Treadmills are heavy and some of them have formidable weight. It can feel scary to put that weight on a hardwood floor or for that matter on carpet, tile, concrete, or any other type of floor. If you are not careful, you may end up damaging the floor.
But what should you put under the treadmill on a hardwood floor? What to put on a tile or a concrete floor? How about a carpet?
If all these questions are pestering and holding you back from buying a treadmill then below are the answers for you…
What to put under a treadmill on the hardwood floor?
You can put a high-density treadmill mat, rubber gym flooring, a heavy-duty rug, a piece of heavy plywood under a treadmill on the hardwood floor. Although all will work fine, it’s better to use a high-density treadmill mat, that will protect the floor and your treadmill.
Also, since the average price of a good quality high-density mat may be around $50 to $75, you may be tempted to skip it.
However, due to the smoothness of the floor and the vibrations of the treadmill, it may start sliding a bit. This will leave ugly marks on your beautiful floor and will take the fun out of running on the treadmill.
A couple of other benefits of using a treadmill mat (of good quality) is that it will reduce the vibration and the overall noise of the treadmill.
What to put under the treadmill on carpet?
You can put the following things under the treadmill on the carpet:
- High-density treadmill mat.
- Heavy-duty puzzle mat.
- Vinyl heavy-duty mat
- Exercise equipment mat pads
- Corrugated Rubber Floor Mats
- Heavy-duty rugs
One word of caution. If you are using carpets that are heavy and will hold their own, the above solutions will work.
However, if you have a carpet that is made from a flimsy material and slips easily, it’s better to remove it from under the treadmill. It will make the treadmill slide and may compromise its stability and will put you in harm’s way even for the shortest distance.
Also, don’t put the treadmill on your expensive carpet directly. It will compress the carpet fibers at the contact areas. Plus, if due to vibration it slides a bit, it will end up damaging more of your carpet. This will look ugly if you choose to remove or relocate the treadmill.
What to put under a treadmill?
Here are the things that you can put under a treadmill:
- Commercial grade floor mat
- Heavy-duty exercise mat
- Rubber gym flooring mats
- High-density puzzle mat
- High-density Exercise Equipment rubber pads
- Heavy-duty rugs
- Hard plywood (not favorite)
Although you can use any of them, I would prefer to use rubber gym flooring mats. They are high density and built for commercial use and can accommodate almost any type of treadmills.
This makes them highly durable and will not wear out easily as with some of the other options. Also, they will reduce noise and vibration.
If you are looking for a more portable solution, then the treadmill mat can be your best answer.
You can use heavy-duty rugs. However, based on the kind of material that is being used, you may end up with permanent damage and compression marks from treadmills.
A better way would be to use them with exercise equipment rubber pads. This may minimize the damage and you will not end up regretting putting the rug under your treadmill.
I personally don’t like plyboards. First of all, they have a smoother finish than the rest of the things mentioned here.
This makes them very bad at being non-slip. Also, the surface layer tends to crack up if there is some manufacturing defect or with the slightest imbalance in the treadmills.
Since this is a hardwood kind of material, it is not good at absorbing vibration or sound. So, you will get no advantage there as well.
What do you put under a treadmill on a tile floor?
You can put the following under a treadmill on a tile floor:
- Heavy-duty exercise mat
- Rubber gym flooring
- High-density puzzle mat
- High-density treadmill mat
Tile floors are inherently a bit slippery. So whatever you put on it should have a good grip on a polished surface. That is the reason that rugs and plywoods may not work. They lack the grip that is required on polished surfaces.
Another thing that you should take check before setting up an area for your treadmill on the tile floor is that if there is any gap under the tiles.
When the flooring is done with tile, each of the tile segments is held together with a kind of cement. If the cement is not spread across the tile segment uniformly, the air gets trapped and a floor is weak in that area.
If you place a treadmill on it even if with a mat under it, you may end up breaking the tile floor in that specific area.
So, to figure out if there is any such area on the floor at your desired location, just knock on the edges of the tiles. If such a thing exists, you will be able to hear a hollow sound instead of a solid sound. Based on this you can make your adjustments.
Do I need a treadmill mat on concrete?
You don’t need a treadmill mat on concrete as they are inherently equipped to be more resilient and will not fall apart as easily as the types of floorings.
However, with time, concrete flooring develops smoothness. This is especially true if you live in a region of the world, where mopping the floor with water is an everyday phenomenon.
Due to this, the grip on the flooring may reduce a bit and there may be a bit of a sliding that may occur. If you want to avoid that, you can obviously use any of the above materials under your treadmill.
However, if you are worried that with any mat the concrete floor may get damaged, then that is highly unlikely.
Can I use a yoga mat under my treadmill?
You cannot use a yoga mat under a treadmill. They are not high density and they are not build to take a lot of weight. They will develop wear and tear very easily and will not provide adequate amount of floor protection. Also, most of the yoga mats have lesser width than that of a treadmill. Hence they will not provide proper cover.
If you still want to use a yoga mat under a treadmill, you should look for one that has high density and has good weight capacity.
This will also be heavily dependent on the actual weight of your treadmill. Some of the treadmills are inherently heavier like Paleton whereas others like from Weslo are comparatively ligther.
Also, manual treadmills are ligther than that of the automatic ones. So, this may be a very key deciding factor for your yoga mat selection for treadmill.
Another factor that you should consider is the width of the yoga mat. Some of them, especially which are of more affordable category are narrower. They may not cover the entire width of your treadmill and this may end up damaging your floor.
So, a matching with of yoga mat along with that of the treadmill is also very imparotant.
The third and most important feature is the thickness of the mat. The thinner mats will not be able to absorb the shock and will fall apart more easily.
What kind of mat to put under the treadmill?
Any mat that is heavy density, thick, anti-skid, and durable can be put under the treadmill. They should be able to absorb vibration and should not squish under the weight of the treadmill.
Basically, anything that is applicable for hardwood flooring will work for most of the floors where you will put your treadmill.
The thickness of the mat is extremely important. When you put a treadmill on a mat, it will develop some wear and tear. However, if you use a thicker mat there will still be a lot of cushioning despite the initial wear and tear.
For a treadmill, I don’t prefer the rug. This is a very personal choice. What I’ve observed is, most people get a rug as part of decoration and they are emotionally invested in it. So, if the rug ends up damaged due to the treadmill, most of the time ends up unhappy.
Also, most of the rugs are not non-skid. They stay in place due to their own weight, however, they are not really meant to be put under a treadmill.
Can I put a rug under a treadmill?
You can put a rug under a treadmill. However, the rug should be heavy, non-skid, and should not develop wear and tear easily. Also, it should be less furry.
As mentioned earlier, I personally don’t prefer a rug under a treadmill. As they are meant for decoration, they are not good at absorbing vibrations.
Also, many times they are not anti-skid. However, if you are looking for providing your floor with only some protection then they are definitely a good option.
What else?
If you are going for a rug to put under your treadmill, then you should go for a less furry option. Those synthetic materials, get too compressed and will leave ugly patches on the rug. If you decide to move the treadmill to a different location, those patches will be visible like a sore thumb.
Also, there is a probability that, they will not go away even after washing…and for those pricey rugs, this is definitely not a good news.
If you use something that has smaller fiber length, this will help you to restore it better, just in case.
Should I put plywood under my treadmill?
You shouldn’t use plywood under treadmill although that is a viable option. If you are planning to use plywood, use a heavy duty one. It should have a load capacity of atleast the weight of your treadmill or more.
I hear you screaming that “You said we can use plywood above?”
I agree, and you can use it. However, I would avoid it, if the floor is made made of hardwood or vinyl, especially.
The thing is, when you put a treadmill on a plyboard, the weight of the treasmill will hold the plywood in place.
However, the vibrations from the treadmill will get passed on to the plywood which in turn will start to leave minor scratches on your floor. The damage will be more at the contact point of the floor and the corners of the plywood.
You may think that, you will smooth out the plywood surface or use some kind of lamination of that. However, that will reduce the friction between the floor and this pieace of plyboard and will increase the chances of slipping.
Also, if the plyboard is not good quality or heavy duty, it will develop cracks on the surface and either will not absorb the vibration of the treadmill or may cause damage to it.
Can I put a treadmill on laminate flooring?
No, you cannot put a treadmill on laminate flooring on its own as they chip and scratch very easily. Its best to avaoid this altogether if possible, or you have to use a heavy duty exercise amt or rubber gym flooring.
Laminate flooring is basically two layers of paper with melamine in between them. They are solid and are good for homes with childen and pets. They are also inexpensive.
The downside is, they get demaged very easily.
If you put a treadmill on it, it will easily get chipped and damaged. I would try to avoid this altogether or, use the above-mentioned material as cushion.
Will a treadmill ruin floor?
A treadmill may or may not ruin floor depending on the kind of materials used as the flooring material.
Flooring materials that gets damaged relatively easily are:
- Hardwood
- Vinyl
- Laminate
If your floor has these materials, you should take added precautions as mentioned above. Else, you will see the floors develop scratche or ridges rather quickly.
Flooring materials that are more resilent:
- Concrete
- Mozaic
- Natural Stones
For these materials, the chances of developing damages easily are relatively low. You need not be go crazy or have sleepless nights thinking of ways to protect your floor.
However, it is always a good idea to use a protective material between your treadmill and your floor. This will not only protect your floor, but also will dampen the vibrations of the treadmill.
Can you put Peloton Tread on the carpet?
You can put Peloton Tread on the carpet provided you use a protective layer in between the Peloton Tread and the carpet.
Peloton Tread is a very heavy treadmill. On the lower side, it weighs around 290 lbs or 132 kgs (approx.) Whereas, Peloton Tread+ weighs around 455 lbs or 206 kgs (approx).
These are heavy-duty treadmills that are great for beginners or obese runners.
A carpet no matter how strong will get damaged due to the sheer weight of these machines. So, it is always good to use a heavy-duty rubber mat with them. It will ensure that your carpet is not damaged.
Do you need a mat for Peloton Tread?
Yes you need a mat for Peloton Tread due to the formidable weight of these treadmills. Otherwise, your flooring has a high chance of getting damaged.
As mentioned above, if you are placing a Peloton Tread on a carpet, you need a mat. This is universally true for any kind of flooring that you will place your Peloton Tread on.
Why?
The most obvious answer as mentioned above is the weight of this treadmill. This weight is enough for your floor to get damaged. Especially if it is made up of any of the more non-resilient materials as mentioned above.
Also, if you place them on harder floors, this may increase the overall vibrations that comes from the treadmill.
A mat will actually reduce the vibration and will provide you with a stabler platform for workout.
Can I use a yoga mat under Peloton?
No, you cannot put a yoga mat under Peloton as they are not heavy-duty and gets damaged easily.
A yoga mat is built to accomodate your weight. At the max it will be able to accomodate 150 lbs-200 lbs. However, the Peloton at the least weight more than 200 lbs and along with your own weight, it signifcantly exceeds the weight limit of the yoga mat.
This may result the mat getting easily damaged or worse get torned. This is the reason you shouldn’t be using a yoga mat under Peloton.
There are comparatively more resilient materials that can serve this purpose better.
What do you put under Peloton?
Heavy duty rubber mats or rubber gym flooring should be put under Peloton. They will not get as compressed due to the weight and will also minimize the vibrations from the machine. Also, they will protect your floor from any future damage.
Things to put under Peloton:
- Rubber Gym Flooring
- High Density Puzzle mats.
- Commercial grade floor mats
This to not put under Peloton:
- Yoga mat
- Rugs
- Plywood
- Carpet
- Vinyl mat
Madhusree Basu
Author, Admin
Blogger and a fitness enthusiast. She loves running and Yoga and everything in between. She started running to manage her weight and to eat to her heart’s content. A true foodie at heart she shares whatever knowledge she has gained throughout the years about weight management and fitness.
