Choosing the Best Flooring for Workout Rooms

Choosing the right mats is crucial for building an effective martial arts gym. Yet it’s something people often overlook. When building your gym, flooring needs to be durable, shock-absorbent, and easy to clean and maintain. Below we’ll run you through everything you need to know for choosing the best flooring for workout rooms.

Benefits of Quality Mats

Investing in good flooring for your workout room has many benefits, including cleanliness and performance boosts.

May Prevent Injury

Accidents and injuries are hazards when working out regularly or training in martial arts. But good flooring may help significantly reduce the chance of injuries.

A workout room floor sees a lot of sweat and can quickly become slippery. The right flooring provides extra traction and grip to prevent slipping. It also helps keep items such as Wavemasters and other training bags in place. 

When practicing grappling or wrestling, thicker gym flooring and mats provide extra padding and shock absorption to support your body and may help prevent serious injuries.

Maintains Cleanliness

The accumulation of sweat on a workout room floor can lead to an unhygienic training space. And normal flooring, such as carpet, can be challenging to keep clean. Bacteria, dirt, and unpleasant odors will build up quickly. 

Specialized flooring and mats are much easier to clean and maintain. Most workout mat options are also mold- and bacteria-resistant, preventing build-up in the first place. Many of Century mats are treated with an antimicrobial coating for ultimate cleanliness.

Protects Equipment and Floors

Cardio equipment, weights, and repetitive movements can cause a lot of damage to your floor over time. Not ideal if your workout room is in your home or a rented space. Gym flooring protects your regular floors from scratches, dents, and other permanent damage. 

Cushioned flooring also protects your exercise equipment. Objects such as weights will bounce gently off the surface rather than slam aggressively against the floor. Protecting your equipment will save you money on buying replacements down the line. *Some of our mats are not intended for weights to be dropped or cardio equipment to be placed on.

Blocks Out Noise

High-impact exercises and grappling all create a lot of excess noise. If you have a home gym, the noise and vibrations can easily carry into other rooms and disrupt your family, roommates, or neighbors. Or, if your gym is a communal space, loud noises can disturb other people trying to train or work out nearby.

The shock absorbency of workout flooring helps to dampen this excess noise. Good flooring can cushion the force of your body hitting the floor, significantly reducing the noise level of your workout room.

Boosts Performance

Mats provide an optimal surface for the most effective workouts and training sessions. With better shock absorption and traction, and a reduced risk of injury, you can push yourself to your limits.

Improves Aesthetics and Brand Recognition

Whether your workout room is just for you or you’re trying to attract new clients, aesthetics are vital to your gym to help create an inviting space and the ability to add custom logos will help create brand recognition. A beautiful workout space can help increase motivation and encourage regular training. Floor mats are an essential part of creating an appealing workout space that you’ll want to spend time in.

Types of Flooring

So now you know why you need top-of-the-line mats. What are the best mats for martial arts? Depending on your needs and available space, there are various types of gym flooring to choose from.

Tile Mats

Tile mats are simple rectangular or square mats that can be placed together to create a custom martial arts training space. They’re sturdy and provide a good level of cushioning. The mats come in different sizes and thicknesses, which is great for different styles of martial arts. 

Puzzle Mats

Puzzle mats are foam flooring pieces that interlock to cover all, or particular areas, of your training area. They’re easy to install yourself, and you can pick them up quickly and store them away without taking up much space. This type of flooring is an excellent option for home gyms and smaller workout spaces. Puzzle mats can be customized to fit any space, even the most awkwardly shaped rooms. They also come in various thicknesses to suit your workout needs.

Rollout Mats

Rollout mats are larger exercise mats that roll out and cover a wider floor area. This type of mat works as a permanent or temporary gym flooring option. They’re easy to unroll and roll back up to make working out a part of your busy schedule. Some people prefer rollout mats to give a smoother look to your gym floor. One mat may be big enough for a smaller home gym, while bigger workout spaces can have several roll mats connected with mat tape or other custom connection options.

Considerations for Best Flooring for Workout Rooms

Choosing the best mat for your gym can be challenging, especially if you don’t know what to look for. Below are some critical considerations when deciding on a workout room floor.

Material and Durability

Material is one of the most crucial considerations when choosing the best flooring for workout rooms. You need a durable, water-resistant, easy to clean, and affordable material.

Location

The location of your workout space can also influence the type of flooring you need. If you have a home gym or dojo on the second floor of your house, noise and vibrations are more likely to carry to rooms below. Thicker foam mats can help dampen the noise.

Price

The price of floor mats can vary greatly, depending on type, quality of  material, and size.

The cost of mats can also vary depending on the amount you need. One rollout mat may be enough if you have a small home workout room. But larger gyms and training spaces may require numerous mats put together.

Types of Exercise

The type of exercise and training you do will affect the flooring material you need. Foam crash pads are best at cushioning and providing shock absorption. These materials work for grappling, specifically throwing arts such as Judo, rollout and puzzle mats are an ideal solution for most disciplines, taking into consideration the thickness needed. 

Many mats and flooring options come in varying thickness levels too. The thickness you need also depends on the type of training you do. Thinner flooring and mats work for functional training zones and most striking disciplines. Thicker flooring and mats are best for grappling martial arts such as Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling and MMA.

Century Can Help You Choose the Right Workout Room Flooring

At Century, we know your training area is more than just a space to exercise. It’s a place where you should feel comfortable and somewhere you should be proud of. And our mats are some of the best in the industry.

We offer a free consultation to discuss your vision and find the perfect flooring solution for your workout room or studio. We’ll work with you to fit your space and budget. With more than 30 design, style, and color combinations to choose from, we can help you build your dream space. Contact Century Mat Solutions today to find out more.