There are two things that I love in life: floors (I’m a flooring contractor, not just a weirdo) and working out. And although they may seem completely unrelated, you’d be surprised at how often I see my two passions overlapping with each other.
After all, having a strong, sturdy floor is one of the most important aspects of any gym, especially with heavy weights and heavy men jumping around. But when it comes to home gyms, this crucial aspect is often criminally overlooked.
Ok, I’ll admit it: choosing flooring isn’t exactly the most exciting part of building a home gym. Flicking through the catalogs and looking at the shiny barbells and comfy benches seems far more important (and interesting). But hopefully, my story today will help knock some sense into you before you start clogging up your garage with weights.
In my day job, I receive strange requests all the time. People who want tiles in their bedroom, or people who think carpets are suitable for their bathroom. But one customer who approached me asking for his home gym to be carpeted really took me by surprise.
As a businessman, I was delighted to have a customer who wanted a huge amount of floor space covered in my carpets. But as a gym rat, I was extremely hesitant to carry out the work. I not only felt it wasn’t suitable; I felt it could be potentially dangerous.
I’m no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but even I realize the problems that could arise from having carpets in a home gym. Squats and deadlifts would be far less stable than they would be on a stone or wood surface, and carpets can’t stand up to the same type of battering that those surfaces can take.
And it wasn’t just the safety aspects that concerned me: hygiene was also an issue. Concrete and wood can be easily wiped when they get covered in sweat, blood or tears (we’ve all had one of those sessions). But carpets retain moisture easily and are tricky to clean properly without stripping the whole thing out.
Despite my reservations, I didn’t want to completely disregard his request without fully assessing the situation from every angle. Carpets aren’t as primitive as they once were, and there are different types of carpets available which are far easier to clean, and won’t stain as easily. For example carpets like the Aqua Pro-Tec (http://allfloorsglasgow.co.uk/carpets-glasgow/) can stand up to a battering and are pretty easy to clean too.
Ultimately, we decided against it. Carpets can be great if you want to create a cozy bedroom or a comfortable sitting room, but I would absolutely never recommend it for a home gym. It won’t just get dirty and smelly: it could potentially be dangerous as well.
But it's not all bad news: I still completed work for him and he decided to install wooden flooring instead. A much more sensible choice if you ask me!
So can carpets work in home gyms? I don’t think so. Not unless you like stinky, dangerous workouts.
About the Author: Sam is a gym rat who represents Allfloors, a flooring company.
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