When Would You Want Virgin Rubber Gym Flooring?

By Paige Cerulli Created: December, 2022

When you choose rubber flooring for your gym, you’ll be able to select between virgin and recycled rubber flooring. Virgin rubber gym flooring is made of a natural rubber in its first form, and it offers some specific advantages over recycled rubber products. The right choice for your gym will depend on your needs and your specific situation.

When Virgin Rubber Gym Flooring Is Best

In many cases, you can use either recycled or virgin rubber products in your gym. However, there are some specific circumstances when it makes sense to choose virgin rubber gym flooring over other products.

You Want to Prioritize the Appearance of your Flooring



If you want a flooring product that will deliver the best overall look, then opt for virgin rubber. This material tends to look just a bit better than recycled rubber products.

virgin rubber flooring tiles

When you choose natural rubber, you’re likely to find more color varieties, too. Many virgin rubber products are available with color flecks, including white, yellow, blue, and green.

Opting for these color fleck options gives you excellent control over the finished appearance of your space. The virgin rubber color flecks also tend to stay brighter over time than recycled rubber color flecks.

You might choose virgin rubber for your gym reception area, entryway, or for any other space that you want to stand out and truly look great.

virgin rubber flooring with colored specks

You Need a Highly Durable Floor



While both virgin and recycled rubber are highly durable flooring choices, you’ll get a bit more use out of virgin rubber, simply because it’s in its first form. Keep in mind that you’ll pay slightly higher prices, too, but if you want a long-lasting product that you won’t have to worry about replacing for many years, then virgin rubber is the best option.

Where you plan on installing the flooring may factor into your material choice. If you’re choosing flooring for weightlifting areas, locker rooms, or rooms where you conduct workout classes, then a virgin rubber will offer the durability needed to withstand the high amounts of traffic and use these areas experience on a daily basis.

You Need a Flooring with Minimal Odor



While recycled rubber products sometimes have a strong odor, virgin rubber’s scent is much more subtle. This milder scent is a big benefit if you’re installing flooring in a smaller room with minimal ventilation.

Choosing a product with limited odor can also be helpful when you’ll be installing the flooring shortly before opening your gym. With limited time for the odor to dissipate, a virgin rubber gym flooring product will make for a more enjoyable environment for your facility’s grand opening.

You Need Your Flooring Measurements to Be Precise



Manufacturers can better ensure precise thicknesses with virgin rubber products than they can with recycled rubber products, though the thickness differences are just fractions of an inch. If you’ve already installed interlocking virgin rubber tiles in your gym and want to add onto that flooring, then choosing that same virgin rubber product will help ensure that all of the tiles are of the same thickness.

You Want a Floor That Puts in a Top Performance



There are many other qualities that make a rubber floor - either virgin or recycled - ideal for a gym environment.

Rubber floors offer excellent noise absorption. Whether you’re using them at home or in a commercial gym, that sound absorption can create a more enjoyable environment.

virgin rubber tiles with sound reduction

Rubber rolls, mats, and tiles also offer valuable shock absorption. They can help to protect subfloors from impacts, such as dropped weights, and make for a more comfortable workout surface.

If you’re installing rubber over a cold subfloor, like a basement floor or a concrete base, rubber’s temperature buffering properties are also valuable. The rubber surface can help to prevent cold from seeping up, keeping the space more comfortable.

Rubber flooring products also deliver exceptional strength. They’re strong enough to be placed underneath heavy equipment, like weightlifting stations and ellipticals.

When it comes to maintenance, rubber flooring products require minimal care. They can be easily disinfected, and because many rubber products are waterproof, they can be swept or mopped down as needed.

You Need Versatility



There are potentially endless ways to use rubber flooring in your gym. Rubber is available in many sizes, forms, and thicknesses, so you can find different products that will suit the varying needs of your facility.


rubber tiles virgin 1 inch thick

For example, you might choose to use rubber flooring tiles for your locker room or workout rooms, thanks to their durability and ease of installation. If you need additional protection for areas used for weightlifting, you can dry lay a rubber mat on top of your floors.

These products are also very easy to install. Many rubber products allow for a DIY-friendly installation, saving you both time and money and allowing you to quickly make improvements to your gym.