What is the best flooring for a home gym?

Lockdown changed many things about how we live our lives, with millions of us adjusting to working and exercising more from home. The popularity of home gym equipment has soared over the past couple of years, with many of us abandoning health club memberships in favour of the flexibility and convenience of working out in our own homes. What is the best flooring for a home gym and what should you avoid? Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options.

Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is an excellent choice for a home gym. It is available at a range of price points, it is hard-wearing, and it couldn’t be easier to clean. It can cope with heavy exercise equipment, although you will want to choose heavy-duty vinyl if you have particularly large pieces of equipment. If you tend to work up a sweat in your home gym, this won’t affect vinyl flooring. To clean your floor, simply wipe it with a damp cloth or go over it with a mop as often as needed. You can use an anti-bacterial cleaning product to ensure your gym remains hygienic and smells fresh – just check that any product you use is suitable for your flooring beforehand.

Laminate Flooring

If your home gym is located in a room that needs to serve another purpose, such as a guest bedroom, laminate flooring is a great choice. It will blend in seamlessly with the rest of your home, no matter what flooring you have elsewhere, and is suitable for gym equipment such as exercise bikes and rowing machines. Laminate is also easy to clean and can be wiped with a damp cloth or a wrung-out mop.

Carpet

This might not be the obvious choice for a home gym; however, if your equipment is located in a room with pre-existing carpet and changing the flooring isn’t an option, there are things you can do to help protect the floor. Depending on the type of exercise you do, yoga and similar mats are great at preventing sweat from coming into contact with your carpet. If you use free weights, ensure they are placed on a mat to prevent them from marking your carpet. If you sweat when using a particular piece of equipment, such as an exercise bike, it is worth investing in a large rubber mat to place under it. I, this way, it can be wiped clean as often as needed.