Building a Lifting Platform for Home Gym

I have decided I really NEED a lifting platform for my home gym, The weights are getting too heavy, and I thought I was going to break a tile or three in todays dead lifting session.

This has already been discussed here:
http://ausbb.com/workout-equipment/15297-show-us-your-home-gym-2.html

I have decided as soon as I get a few spare days (will be tied up for the next two weeks or so at this stage), I will buy the required heavy ply wood to build the platform.

I have looked at a few designs and have a plan in mind, but need to source some heavy (read thick) rubber matting to put on the platform where the weights will be landing, I want heavy rubber about 10-15mm thick.

I have old style cast weights, so want the thicker rubber, I am not planning to drop the weights on the platform from over head or similar, but rather placing them on the platform heavily after an exhausting set of dead lifts or bend over rows.

These are the weights I have, so no rubber surrounds, and I will not be buying other weights as I am not an Olymic athelete, just a middle aged guy trying to lift some iron:





And that is where the platform will be going:


So any help on where to buy these rubber mats would be greatly appreciated

Will be doing a full photo feature in this thread when I build the platform, as it might help others as well.

Nice thread, The matting should ideally be 'horse matting'. I assume its cos it is harder wearing and good thickness. I thought clark rubber had some upto 15mm before, but i'm not sure what happened. They got some other mats but not sure if they'd be enough.

Rubber Matting, Checker Plate Matting, Big Rib Matting | Clark Rubber
Specialised Rubber, Silicone, EPDM, Silicone Rubber, Viton, Hypalon | Clark Rubber

What was your plan/layout for the platform so far, are you going to put it under your platform??

Find a conveyor belt rubber manufacturer/distributor in your area they are much cheaper than clark rubber.

Thanks for that I am not sure on Clark rubber, might drop into our local store in the next couple of weeks when I get a chance and see what they have.

I am looking for a place where I can go and just buy the real heavy duty stuff, would love to see some 12mm or 15mm solid rubber like what tires are made out of.

Any place in Sydney would be great.

Big Mick

I got my rubber mats from Gym Equipments, which is run by a good guy called Alex (he's built like a tank). He just has a big storage shed/warehouse type thing in an industrial estate in Minchinbury. You have to ring him to arrange a time to collect as he's not there all the time.

The rubber mats I got were the type that are 1m x 1m x 15mm, but unlike most out there it had a 4 quarter pattern, with recessed lines. It makes it really easy to cut the mats with a stanley knife.

Here's a link. Note, I paid I think $33 or $30 per mat from memory, cheaper than the link, maybe you can negotiate over the phone.

http://www.gymequipments.com.au/ind...category_id=11&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=5


If I was in your shoes I'd buy that type of mat, place along the floor, and then have one extra mat....cut it in half and use each of those 2 strips as additional cushioning when deadlifting i.e. place them on top of existing mats at spacing needed for deadlifting. You'd have 30mm thickness at point of impact.

The quality of this guy's products are pretty good from my experience. I bought a Trap Hex Bar from him and it's top notch.

Mate that is just what I need, will be contacting them shortly after I get back (interstate at the moment till next week).

And they are only about 15 minutes from home

I was going to get something similar to cover the whole gym/weight training area anyway. I would need about 12 mats from memory to do it four mats wide and three mats deep.

If you're keen on the 4 quarter style just check he's got them in stock. When I last saw him (start of the year) he was low on that style, but had plenty of the normal mats.

Cool will see what he has, I do like the 1/4 style ones just looking at the photos, might change my mind when I see them in real life, will report back after I had a look.

Mick, I scored my rubber mats from a salvage yard years ago, they are old conveyor belts I think, easily an inch thick, tough and cheap.

I like cheap, and not only in woman

Just noticed a huge pile of rubber tiles for sale in an auction in QLD. Looks too much for one person, but 80 tiles of 1mx1m with starting bid of $400.. that's $5 a tile. Varying thicknesses of 10 - 15mm.. Don't know if that meant some tiles are 10 and others 15, or if they are all seconds, where they are uneven thickness..

80 Skins (Rubber Tiles on Pallet) Tiles Auction (0012-7000522) | GraysOnline Australia


Lastly, in Sydney (Lidcombe i think) there is this going under the hammer later today..

12x gym rubber mats 1m x 1m x 15mm

AND

15x gym rubber mats 1m x 1m x 15mm


Seems like a few bids on it already though..

Cheers,

Tuna..

Wish they would sell me two of the 15mm ones

Will see what I can find around Sydney, will check the Gym place in Minchinbury out, happy to pay $30-40 if it is the right thing.

Ok, have spoken to the guy in Minchinbury today and he was not too keen to only sell me one mat (he would have but did not sound keen that's all)

I have found a place in Sydney (Guildford) that actually sells solid rubber mats 1200 wide in what ever length you want. They have 9.5mm, 12.7mm and 16mm thickness (as well as others but these seemed most suitable)

Not cheap though, starting at about $100 per meter for the 9.5mm one

However I only need one meter, looking at making up two pads, 1 meter long and 600mm wide for the weights to land/sit/slam/rest on.

The overall size of the platform will be 2 meter (2000mm) by 1 meter (1000mm), might not suit everyone, but will be perfect for me, with a 600mm X 1000mm rubber pad on either end for the weights to land on and a 800mm wide area to stand on between to two rubber pads.

Hope that makes sense, will post some photos once I buy the material.

Looks like the platform will cost some where between $200-350 to build depending on what materials I finally end up going with.

This is the place that sells the rubber mats:
Garfield and Company - Home

DKD said:

If you're keen on the 4 quarter style just check he's got them in stock. When I last saw him (start of the year) he was low on that style, but had plenty of the normal mats.

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Mate spoke to him again and he did not have any in stock, he only had other styles, and to be honest after shopping around a bit more I found him to be too much hassle and too expensive. He wanted to make appointments to meet at unstaffed warehouse, no show room etc etc so I did some more searching and a mate of mine put me in contact with a wholesaler located in Condell Park.

Went around there today and he had everything in stock, has a display set up, and was very very helpful. He sells the 1/4 style mats for $27 each, and was happy to sell me one or one hundred.

Ended up buying two mats 1m x 1m square 15mm thick for $54, which will cover my whole lifting platform which will happen to be 2m x 1 m in size
Saved myself some nice $$$ already. I have the design all sorted, just got to buy the timber now. Un-fortunatly working all week end so will not have time to buy timber, but now have the two rubber mats in my gym, which is already a LOT better.

Once my tax return comes through I might buy about 10-15 of these mats to cover the whole weight training area, provided they perform as expected over the next couple of weeks.

from personal experience the mats are overrated unless you plan on dropping shit eg you might put 1 or 2 either side of your bench press incase you gotta dump the platers off

i bought 30 a while back, have sold 1, cut 1 in half to modify my platform and am about to cut up 6 or 7 into 1/4s to use for shortening ROM on floor press, partial deads, deficit deads and box squats

Good research work Big Mick.....never heard of mats that cheap before. Yeah that guy has a bare bones set up. The first time I went there he had a showroom, second time no showroom, just the warehouse.

For anyone in QLD this stuff might suit.

Industrial Strength Recycled Rubber Flooring - QLD Pickup

The Hamburgler said:

from personal experience the mats are overrated unless you plan on dropping shit eg you might put 1 or 2 either side of your bench press incase you gotta dump the platers off

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Well the ones for my lifting platform are ok. I will see if I need more later, really just want to get my platform build. I have put the two mats down and had a bit of a play, huge difference on the tile floor, once the ply/flooring timber is under neath I will feel a lot better about dead lifting and bend over rows.

It's too hard to put the weights down gently when doing these exercises to exhaustion. I am not planning to drop them from a meter, but would love to be able to place the weights down fast.

Not too far off, just need to get some timber now

DKD said:

.....never heard of mats that cheap before.

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The price on the mats was great, cheapest I have ever seen.

Heading to Bunnings now

Would old conveyer belt work, or is it too firm?????

make sure you post pics of the construction.