Material Types
By Created: June, 2017 - Modified: July, 2021
When it comes to flooring for your residential or commercial gym, there are several types of gym flooring material types to choose: rubber, foam, carpet, plastic, vinyl and cork.
The most popular material for weight rooms and areas where equipment such as treadmills, or weight machines will be utilized is rubber. It is relatively inexpensive very durable, and fairly easy to install. Rubber provides a durable and long lasting surface to underneath heavy weight equipment and exercise machines. For an application where you will have equipment, you may want to consider a plastic option or plyometric rubber both of which provide more fatigue-relief.
The most popular material for aerobic and cardio facilities, foam provides excellent fatigue relief for athletes. It is also the material of choice for most MMA and other martial arts and gymnastics facilities. It is soft to lay on and non-absorbent so it will not soak up moisture and hold it. However, foam is susceptible to indentations from heavy equipment such as weights and treadmills. These indentations can be permanent. For this reason, it is not popular for those applications unless it is a super high-density EVA foam material. These will still show some indents, but are designed to handle heavy equipment and weights much better than other foam flooring.
Probably the most versatile of our gym flooring options, flexible PVC plastic can be used for fatigue relief as well as to protect your subfloor from weights and equipment. PVC Plastic flooring that is designed for workout areas is soft and pliable like rubber but non-absorbant like foam. Unlike both foam and rubber, it can be used on top of carpeting without risk of the tiles separating or sinking into the pile.
Another form of plastic gym flooring is polypropylene tiles. Much more rigid than its PVC counterpart, these tile are design to be used as sport courts or multipurpose aerobic flooring surfaces. They can also have a vinyl top that mimics hardwood or stone. Generally, it is a good idea to have a rubber underlayment under this type of gym flooring, but sometimes you can even install it over low pile carpet.
There are also commercial gym carpet tiles that are a big more rigid or rugged. These will hold up much better in a weight room environment than other carpet tiles.
If impact absorption is the primary concern you may even want to try roll out carpet topped mats, which are commonly used in cheerleading, gymnastics and martial arts gyms.
With so many benefits coming from each of these materials you may also find hybrid gym flooring that combines multiple materials. As is the case with polypropylene tiles that utilize a vinyl top, vinyl is quite often used to cover other gym flooring materials. It is often bonded to crosslinked polyethylene foam for roll out martial arts and workout mats. It can wrap PE and/or Polyurethane foam for folding mats. It can even be bonded to rubber or foam or athletic vinyl rolls used for basketball court or aerobic gym flooring.
Athletic carpet is almost always bonded to foam, or bitumen for cushion and/or durability.
There is also rubber gym flooring that is blended with cork for its sustainability and fatigue relief properties.
Rubber Gym Flooring
The most popular material for weight rooms and areas where equipment such as treadmills, or weight machines will be utilized is rubber. It is relatively inexpensive very durable, and fairly easy to install. Rubber provides a durable and long lasting surface to underneath heavy weight equipment and exercise machines. For an application where you will have equipment, you may want to consider a plastic option or plyometric rubber both of which provide more fatigue-relief.
Foam Gym Flooring
The most popular material for aerobic and cardio facilities, foam provides excellent fatigue relief for athletes. It is also the material of choice for most MMA and other martial arts and gymnastics facilities. It is soft to lay on and non-absorbent so it will not soak up moisture and hold it. However, foam is susceptible to indentations from heavy equipment such as weights and treadmills. These indentations can be permanent. For this reason, it is not popular for those applications unless it is a super high-density EVA foam material. These will still show some indents, but are designed to handle heavy equipment and weights much better than other foam flooring.
PVC Plastic Gym Flooring
Probably the most versatile of our gym flooring options, flexible PVC plastic can be used for fatigue relief as well as to protect your subfloor from weights and equipment. PVC Plastic flooring that is designed for workout areas is soft and pliable like rubber but non-absorbant like foam. Unlike both foam and rubber, it can be used on top of carpeting without risk of the tiles separating or sinking into the pile.
Polypropylene Gym Flooring
Another form of plastic gym flooring is polypropylene tiles. Much more rigid than its PVC counterpart, these tile are design to be used as sport courts or multipurpose aerobic flooring surfaces. They can also have a vinyl top that mimics hardwood or stone. Generally, it is a good idea to have a rubber underlayment under this type of gym flooring, but sometimes you can even install it over low pile carpet.
Carpet Gym Flooring
There are also commercial gym carpet tiles that are a big more rigid or rugged. These will hold up much better in a weight room environment than other carpet tiles.
If impact absorption is the primary concern you may even want to try roll out carpet topped mats, which are commonly used in cheerleading, gymnastics and martial arts gyms.
Composite Gym Flooring
With so many benefits coming from each of these materials you may also find hybrid gym flooring that combines multiple materials. As is the case with polypropylene tiles that utilize a vinyl top, vinyl is quite often used to cover other gym flooring materials. It is often bonded to crosslinked polyethylene foam for roll out martial arts and workout mats. It can wrap PE and/or Polyurethane foam for folding mats. It can even be bonded to rubber or foam or athletic vinyl rolls used for basketball court or aerobic gym flooring.
Athletic carpet is almost always bonded to foam, or bitumen for cushion and/or durability.
There is also rubber gym flooring that is blended with cork for its sustainability and fatigue relief properties.
Which Gym Floor Is Right For You
For more on this topic please review our Gym Floors product page.