When you tour a fitness facility, there can be a variety of different things that you’ll see. One thing that is consistent is your expectations about flooring. Most times you don’t even think about the floor because it is the type of floor that you expected to be there, so you don’t even notice it. However, if you are to find a floor that is not where you expected, the whole thing would strike you as odd. For instance, if you were to see a rubber weight room floor in a club’s group exercise room, this would immediately strike you as unusual. Yet it seems that during every trade show, we’ll have someone come up to our booth and ask us about a rubber floor for group exercise. We know that they’re looking for a less expensive alternative than what you would traditionally find in that room – wood, for example. Most prospects know that rubber does not allow you the type of shock absorption that you require, or the ability to easily slide your foot during aerobic activity.
All this relates to the overall impression of your club to prospects when they tour your facility. We all know that if it’s unkempt or looks overly worn, you’re not going to impress a lot of people when you give them the facility tour. Prospective members have certain expectations about certain areas of your club and this extends to flooring. If the flooring seems inappropriate, then the prospect will likely wonder whether the flooring is safe for exercise. Additionally, if the flooring looks pieced together or poorly made, they’ll also feel as if the owner is more concerned about cost savings than safety.
I have a friend who is a club owner and for many years, he had a bright red tarp over foam that he used for flooring in his aerobics room. I often pointed out to him that while the floor may be entirely appropriate for group exercise and the kind of activities he was conducting, it went outside the realm of what people expected and was not a great selling point for his club. Eventually the tarp developed a tear that could only be repaired by taping up the spot. Not being able to leave the situation the way it was, he finally decided on a wood floor and that’s what he has in there to this day. He’ll now admit that the participation in that room greatly increased since he installed what people expected to see in a group exercise area – a wood floor.
With the advent of so many mind and body activities in group exercise – such as Pilates, stretching, and yoga – certainly a dense foam-padded floor could be appropriate in certain areas. Admittedly, it is uncomfortable to lie on a hardwood floor for an extended period of time, even if you bring your own yoga mats. However, I would advocate the use of temporary interlocking foam flooring squares that can be put into place quickly before class and removed afterwards. Hardwood flooring is still the most appropriate for most types of group exercise and it is what people expect to see.
Fitness has seen sort of a standardization in what is expected to be seen as flooring in certain areas of a fitness facility: wood in a group exercise area; rubber in a free weight area; carpet or rubber in stack and CV equipment rooms, and wood in basketball and court sports areas. Certainly there are other materials that may be just as suitable in these places but, because the prospect is used to seeing these things in their appropriate areas, they’ll expect to see the same in your facility.
Just because these are the things people expect, doesn’t mean that they have to be boring. Colorful patterns or logos can easily be painted onto hardwood floors, which spice up the area for very little cost and really help brand your club with your members. Rubber floors are also available in a number of colors, depending on the type of flooring that you choose, and manufacturers now have the ability to add colored inlays in the flooring. There are now even carpet squares manufactured for fitness facilities that can be installed with either contrasting colors or weaves that allow you to have a unique textural appearance.
The most unique clubs I’ve seen have all utilized placement of color, and especially their logos, in the flooring and it typically is an extension of the motif that is found on the walls and ceilings. When done correctly it emits a feeling of energy and enthusiasm that we expect from a fitness facility. All this can be done at a very reasonable cost and once it’s done, it’s there for years. While the prospect might have certain expectations, it’s not hard at all to awe them with some simple techniques that can overwhelm anyone’s expectations.
Steve Chase is the General Manager of Fitness Flooring. He can be contacted at 866.735.5113, or by email at sales@fitnessfloors.com, or visit www.fitnessfloors.com.
