# Gym mats / flooring...



## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

Any recommended brands / websites for heavy-duty gym mats / flooring?


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## Vinny (Nov 18, 2012)

Ebay - Horse stable mats


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)

Stable mats. I purchased mine a few years back from endurance mats in Coventry but don't think they are trading now. The mats are about 16mm thick and 6' x 4' a piece for about £30. Try google for a local supplier.


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## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

@VinnyFord @powerfitness Stable mats? Interesting. Hadn't considered those. Very cool suggestion.

Here's another couple questions...

Is it better to go for square or rectangular mats? Most square mats seem to be 1m squared, and the rectangular ones 6ft x 4ft.

And regarding the mat thickness, what's best for free-weight areas? Needs to be able to take a beating...


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## Vinny (Nov 18, 2012)

Dark Prowler said:


> @VinnyFord @powerfitness Stable mats? Interesting. Hadn't considered those. Very cool suggestion.
> 
> Here's another couple questions...
> 
> ...


 Here's an old picture of my garage home, haven't got any recent ones to hard.

But I did a platform, I find a local wood yard and brought 3x Pieces of 8FTx4FT 18-25mm plywood, put 2 pieces lying cross ways to create a 8FT by 8FT square, put the 3rd piece down the middle (So got a nice solid piece under me for squats etc) And I used a 6FT x 4FT 18-25mm Stable mat, Cut it in half with a stanley knife to create 2 pieces at 6FT x 2FT and placed them either side. And then used some scrap MDF I had to fill the 2FTx2FT Gap I had left at the top corners.


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)

Dark Prowler said:


> @VinnyFord @powerfitness Stable mats? Interesting. Hadn't considered those. Very cool suggestion.
> 
> Here's another couple questions...
> 
> ...


 I've had stable mats in my gym setup for 3 or 4 years and no signs of wear. Some commercial gyms I've trained at use them. The spit and saw dust types...

My gym is in a tandem garage and I used x6 6'x4' mats on top of a concrete floor. They are easy to cut with a saw if needed. That size mat was best for me as I used 8'x18' of floor space for gym use.

I've measured the thickness of my mats and they are coming in at 18mm.

Think they'll be fine for your needs.


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)




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## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

@VinnyFord @powerfitness Many thanks for the photos, guys. Very helpful. I've found some good deals out there, but still can't decide between the 6x4' and 1m squared variations. All I know is, I need them to be interlocking, but that hasn't narrowed it down much... :mellow:


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## Vinny (Nov 18, 2012)

Dark Prowler said:


> @VinnyFord @powerfitness Many thanks for the photos, guys. Very helpful. I've found some good deals out there, but still can't decide between the 6x4' and 1m squared variations. All I know is, I need them to be interlocking, but that hasn't narrowed it down much... :mellow:


 What type of Equipment do you have pal? And got a picture of your space handy?


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)

Dark Prowler said:


> @VinnyFord @powerfitness Many thanks for the photos, guys. Very helpful. I've found some good deals out there, but still can't decide between the 6x4' and 1m squared variations. All I know is, I need them to be interlocking, but that hasn't narrowed it down much... :mellow:


 Mine are shoved up together and there is a bit of weight to the 6x4' ones.


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## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

VinnyFord said:


> What type of Equipment do you have pal? And got a picture of your space handy?


 I've got a power cage with a single stack, a DB bench, a 3 tier dumbbell rack with DBs from 1-35kg, a preacher bench, a reverse hyperextension bench, a plate loaded leg press, a dual adjustable pulley machine, a cross-trainer, and a plate tree. The room is around 20x10 feet. Don't need to cover the whole floor with mats, just the kit that needs it...


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)

Dark Prowler said:


> I've got a power cage with a single stack, a DB bench, a 3 tier dumbbell rack with DBs from 1-35kg, a preacher bench, a reverse hyperextension bench, a plate loaded leg press, a dual adjustable pulley machine, a cross-trainer, and a plate tree. The room is around 20x10 feet. Don't need to cover the whole floor with mats, just the kit that needs it...


 How does all that fit in?

In my 18x8' space I have minimal room for:

- 2 dumbbell racks. 2.5kg to 47.5kg.

- Seated calf raise.

- Power cage with cable pulley.

- 6ft punch bag

- FID bench with preacher and leg extension attachments.

- Weight tree.

I want to add a leg press but struggling for space unless I use nearly all my garage.


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## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

powerfitness said:


> How does all that fit in?
> 
> In my 18x8' space I have minimal room for:
> 
> ...


 Could have gotten the dimensions wrong? Will double check tomorrow...


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## Dark Prowler (Jun 20, 2013)

@powerfitness Double checked, and the space is indeed 10x20 feet.

I did have a Leg Extension / Curl machine and a Pec / Reverse Fly Machine in there as well, but had to remove them to clear some space in the middle of the room, as it was getting cramped.


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## powerfitness (May 22, 2015)

Dark Prowler said:


> @powerfitness Double checked, and the space is indeed 10x20 feet.
> 
> I did have a Leg Extension / Curl machine and a Pec / Reverse Fly Machine in there as well, but had to remove them to clear some space in the middle of the room, as it was getting cramped.


 That's impressive to get that amount of equipment in there. I'm constantly moving things out of the way depending on what muscle groups I'm training.


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## BLUE(UK) (Jan 9, 2008)

Dark Prowler said:


> @powerfitness Double checked, and the space is indeed 10x20 feet.
> 
> I did have a Leg Extension / Curl machine and a Pec / Reverse Fly Machine in there as well, but had to remove them to clear some space in the middle of the room, as it was getting cramped.


 Buy metre squared as you'll not need to cut any of the mats although if prepared to cut the mats you'll have less joints by using the larger mats?

Any stable mats will take any pounding you've got planned. If you're throwing things down for the sake of it, throw it onto some additional matting which you can replace if splits(unlikely).


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