Dear Rubber Flooring Experts,
Something has been troubling my neighbors and me for quite some time now. Every evening, I try to squeeze in my workout before I go to bed. Usually, this means that I’m on the elliptical and getting my cardio done at around 7:00pm. This system has worked great for me—not so much for my downstairs neighbors. I’ve received complaints about my workout routine interfering with their family dinners. I don’t want to sacrifice my workout, but I don’t want my neighbors to hate me either! Do you people sell some sort of rubber equipment mat or other cushioning product that I can put under my elliptical machine?
- Troublesome Treadmill
Dear Troublesome,
First off, good for you that you’re focusing on a consistent workout! Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your body, so you’re on the right track. No one ever said a workout is a quiet undertaking and quite frankly training on an elliptical machine is one of the quietest workouts. You can definitely get back on track with your neighbors too using a simple solution. The reason your neighbors are probably complaining is probably over one or both of the following reasons: noise annoyance and vibration disturbance. These are common frustrations in tenant housing, like duplexes and apartment buildings or high rises, due to the close proximity of neighbors. There are lots of benefits to an urban lifestyle, but spatial privacy is not one of them. The solution: A rubber equipment mat can help! Ultimately the noise and vibration is a by-product of the buildings.
We can try and help reduce both the noise and vibration, but not having first hand information about the structure, we cannot guarantee success 100% of the time. What’s the good news? They can be greatly reduced with rubber mats for gym equipment. Rubber compounds are made for high tension and flexibility, which means they are great impact absorbers. A rubber floor is a very inexpensive impact protection solution. Also, the density of the material serves as padding between your machine and your floors, reducing the pounding noise. There are a variety of gym equipment mats available in different thicknesses, depending on the size of your machine and the intensity of your workouts. We offer products up to one inch thick, though this may not sound too thick, a one inch mat would weigh over 130 lbs when covering a 4ft x 6ft treadmill footprint.
If your building is older, we suggest you go thicker just to be sure you have chosen the proper mat. Ultimately the thicker and the heavier a rubber mat the more the material costs as well as shipping costs. Having said that, we suggest that you buy something thicker than you think you need. Gym equipment mats can be replaced if they do not do the job, but you will lose all to and from shipping costs which can be a large sum. Definitely take a look at an inexpensive rubber equipment mat, rather than moving, and soon you will be on your way to a quieter, smoother workout that won’t disturb the neighbors!
-The Rubber Flooring Experts