what type of floor do you workout on?

[aerobidiot]

I have had a lot of problems with my feet lately, and I'm wondering if it's because of the fact that I live in a ground level apartment, and I know there is not much padding between the carpet and the cement floor. So what type of floor do you all workout on, and do you feel like it affects your joints/whether you get injury, and your ability to do high impact? I'm so frustrated because I LOVE intense cardio but I'm just not able to do it very often lately.

[Kim]

I'm working out on a cement slab with carpet overlying it. I've never exercised on a special aerobic floor, but I have to think it would make a difference. I keep having a bum ankle (probably Achilles tendinitis, and I *hate* it) that doesn't want me to do all the Christi and Kari that I would like. I don't think the cement helps any, and the carpet makes it harder to pivot which probably doesn't help the knees or ankles much. It's probably pretty expensive to have the carpet pulled out and special flooring installed.

Kim

[Loretta S.]

Wood floors are the best! Nice and springy!

[Candi]

2 carpets (area rug over worn wall to wall) over old creaky wood floor. If I really need to pivot I have "home depot" mats that I put down with weights on the corners.

Candi

[bfj]

I do a lot of intense cardio, and since we have a carpeted area, I use interlocking mats from Home Depot. They are fantastic for all the jumps, pivots, kicks, steps,...

[pammy]

I work out in a second-floor room with vinyl flooring. It was carpeted till about a year ago, when I fell during a hi-lo aerobic session and sprained my ankle. My only complaint is that the room is over our unheated garage, so I've had some toe-numbing workouts the last couple of weeks.

We're thinking of putting on an addition, one room of which would be a new (much larger) exercise space for me. The addition would be on a slab, so I've already made it perfectly clear that I MUST have a raised floor. These 46-year old knees will not stand for jumping on a concrete slab!

[patrice]

My hubby made me an aerobic floor in the basement. It is a wood floor elevated on two inch foam blocks sold by Stage Step. Before I could only do low impact, now I can bounce away.

Patrice

[Lenore Levine]

I live in a second floor apartment (actually floor 2 1/2; there's a parking garage below street level). Work out in the living room, which has carpet over a wood floor.

I do low impact tapes barefoot, and turns don't seem to be a problem. And yes, I suspect carpet over a concrete floor would be less comfortable.

[SuzieC]

But luckily I have a Monster Mat.
I have tile in my basement (where I work out), and I thought that working out on a tile floor would be impossible...until I got my Monster mat!

I have been using the mat for about a year and a half, and I've had no trouble with my knees/joints. I find that the mat really absorbs the impact.

You can check out these mats at:
http://www.apachemills.com/fitness/monster.html

I got mine for about 50$ Can.

Suzie

[*pet*art*girl*]

I have a hard wood floor with puzzle mats over it.
The puzzle mats don't keep the house from shaking, but they definitely help my joints a bit.
Kathy