How Weight Room Flooring Impacts Users
While the weight room floor may go unnoticed by most users, it can have a serious impact on the quality of their workout. As a result, coaches, trainers, instructors, and designers pay careful attention to the type of flooring that’s installed in the weight room. Most prefer rubber fitness flooring. After all, weight room flooring can affect a variety of vital factors.
Safety
Injury is something every athlete dreads. A properly installed rubber fitness floor can help reduce the risk, according to Athletic Business. For starters, rubber has a high coefficient of friction, and that number remains high when the surface is wet. That means you’re less likely to slip on a rubber floor, even if things get sweaty. Floors can also be designed with additional texture if there’s concern about slipping.
The cushioning offered by the rubber floor can also provide an additional layer of safety. It can safeguard athletes from some of the bumps and bruises that can come with stumbles, falls, or missteps in the weight room. For additional protection for vulnerable joints and body parts, a rubber underlayment can be installed that absorbs shocks.
Sound
With the clanking of weights, machines, and other equipment, weight rooms can be noisy places. Imagine if your workout was constantly interrupted by the sound of weights slamming into the floor. There’d be little satisfaction with your focus continually shattered. Worse, poor concentration could increase your risk of injury. Fortunately, rubber weight room floors muffle much of the sounds of weights hitting the floor. In fact, thicker rubber weight room floors allow weight rooms to be installed on floors on upper stories without disturbing the neighbors below.
Durability
Weight rooms see a lot of traffic from users and a lot of impacts from equipment and weights. Floors that scuffed or tore under this heavy load would be more than an eyesore; they’d be a safety hazard. Clearly, durability is a major must-have for all weight room floors.
Hygiene
Completing a good workout often involves working up a serious sweat, and popular stations can see major traffic. Rubber fitness flooring is nonporous, so it won’t absorb this natural output of sweat and grime. It’s also unlikely to become a host for foul odors. Instead, it provides a low-maintenance surface that cleans quickly and easily with minimal effort, so users can feel comfortable that their gym is a hygienic, healthy space.
Appearance
There was a time when weight rooms were dark, intimidating caves with black rubber floors that sucked the light out of the space. Now, the benefits of strength training are appreciated by a wider swathe of the population, and more people are eager to experience them. As a result, weight rooms are being designed with an increasingly universal appeal. Part of creating inviting spaces that welcome all sorts of people is changing the appearance with open floor plans and more color. Weight room floors that are marbleized, have colored flecks on a black background, or are in a brighter color are increasingly popular. Some have logos, designs, or motivational sayings printed on them.
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Whenever you’re exercising in a weight room, remember that the weight room floor is also working hard. After all, the right weight room flooring has a real impact on users because it enhances the safety, comfort, health, and look of your fitness space. New England Courts installs rubber fitness floors in a variety of colors and thicknesses, so it’s easy to create the custom floor of your dreams. If you’re ready to install a new weight room floor in your facility, contact us today to discuss the possibilities.