Exercise Room Floor Advice?

[Anonymous]

Need suggestions for a floor in a basement exercise room. My ideal floor would be:

(a) water proof--in the unlikely but possible event I get some water in the basement and/or sweat;
(b) warm (I really want to avoid tile if possible, and
(c) soft/cusiony so doing sit-ups etc. . . on the ground would be possible--something with a "gym-like" feel.

Carpet, hardwood, tile all seem to have drawbacks. Is there an exercise room specific material I am not thinking of? Appreciate any advice.

[Anonymous]

We have a basement rec room that I use for exercise, among other things. Right now it is carpeted, and I think we are going to put slightly better carpet in (just because the one picked by the previous owners is ugly as sin). If you stick with something flat and low-pile (sorry, I don't know all the terminology), I think it'd be fine.

The water issue is separate from the exercise question, I think.

[Anonymous]

Cork, linoleum. Possibly those interlock rubber squares. You can pull them up to take care of spills, etc.

[Anonymous]

Does the floor have to be cushiony? Can't you use a mat? I think "really comfortable for situps" and "impervious to leaks" are always in conflict.

[Anonymous]

We're thinking of finishing our garage and making an exercise room. We figured we'd do low-pile carpet (for warmth) or tile, both of which would resist water, but stock up on cushy mats for floor work.

[Anonymous]

Rubber flooring (not just the interlocking squares). We are building a gym now and that is what we are using.

[Anonymous]

We built a house 18 months ago and put rubber in the exercise room--love it!!!!!

[Anonymous]

How do you find a rubber floor?

[Anonymous]

We haven't finished the project yet but got some samples from Rubber Flooring Inc that look promising.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on what type of exercise you are planning. If I was going to do an weight room, I would like the rubber flooring or cork tiles. The rubber flooring (available at any flooring store) can be a little pricey, though. If you wanted a room for cadio machines (e.g., treadmill room), you would likely be really happy with a Pergo- type floor if you were sure that the basement would not flood. The foam layer really warms up the room. I never like carpet in an exercise room because it catches sweat.