Exercise Room Flooring that's NOT Puzzle Mats?

[toaster]

First, please accept my advance apologize for yet another thread on this topic!

Second, a little bit of background: I have a finished room in the basement that is my dedicated exercise space. It has nice, Berber-type carpet, and although I don't mind exercising on carpet, I've become a bit worried about wearing down. So, I'm looking for something to protect the carpet and cover an area of approximately 10'x10' (not the entire room, and not for any equipment).

Several of the flooring reps I talked to (e.g., Great Mats) said that they do NOT recommend foam puzzle mats for over carpet, as the can slide around/break apart. I posted a thread here, and VF users basically said the same thing, although some users had success with either having the mats go all the way to the wall (which would be challenging given my setup) or taping the mats to the carpet (which I'd rather not do because of the risk of damage).

The Great Mats rep recommended these mats for over carpet:
http://www.greatmats.com/products/st...floor-tile.php

I'm open to these, although I'm a bit concerned about whether the reverse side might negatively impact the carpet (the Great Mat rep could not say), and there is not much feedback on these mats.

Alternatively, I saw these "Portable Dance Floor" mats on the Great Mat site:
http://www.greatmats.com/products/dance-max.php

These had many positive reviews, with many people mentioning using them on carpet. They also appealed to me because they look most like the types of floors that you would see in most exercise videos! Has anyone used anything like this?

I would really appreciate any additional feedback. I've gotten very confused during this process--I thought I was simply going to buy puzzle mats, and now I am way off track!

[Calistro]

Hello Beth,

I am probably not much help but I do have the black foam puzzle mats on my floor, and I also have berber carpet underneath, and I can safely say that I have never had any trouble with the mats sliding around. I don't know why considering my mats don't go to all four corners of the wall either.
I have these York interlocking floor guards,

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/3024306.htm

Oh I just checked they do say non skid

Calistro

[toaster]

Calistro, that's actually very helpful! I will see if I can find an American distributor for that product.

ETA: Looking at the description, it appears that these are rubber, not foam--is that correct? I actually liked some of the rubber samples I received from Great Mats, but they told me that they did not recommend rubber over carpeting either.

[Calistro]

Originally Posted by toaster

Calistro, that's actually very helpful! I will see if I can find an American distributor for that product.

ETA: Looking at the description, it appears that these are rubber, not foam--is that correct? I actually liked some of the rubber samples I received from Great Mats, but they told me that they did not recommend rubber over carpeting either.

I clicked on the products spec in full details and the description says High density foam, though they feel like rubber to me.

Probably a silly question but do you know anyone with puzzle mats in their home, who could let you take one home to test on your carpet to see if it moves around? Or can you just purchase one from Great mats to test it?
It might be better to trial one by moving it around on the carpet to see what it feels like than spend a lot and getting the wrong type.

The ones that I have do not skid though, but I wouldn't really know how to advise you.
Hopefully someone else may chime in.

Good luck with whatever you decide

[Fidget Queen]

Originally Posted by toaster

First, please accept my advance apologize for yet another thread on this topic!

Second, a little bit of background: I have a finished room in the basement that is my dedicated exercise space. It has nice, Berber-type carpet, and although I don't mind exercising on carpet, I've become a bit worried about wearing down. So, I'm looking for something to protect the carpet and cover an area of approximately 10'x10' (not the entire room, and not for any equipment).

Several of the flooring reps I talked to (e.g., Great Mats) said that they do NOT recommend foam puzzle mats for over carpet, as the can slide around/break apart. I posted a thread here, and VF users basically said the same thing, although some users had success with either having the mats go all the way to the wall (which would be challenging given my setup) or taping the mats to the carpet (which I'd rather not do because of the risk of damage).

The Great Mats rep recommended these mats for over carpet:
http://www.greatmats.com/products/st...floor-tile.php

I'm open to these, although I'm a bit concerned about whether the reverse side might negatively impact the carpet (the Great Mat rep could not say), and there is not much feedback on these mats.

Alternatively, I saw these "Portable Dance Floor" mats on the Great Mat site:
http://www.greatmats.com/products/dance-max.php

These had many positive reviews, with many people mentioning using them on carpet. They also appealed to me because they look most like the types of floors that you would see in most exercise videos! Has anyone used anything like this?

I would really appreciate any additional feedback. I've gotten very confused during this process--I thought I was simply going to buy puzzle mats, and now I am way off track!

Well, I have puzzle mats and they are equal pains on carpet and on my cement flooring. NOTHING prevents them from skidding or breaking apart. Tape, non-skid tape, kettlebells, going from wall to wall. And now I want the dance flooring you linked to.

[Tiny]

Beth I don't have an answer to your question because I got a set of mats with the goosebumps on it from Great Mats and threw a carpet square on top of it. The goosebump one is an anti fatigue flooring and I got an 8x8.

I wanted to mention though that before I got this type of flooring I had puzzle mats on hardwood floor and they did slide around. I use the nonslip thingy that keeps rugs from sliding and it works beautifully. I have my Great Mats on top of the puzzle mats because I didn't want to leave indents on the wood floor. The puzzle mats now have the indents.

[toaster]

calistro, thanks for your additional thoughts. I actually have samples from Great Mats--to me, they don't seem like they would slide, but it's hard to tell from just a small square; everyone else says that they do slide/break apart.

Fidget Queen, I hope I don't end up costing you money! I like the dance flooring, but I think it's pricier than I had realized.

Mary, those bump mats that you have are actually the same tiles that the Great Mats rep recommended for my carpet--they have both the bump top and "orange peel" top, which is the one I'd probably get if I went that route.

[Tugger31]

This sounds crazy but a friend of mine uses a big mat used to line horse stalls in a barn. I've looked into them and they come in many different sizes and thicknesses. All I looked at were non-skid. Just thought I'd throw out that option.

[patrice]

My husband got me a similar flooring from Great Mats. I love it. I actually have puzzle mats under it for extra cushioning. I already had the mats and hated them so I just put the flooring right on top.

Patrice

[toaster]

Originally Posted by patrice

My husband got me a similar flooring from Great Mats. I love it. I actually have puzzle mats under it for extra cushioning. I already had the mats and hated them so I just put the flooring right on top.

Patrice

Patrice, are you referring to the Stay-Lock tiles or the dance flooring?

Thanks,
Beth