I live in apartment complex and am gearing up for the MN winter by setting up my trainer area. I have read many of the indoor trainer in apartment complex threads here so know all about using cork board as a base, etc… I was at target today to grab a yoga mat for under my trainer when I noticed 2 other options which seemed reasonable. The original choice was your standard yoga mat at 1/8" thick, the next was a treadmill mat at 1/4" thick and finally a fitness/Pilates mat at 1/2" thick. Can I get your experiences on the various mats?
There is storage below me so I am not worried about pissing people off below me, the wash room is next to us, so no concerns there, just above and potentially the other side (through living room). I want a mat to protect my carpet and reduce noise, while still being stable. Would the thicker mats create instability? The 3 I was looking at are linked below. All same general price range.
The yoga mat will be too soft and just compress out. I’m a big fan of the treadmill mat. It’s firmer, more durable, and more importantly, non absorbent. You can just wipe it down post workout vs. a yoga mat absorbing all that sweat.
Keep in mind the mat that normally goes under a treadmill is designed to absorb the vibrations from a 300 lb peace of equipment + the weight of a runner. It will therefore be very dense and heavy.
A yoga mat or exercise mat is much more light and intended to be soft to conform around your body as you sit of lie on it in various positions. It won’t absorb any shock such as that from a runner on a treadmill.
When I lived in an apt I went to Lowes and bought some anti-fatigue mat off of the roll. It was about $5 a foot, and worked well. Did not compress too bad and it was thick.
Ironically enough, my downstairs neighbors could hear the trainer more then they heard/felt me running on a treadmill with the same stuff under. Good luck.
So something that doesn’t compress very much like the treadmill pad is a better option? I’m very likely going to buy one of the above 3 linked pads… Which one would you buy?
So something that doesn’t compress very much like the treadmill pad is a better option? I’m very likely going to buy one of the above 3 linked pads… Which one would you buy?
Do you have a tractor supply near by? These are fantastic. Horse stall mat is excellent. Many use these for trainers, treadmills, etc.
What I bought came off of a giant roll, about 3 feet wide and as long as you want. It’s dense foam. I would take a pic but we are in the process of moving and its in storage right now.
Yoga, and pilates mat wont cut it IMO. I’m in a condo that is wood built and the vibration and noise just travels right to the studs. I currently have a Kurt Kinetic setup on a 3/4" rubber mat plus I use some anti vibration pads under the trainer legs to really dampen the vibrations and noise travel. As someone mentioned above if you can find a horse supplier store those horse stall mats are the same but way cheaper.
In order to dissipate sound you need a couple of things.
Mass
Change in density
I made the mistake for years and years living in apartments trying to dampen the sound with soft items, I had multiple trainer mats. Nothing worked. It was only when I spoke to a builder who schooled me on ‘floating floors’ that I understood.
So, you need 2-3 large slabs, concrete tiles or something similar, that can fit under the trainer and the front wheel in a line.
Then some carpet/and or your trainer matt. sandwich the tiles/slabs between carpet/trainer matt.
This will do either 2 things, it will either dampen the sound, OR if the frequency is wrong it will resonate it. You may have to experiment with 3-4 multiple density layer before you find the right combo, but the above combo worked perfectly for me.
I have just read your post again and you are only worried about above?
Then should should be fine with anything. Sound from turbos tends to resonate the floor downward, possibly noise to the side but is rarely heard upwards. it sounds much louder to you, but it shouldn’t cause a problem.
I got by just fine with throwing a beach towel under it. But then again I’ve only ever lived on the first floor with carpets so the noise gets muffled out.
I don’t think your neighbors will complain as complaints typically come from the apartment under you.
When I lived in an apt I went to Lowes and bought some anti-fatigue mat off of the roll. It was about $5 a foot, and worked well. Did not compress too bad and it was thick.
Ironically enough, my downstairs neighbors could hear the trainer more then they heard/felt me running on a treadmill with the same stuff under. Good luck.
We run 6 CompuTrainers in the basement and have tried everything listed in this thread. For us, we put a piece of remnant carpet down over our exiting carpet, just to protect it from oily skewers, dirty tires, cleated shoes with mud, etc. Over that, we put a 5-foot length of 36-inch wide black rubber carpet runner from Lowe’s. I’ve found 30-inch wide rubber carpet runner at Home Depot and Menard’s, but only Lowe’s had the 36-inch wide. It’s in the carpet department on a roll with other carpet runner material. It’s ribbed on one side (put this down and it won’t move as much) and the smooth side up. Cleats don’t seem to tear it or mash through it like the thicker material (yoga mats, anti-fatigue mats, etc.) and it doesn’t soak up sweat. About $3 a foot…