I'm building my home gym, I saw on another thread that you can get rubber mats at Tractor Supply. Is it recommended to get the kind that interlocks together? And what kind of $ are we talking here? Thanks.

I was kinda hoping to get some help here.

I would definitely recommend purchasing interlocking and at least 1/2" thick matting. I've heard that tractor supply matting and horse stall matting is quite good for home gym applications, but I don't have any direct experience with either of those.

I used Humane's "LokTuff" in my gym, and I LOVE it. It's commercial-quality stuff. It doens't move around or buckle, and it looks as good as the day I put it in. Each tile is 4'x4' and weighs close to 50 pounds. I have pictures, additional details and links on my Stage 4 Home Gym Page (http://www.johnstonefitness.com/php/homegym_stage4.php).

BTW, the rubber smell I mentioned on my home gym page went away after a few months.

i'm trying to remember how much horse stall mats were at our farm supply. around 30-40 bucks i think.

u should ask digitalnebula or pete5..... they both bought them and might remember what they paid. they both have journals in the journal section.

I would definitely recommend purchasing interlocking and at least 1/2" thick matting. I've heard that tractor supply matting and horse stall matting is quite good for home gym applications, but I don't have any direct experience with either of those.

I used Humane's "LokTuff" in my gym, and I LOVE it. It's commercial-quality stuff. It doens't move around or buckle, and it looks as good as the day I put it in. Each tile is 4'x4' and weighs close to 50 pounds. I have pictures, additional details and links on my Stage 4 Home Gym Page (http://www.johnstonefitness.com/php/homegym_stage4.php).

BTW, the rubber smell I mentioned on my home gym page went away after a few months.

Wow a reply right from the top, thanks a lot John. :tucool::tucool::tucool:

I got this, it's thin, it doesn't interlock but it does lay very flat.

I love it!

http://www.supermats.com/ultimat.html

I got this, it's thin, it doesn't interlock but it does lay very flat.

I love it!

http://www.supermats.com/ultimat.html
Thanks, Where did you get them?

Thanks, Where did you get them?

I had a local fitness retailer in town that I bought my power rack from sells them. They order them from SuperMat. I don't know if the website sells straight to consumers or not.

You might consider asking around before you buy. Those things aren't very cheap. If you know anyone with horses, they sometimes have old mats with nothing wrong laying around. A good clean and they are good to go. I got 12x15' in pretty much perfect condition for free. Right before that, I went to the dump and saw a hole pile of the interlocking mats laying around. Some guy was loading them in his truck.

Anywho, check some free resources first if you can. It can't hurt. Goodluck!

I used horse stall mats and love them...
I have an area for dumbells that is just horse stall mats laying on the concrete in the basement...

They never move...they were cheap...and are absolutely indestructible...

I built my last lifting platform using plywood and horse stall mats for the area that I do barbell work...

You guys think mats are necessary in an apt. that already has carpet and padding underneath it?

You guys think mats are necessary in an apt. that already has carpet and padding underneath it?

Only if you have a bench or something on wheels that you need to roll around, in MY opinion.

You guys think mats are necessary in an apt. that already has carpet and padding underneath it?

I would put mats down so you don't "cut the rug" (and i don't mean dancing:lol::lol::lol:)

Sorry.

Something to consider, and this is what I did in my home gym, is to get a decent really low pile carpet for most of the area and supplement it with the rubber mats only where needed. I have most of my gym i carpet, but the area near the cage has heavy duty rubber matting on both sides (for deadlifts). I'd love to have the full place in all rubber matting, but the carpet plus some properly placed rubber mats work well enough.

Hope this helps.

I recently purchased a horse stall mat from Tractor Supply. They're going for 39.99 now, but I did get a five dollar off coupon on their website. They seem to be great quality and it was the perfect size for my needs, however, the new mat,which had been stored outside (which should have helped), smells like an oil refinery.

:mad: Like an oil refinery on fire.

Any recommendations on how long this will take to fade, or a way to speed up the process? As it is, I can't bring this in the house from the garage.

Thanks, all. This is a great forum. I'm glad I found it.

I recently purchased a horse stall mat from Tractor Supply. They're going for 39.99 now, but I did get a five dollar off coupon on their website. They seem to be great quality and it was the perfect size for my needs, however, the new mat,which had been stored outside (which should have helped), smells like an oil refinery.

:mad: Like an oil refinery on fire.

Any recommendations on how long this will take to fade, or a way to speed up the process? As it is, I can't bring this in the house from the garage.

Thanks, all. This is a great forum. I'm glad I found it.
I got my rubber matting about 4 months ago.
It really stank for about a month, then slowly the smell went.
My wife can still smell the rubber on my clothes, but I cant smell
anything now.
The quickest way to "de-gass" the rubber is with good air cross ventilation, which I have.

I got my rubber matting about 4 months ago.
It really stank for about a month, then slowly the smell went.
My wife can still smell the rubber on my clothes, but I cant smell
anything now.
The quickest way to "de-gass" the rubber is with good air cross ventilation, which I have.

I did get mine at TSC, I put it down about a month ago. Either the smell is going away or we're getting used to it. I can't wait for spring/summer so we can once again open the windows and let the smell of mother nature in.:claphigh::claphigh::claphigh:

also on the horse stall mat topic, if you keep checking various farm suppliers you can find sales. We bought a ton of them last year for actual stalls and they were on for half the regular price. Huge difference if you have a decent amount of floor to cover.

and yeah, they stink but eventually air out.