Insulating your gym from noise and vibration

A noisy gym can be detrimental to the members’ experience and ultimately to your business. Not only does it affect the health of your clients, but also the health of your flooring and building structure.

We live in the age of distraction and noise, and it’s getting worse all the time. A gym that is adapted to current exercise trends is not a haven from noise pollution. Crashing weights, Zumba classes with loud music, trainers shouting, kettlebells hitting the floor: it’s all a barrage of noise that negatively affects the club environment.

HEALTH HAZARDS FOR YOUR CLIENTS

It is also unhealthy for members and staff, which is exactly the opposite result a gym is supposed to provide. A study published in the International Journal of Audiology found that many gym-goers turned up their headphones so loud to block out background noise that they risked damaging their hearing.

Excessive noise can also increase high blood pressure, worsen sleep problems, damage cardiovascular health and, of course, damage your ears. Dropping a single 20kg weight can reach noise levels of 80 decibels. Experts say that continuous exposure to noise at or above 80-85 decibels over time can lead to hearing loss. In some spinning classes, music is played at levels above 110 decibels.

THE DANGERS TO YOUR BUSINESS

Noise is only one of the problems. The vibrations transmitted by the structure, strong enough to shake the walls and shake the floor, can be a major disruption to neighbours or adjacent businesses. The problem is even more serious if the gymnasium is located in a multi-purpose building. The other occupants, whether they are businesses or residents, will not put up with the nuisance of an excessively noisy gym for long.

In fact, lawsuits against gyms, CrossFit boxes and boutique facilities are on the rise. Some facilities have already been evicted from their buildings or faced excessive fines. Relocating a club for any reason can kill your business. So… it’s in your interest to be a good neighbour.

THE DANGERS TO YOUR PREMISES

You also don’t want to continually replace damaged floors, another consequence of current fitness trends. Weight training (e.g. squats and deadlifts), body weight training (e.g. burpees, jumping rope, gymnastics, martial arts), bars falling to the floor after a jerk… the cumulative effect can create tears and punctures in the floor that can pose a risk.

Periodic investments in tile replacement can put a strain on your accounts and it is totally unnecessary for this to be the case.

YOU CAN’T CONTROL THE WEIGHT DROP…

Even as a club owner, you have limited control over the environment. Although many clubs have strict rules about weight throwing and shouting, a room full of people exercising is going to create a high-decibel environment.

Noise experts suggest reinforcing walls and doors, and even adding door sealing kits to block sound. But few club owners are in a position to significantly reinforce structural mass. Even low-frequency vibrations can be transmitted through the rigid structure of a building to noise-sensitive areas through floors, walls, columns and any other rigid elements.

The reality is that most of the impact of club members and equipment is on the floor, and inadequate flooring is the cause of most of the noise and disturbance caused by structure-borne vibration. Therefore, the floor is the basis for solving all these noise and vibration problems in your gymnasium.

ACOUSTIC AND IMPACT SOLUTIONS

We know the problems of the fitness industry and that is why we have created a range of acoustic and vibration isolation products that avoid all these problems.

The key to a floor’s ability to absorb impact is its ability to deform every time it is subjected to falling weights or a jump. However, an excessively soft floor is a danger for your customers, as it compromises their stability.

That’s why our solutions have the optimum balance between deformability and stability. Whatever the noise level you have in your gym, we have the solution.

Our acoustic insulation products combined with our floors act on low frequencies, preventing excessive noise in gyms.