Maintaining good health is the smartest investment you are ever going to make. With the emergence of fatal illnesses, keeping yourself healthy is not much of a choice as it is a necessity. The people of today are becoming more inclined to value their overall well-being. Modernity influenced how people view exercise.
As opposed to being a punishment, people are now considering exercise as a form of sanctuary. It is a haven of relaxation and an escape from the daily stresses of life. It is a quality time you spend with yourself. An escape from the relentless obligations that come when you juggle career, home, and family.
With the rise of Gen Zs and Millennials, health-related activities are becoming more popular (read more). The health concerned people are enrolling in gyms, signing up on yoga classes, and even building their gyms at home. After a long day at work, you just want to immerse yourself in your workout. But all you hear are metals clanking and the noisy chaotic gym people.
Gym noises are normal. But, they become a nuisance when there is too much. Add to that the car honking and road constructions nearby. All of a sudden your sanctuary became an irritating place to be.
It is also hard to set up your gym at home when you have noise-sensitive neighbors below your unit or a baby sleeping next door.
Luckily, modern inventions made soundproofing much more advanced. Here are ways on how to soundproof your gym, fitness studio, or home gym.
1. Install the right gym flooring
When it comes to soundproofing, the first thing that you need to take action of is the flooring. Concrete floors have poor traction and lack shock absorption capabilities. Aside from the mini earthquakes that your neighbors will experience, concrete flooring leads to slips, falls, and major injuries. Also, this will prevent your original floor from being damaged.
Reduce your gym noise by installing the correct flooring around your gym. Rubber flooring is the best choice for every commercial or personal gym. They are stable, durable, water-resistant, shock-absorbent, and soundproof. You can also opt for foams, vinyl, turf, and carpet.
If budget is an issue, you can also opt to cover only the specific area of the gym where most of the lifting happens. Thick rubber mats are affordable and easy to install.
2. Use bumper plates
If you plan on lifting and dropping heavy weights, use bumper plates instead of the iron or steel weight plates (https://gymcrafter.com/what-bumper-plates/). Even established gym owners prefer the former to the latter.
Bumper plates are made up of thick rubber with an iron or steel collar in the middle part. They have a dead blow bounce motion. This means that they are made to be dropped without causing much impact sound. They also provide safety and protection to both the lifter and the flooring.
Use bumper plates in every kind of weightlifting exercises like deadlifts, snatches, and shoulder presses.
3. Rubber coat your dumbbells and kettlebells
As with bumper plates, using rubber for your dumbbells and kettlebells reduce your overall gym noise. Rubber absorbs much of the impact sound and vibration that these equipment make when you hit or swing them together, drop them, or re-rack them.
4. Use soundproof exercise machines
Together with weights, exercise machines are also a common source of irksome gym noises. Poorly designed gym machines are insensitive to noise. You can put all kinds of decoupling materials in them and still make the loudest noise.
Invest in soundproof machines like a silent treadmill for running or a quiet rowing machine. There are also soundproof exercise bikes and ellipticals. For people who value a relaxing exercise session (and their grumpy neighbors), these silent gym machines are a must-have.
5. Install a weightlifting platform
Aside from using bumper plates, a lifting platform can do wonders for your gym. It cushions your floor and absorbs impact from a 120 kg weight overhead drop. Even a floor covered with a rubber mat tends to crack under the intense and repeated drop pressure of a weightlift.
A platform protects the lifter as well as your other gym equipment. A weightlifting platform has a flat, even, and an anti-slip surface. It makes lifting safer and comfortable.
6. Use acoustic wall and ceiling panels
Installation of acoustic panels is especially helpful in large, echo-ey gyms. If you do not want your gym members to get irritated in hearing simultaneous echoing of loud bangs, this is for you.
Acoustic panels or foams reduce the echoing tendency of loud gym equipment. It also reduces unwanted noise, making gym instructors and gym music sound clear.
The panels and foams absorb the sound waves and contain it inside them. Since they are soft and made to absorb, sounds and noise do not bounce off them easily.
This is why making a commercial or home gym soundproof can be quite challenging. However, these tips can jumpstart your journey into achieving it.
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