There are a few things that transform a gym or functional training space like the addition of a sled track. You’ve probably used a sled track at your sports club, commercial gym, or even (if you’re lucky enough to have the space) your own home gym.
But why are gym sled tracks so effective? And how do they differ? At Absolute Performance, we’ve been installing sled tracks into gyms and training facilities for nearly 15 years, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that no two are ever quite the same.
For starters, there’s the quality of the sled track matting itself. We supply a number of different grades of sled track carpeting ranging in durability, thickness, colour range and ‘customisability’ (we’ll come to that later). The first things to think about when selecting your gym sled track are: ‘Who will be using it?’ and ‘What will be ‘sledding’ on it?’
WHO IS USING MY GYM SLED TRACK TURF?
For those installing gyms which will have relatively low footfall or whose users will be wearing softer footwear or no shoes at all, lower grades of durability are fine. There are even circumstances where you may look for greater thickness (or ‘pile’) when you don’t intend on using a sled on your turf at all! These are often in training spaces such as yoga studios, gymnastics arenas, functional bodywork, and plyometric areas.
If your gym users are a bit more hardcore, you may want to consider a more durable grade of gym sled track turf. These can include rugby gym installations, football gym installations, and educational gym installations which cater to a huge range of sports. Though it is not recommended to use studs on any type of gym flooring, it’s sometimes difficult to stop the occasional unruly rugby player walking in from the pitch!
“WHAT WILL BE ‘SLEDDING’ ON MY GYM SLED TRACK TURF?”
The many sizes and types of gym sleds, prowler sleds, and speed sleds which can be used both on gym turf and pitches mean that sled tracks need to stand up to a lot of punishment from not only shoes but skidding metallic surfaces.
A heavily weighted prowler sled with 100kg being pushed by a burly American Football player is a formidable force. Repeated impacts and friction like this mean choosing the correct durability of gym sled track turf is essential. At Absolute Performance, we’ve installed training facilities for literally hundreds of different athletic and sporting dedications (even the 2016 and 2020 Olympics), which means that no matter what you’re doing on your gym turf, we have a solution to fulfill your gym installation needs.
UNDERNEATH YOUR GYM SLED TRACK
One very important factor in installing a new gym sled track is understanding the surface of the gym turf that will be applied to. For instance, as gym turfs are almost always applied with a gluing compound, a solid concrete floor may not be the ideal surface to achieve a strong bond.
Failing glue means moving turf, which is bad news when you’re sometimes applying hundreds of kilos of force on a foot-sized patch of gym sled track. To achieve years of performance use, it is sometimes necessary to apply plywood or rubber rollout flooring to absorb friction and guarantee a strong and reliable bond under your sled track. Not only that, but if the rest of your gym flooring space is thicker rubber tiling, it may be necessary to lay an appropriate thickness of flooring underneath to achieve a smooth and level transition onto your turf sled track.
COLOUR
When choosing the ideal gym turf sled track for your training facility or home gym, it’s important to both you and the users to select the right colour. Although we all love a bit of colour in our gym flooring, this isn’t just for aesthetics. A nicely contrasted or matching colour scheme can either harmonise or easily distinguish one training area from another in your gym. Gym sled turf tracks are no different. In a busy commercial gym, you don’t want your users idly walking into the path of a heavyweight prowler sled. Differing colours of gym turf and rubber flooring can easily avoid this problem. Happily, we stock a huge array of different colours of gym turf of varying thicknesses and durabilities.
CUSTOMISATION
At Absolute Performance, we understand that every gym is different. This is even more true when it comes to the marketing-minded gym owner who wishes to show off their brand with a customised gym turf sled track. Many of our varieties of gym sled track come with the added option of gym turf customisation. Whether you need particular stripes, meter markers, logos or even rainbow colours added to your gym sled track, we can take requests or even use your specific artwork to create a truly unique functional sled track for your training space.
All in all, there truly is little we can’t do to create the perfect sled track for your training space. We’ve installed turf tracks in home gyms, athletic training facilities, corporate gyms, university gyms, school gyms, commercial gyms and even Olympic training camps.
If you’re searching for advice on a training space you’re looking to install, or simply upgrading or replacing your already existing gym sled track, get in touch with our friendly and experienced sales team who will be more than happy to advise on the right gym flooring solution for you.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU CONTACT US FOR SLED TRACKS OR GYM TURF:
– Who will be using it and what for?
– The size of your gym
– The length and width of you intended gym sled track
– What is the gym turf being laid onto?
– Do you have surrounding gym flooring? How thick is it?
– What colour of gym turf would you like?
– Would you like to customise your indoor turf with colour or a logo?
