The Complete Commercial Gym Flooring Guide
Commercial gyms should pay special attention to their flooring. A suitable flooring not just improves the effectiveness of the exercises but also ensures sufficient grip when performing high-intensity activities. This prevents serious injuries during workouts or unintentional movement of the equipment.
Moreover, if the gym’s surfacing is right, members appreciate it and stay longer. Opt for the wrong flooring and be prepared for clients who discontinue their membership and go about looking for greener pastures.
Commercial gym surfaces see a lot of wear because of a wide range of activities like running, weightlifting, pull-ups, push-ups, and other fast-paced exercises. Hence, we need to consider several factors when opting for a suitable commercial gym flooring. This guide will help you choose the perfect surface for your gym.
Let’s first understand the surfacing requirements of a commercial gym.
Commercial Gym Flooring Requirements
Commercial gyms see a lot of foot traffic and high-impact activities like weight training, Zumba, high-intensity interval training, step aerobics, and others. Moreover, heavyweights and gym equipment often get dragged along or dropped on the surface.
Hence, commercial gyms require durable and long-lasting flooring that can hold up to the traffic and wear. Here are a few must-have features to be considered when opting for commercial gym flooring.
- Durability
For commercial gyms, you need ultra-durable flooring that can stand up to –
- Heavy foot traffic
- Heavy gym equipment
- High-impact activities,
- Sweat and spills
- Temperature fluctuations
- Variation in humidity levels
- Vibrations
- Noise
If you are looking to run a profitable gym, you need a resilient surface that’ll hold up to the heaviest lifts and last you for decades with minimum maintenance cost.
- Impact and Sound Absorbing Properties
In a gym setting, you have people dropping weights and engaged in intensive workouts. Hence, you need a surface that can absorb the shock waves caused due to the impact. This will preserve your members’ joints and protect them from injuries. Moreover, you need a quieter surface that absorbs the sounds in the gym.
- High Traction
The gym flooring should offer maximum grip to the members, thereby allowing them to perform their workouts without being concerned about slips and injuries. A high-traction surface will help members move their bodies naturally and confidently, allowing them to get the most out of their workouts.
Moreover, the surface shouldn’t be too tough on their joints. It should offer adequate comfort underfoot and reduce the potential for stress or injury.
- Easy to Clean and Maintain
Gyms are perennially covered with sweat and dirt. Not to forget, people spilling water or their energy drinks between workouts. Hence, you need a surface that’s easy to clean and maintain. Ideally, the surface should also be resistant to stain and mold and impermeable to moisture.
- Aesthetically Pleasing
Modern commercial gyms demand a unique architectural flair. They are designed to combine fitness with social opportunities while offering a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable social venue for local communities.
Flooring not just influences the functionality of gyms but is also a critical component of design. Hence, you need a surfacing that’s available in a variety of colors and textures. It should also be customizable as per your brand or theme.
What Makes Rubber a Suitable Flooring Material for Commercial Gyms?
Poured-in-place rubber flooring is a popular choice in commercial gym settings because of the benefits it offers. It’s extremely durable and versatile and can be easily installed on a wooden or concrete subfloor.
Rubber flooring is –
- Durable
- Offers a seamless surface for workout
- Offers adequate traction
- Possesses shock absorbing and noise-canceling properties.
- Returns the energy during workouts, thereby improving the effectiveness of high-intensity exercises
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Easy to install
- Available in a variety of colors and can be customized as per the corporate theme or the brand colors
- And, it’s popular!
If you are planning a resurfacing project for your commercial gym, you’ll probably want to stick to the current trends. Owing to the benefits it offers, rubber surfacing is quite in demand in gyms, fitness centers, sports facilities, health clubs, playgrounds, and school gyms.
Frequently Asked Questions
For over a decade, Rubcorp has been working on rubber surfacing projects in residential and commercial settings. Many of our clients have counted on us for resurfacing their commercial gyms. When interacting with them we came across certain doubts they had about rubber surfaces. We have enlisted the common ones in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to clarify your doubts.
- Should I go for single or multiple gym flooring materials?
Commercial gyms have separate sections or zones that have different flooring requirements. When choosing a surface, it’s wise to consider these questions.
- What zones are you planning to have?
- Where does each zone stand in your gym design?
- What type of activity is expected in this zone?
- Is there any equipment to be placed here?
- What type of flooring material will it demand?
Ideally, you should go for a versatile flooring option that can be applied through all the gym zones. For instance, poured-in-place rubber surfacing is durable and possesses shock-absorbing potential, making it ideal for various gym zones.
Installing a single gym flooring material like rubber is a good idea for commercial gyms, considering the high-intensity activities performed here.
- How thick should the commercial gym flooring be?
Most commercial and CrossFit gym floors are 3/8 inches thick. This is also the recommended thickness in zones where weights, kettlebells, and dumbbells are repeatedly dropped.
- When installing a commercial gym surface, is there a need for underlayment?
The primary function of an underlayment is to offer shock absorption. The underlay acts as a shock pad that allows energy and sound dissipation.
Rubber surfacing usually doesn’t require an underlayment as the surface itself can absorb shock and sound waves. However, adding an underlay can help prolong the life of your rubber surfacing, especially in the free weights area. Most experts recommend having an additional shock absorption in this zone to compensate for the damage produced by dropped weights.
- Do I have to go for noise and vibration-reducing surfaces?
All commercial gyms should consider investing in a flooring type that’s designed to reduce acoustic vibration and noise impact.
In fact, this a critical consideration for multistorey commercial gyms or the ones that are above a workplace or a residential apartment. In such settings, it’s important to install a noise-canceling and acoustic sound-absorbing flooring material to reduce the amount of vibration and noise that travels through the building structure.
- What type of gym flooring will work best in a weight room?
EPDM rubber surfacing works best for weight rooms as it is dense and sturdy enough to withstand the dropping of weights. The surface will not bend, crack, or dent. It’s elastic and resilient enough to bounce back and offer cushioning for the dropped weights.
- Can I install the rubber surface?
Installing rubber surfaces may seem easy but it is not a solo project. You need a rubber surfacing expert who will assess your subfloor, get rid of the old adhesives, defects, and irregularities, and carry out the installation only after the basic prep is done.
- What do I do if the rubber surface is damaged?
If you see an area where the rubber surface is damaged, get in touch with Rubcorp’s team. Our crew will assess the area and work on it to make it look as good as new in no time.
Didn’t find your query in this list? If not, no worries! You can either go through our complete list of rubber surfacing FAQs or get in touch with our team to voice your concerns.
Wrapping Up
Whether you are starting a new gym or planning to refurbish your existing one, it’s critical to choose the right surfacing for the facility. EPDM rubber surfacing is ideal for commercial gyms as it provides a safe and efficient workout environment for all. So, go ahead and plan your rubber surfacing project soon. We are here to help you with product selection, design and layout, quotes, repair, and maintenance.
