Gym acoustics play a crucial role in user satisfaction. While some level of noise is to be expected, crashing weights and piercing metal on metal sounds can make a gym too noisy to enjoy even with a pair of headphones.

Ideally, gym users should be able to have a conversation without raising their voice. This requires acoustic isolation by absorbing sounds and vibration. There are a few ways this can be done, depending on gym size.

Acoustic flooring

Noises caused by heavy impacts play havoc on gym acoustics. You need a floor that can absorb impacts and shock and deaden the sound.

Gym flooring systems should include an underlay and a top layer at a minimum. This two-layer system is sufficient for most gym zones.

The bottom layer is an underlay made from EVA foam or another expanded rubber, which is squishy and designed to absorb heavy impacts.

The top layer is an EPDM rubber in the form of tiles of roll (matting). This layer absorbs the initial impact and shock, so weights don’t bounce.

Sprung floating floors

Sometimes, it is necessary to install a sprung floating floor. These lightweight systems are built over existing floors, often because the floor is in poor condition or because the existing floor doesn’t have good acoustic properties.

By raising the floor with an air gap, sprung floors isolate noise and vibration, effectively solving sound and vibration transfer, an essential consideration in buildings where the gym should not impact other rooms and building users.

Acoustic wall panels

When sounds hit bare walls they bounce off and travel around. We can eliminate this problem with acoustic wall panels. Acoustic wall panels have a ribbed structure that absorbs sounds, eliminating the issue of reverberation.

Acoustic ceiling panels

If your gym is in a dome, hall or just has a high ceiling, acoustic ceiling panels will help reduce reverberation even further. These range from hanging panels suspended from the ceiling to panels that can stick to a solid roof.

Indirect ways to improve acoustics

Once you’ve installed acoustic flooring and acoustic wall panels, you can improve your gym’s acoustics in a few other ways:

• Adjust the volume of music to a level that covers low-level noise (grunts) but allows a conversation.
• Put up notices asking people to respect other and keep the noise down. Say that shouting will not be tolerated.
• Insulate windows and doors to ensure sound leakage doesn’t happen (an important step in gyms open to the public).