Gym Flooring - Tough and Practical yet Stylish
Material, hygiene and design considerations
Who would ever think that we would pay so much attention to gym flooring? People today are becoming more and more health conscious and are flooding into fitness and health centers all over the country. With this rapid rise in demand, the need for good quality gym flooring solutions are necessary to accommodate weight training, aerobics classes, cardio workouts and the locker rooms.Unfortunately a standard everyday home floor will just not be able to cope. A gym needs something that is durable, hygienic, easy to clean and easy install.
Image is a characteristic that haunts most gyms and is in essence what a gym is selling. People go there to look their best - so the color and texture of the flooring material you decide on is also going to need to keep in line with this theme.
Gym Flooring Materials Available
There are quite a few considerations that you will have to make that apply to both public and home gyms when it comes to flooring:
Can the material chosen be used in all areas - from the locker room to the aerobics studios?
It is an unarguable fact - people will drop weights. Combine this with the high amounts of traffic that pass through and around a gym and you may start to understand why the floor material has to be tough. Rubber can take this exploitation, but plastic is a better option since it has more flexibility and has proved to be easier to maintain and clean. Rubber gym flooring also has the tendency to have an unpleasant chemical odor.
You cannot underestimate the importance and need for hygiene in this type of environment. Ideally whatever surface you decide on should be able to accommodate any commercial disinfectant and cleaning agent.
Interlocking systems are favorable. This rules out the need for chemical adhesives and makes replacing individual pieces or areas a lot easier. Design possibilities are greater too!
Environmental concerns in this country are running high at the moment so installing recycled PVC or any other eco-friendly products would not go unnoticed.
Classes such as Pilates and Yoga often have members that prefer to go bare foot. You would therefore need to ensure that the floor is pleasant and warm to the touch - comfort is everything in the gym.
Experts have found that color can create a mood. High impact colors and designs give off an energy vibe that members will feed off of. Try for a company that offers an advice service and that can customize floors with regards to color and design.
The gym floor should also be able to supply a certain degree of padding - especially in aerobic studios. Kemil flooring is perfect for this because it is has a honeycomb structure that holds pockets of air. This air padding minimizes impact on the human joints.