Need advice on flooring

SRP

SRP

Cathlete
Hi ladies -

I am currently working out on tile over concrete slab. Ouch. I've been exploring flooring options that I can put in over my tile, and I found this website:

http://www.greatmats.com/aerobics-floor.html

They offer three flooring options, of which I'm interested in the first two: the Tile Flex Raised or the Cushion Tile.

Does anyone have an opinion of which would be the most effective for preventing injuries and absorbing impact? Let's pretend cost isn't an issue....
 
Shannon,

If I were you, I would take the first of the 2 being the Tile Flexed Raise Style for 2 reasons...

#1) It's more attractive IMO...If that even matters...I don't know.

#2) The 2nd style doesn't look like it would be smooth enough. For step and kick boxing I would LOVE a smooth surface! I work out on carpet right now and my dream is to be able to have a work out space with hard flooring for ease of movement. The first style smacks of a laminate look which I'm sure is just as smooth as laminate. The 2nd looks like rubber or something so I'm thinking it would be "stickier".

Since they are both geared for aerobics I would definatley opt for the first one!

HTH!:)
 
Shannon-
I would be careful with the tile Flexed Raised Style and the Cushion Tile if you do not have a sub floor. I had some of the Cushion Tile as a Demo from a company called Sport Court. After doing a few step workouts on it, my conclusion was that it did NOT provide adequate cushioning. There was no percieved shock absorbtion when these were placed over concrete!

I chose mats form BJs club, but the mats at Great Mats that are 7/8" dense foam look to be of a better quality. I had to do a double layer of the Bj's mats, and that does work, however I recommend laying them down wall to wall and anchoring them so they don't slip. Heavy dumb bells work.

We are moving and I will be leaving my beloved workout room behind. I will have to start over again, like you, with concrete. The dense foam mats look to be a good choice IMHO.

Judy "Likes2bfit"


If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.



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Tig - I had the same thought about the smooth surface but...

Judy - you advise against it and would choose the third option instead of the first two? I was concerned that the dense foam would be too squishy and not offer enough lateral support for the foot.

And what is a sub-floor?

Thanks for your input, gals.
 
I have the Puzzle Mats from Home Depot double layered over tile. It works great. Like someone else said though, you need to place them wall to wall to avoid slippage.

I don't think Home Depot carries them anymore. Someone else told me that Sam's Club does though.

You can see my workout room in the link below if you're interested.
 
Hi Shannon,

Just wanted to comment that I have the cushion tile from great mats and I absolutely love it! I have it directly on top of concrete and have had no problems at all.

What I like best about it--

To me it is less impact than the foam puzzle mats directly over top of concrete (which is what I used to have). With the puzzle mats over concrete I used to have sore calf muscles a lot, but I have not had that problem since I switched to the cushion tile

It is also a much smoother surface than the puzzle mats. I find it easier to do some moves like pivots and all the turning and kicking in the Kick Max combos

The only thing that took me a little time to get used to was that the puzzle mats are super quiet. The cusion tile does make a noise when you jump up and down on it. I don't notice it anymore, but at first it was a little odd to me.

Great mats is really good with sending samples. If you haven't already you should go ahead and get a few samples so you can feel them and see what you might prefer.

Have fun
 
Ladies, this is great info! Thanks so much.

Fannie - thanks for the info on subfloors. We have a local Lowe's and I'm going to check it out!

JeanneMarie - what a lovely, cheery workout room you have!

Noelle - thanks for the tips about Great Mats. I think I'll request those samples.
 
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