Ok. I admit it. I like to play Dance Dance Revolution.
The trouble is, my TV and game system are on the second floor of my house, and dancing my 260lb ass shakes the entire house. Because of this, I haven’t played in a long time. I’m trying to lose weight now, and it would be good exercise for me to play DDR again.
So, I thought that maybe I could construct a sort of platform that would absorb the jumping enough to allow me to play. I’m thinking getting a piece of plywood and attaching some sort of thick, rubbery foam to the bottom. I’d like to know if I have any chance of success before I buy anything. Does anyone think this will work? Any suggestions for an appropriate shock absorbing material, and where I could buy it?
Martial arts supply stores will have a selection of grappling and fall mats that have good shock absorbing qualities. I don’t know how well they would work out for dancing, but you could probably find a store in the yellow pages and check one out.
The sort of foam couch cushions are made of is probably good enough for this, especially with a large area such as a 4x4 sheet of plywood. If it can hold your weight on the furniture, it should be able to hold your weight on the floor, especially when spread out over sixteen square feet. Two inches thick ought to do the trick. Any thicker, and you’ll run into problems with the thing being squishy and wanting to tip up if you step too close to an edge.
Fabric shops would have the foam - something like Joann or New York Fabrics. Ask them to hook you up with a can of spray glue that won’t dissolve the foam. If you let them know you’ll be gluing the foam to wood, they should know exactly what kind of glue you’ll need.
For the plywood, places like Home Depot or Lowes have pre-cut half-sheets of plywood available - 4x4 feet. Get 3/4" thick plywood or particle board - the weight of the stuff will suck up some of the impact of your dancing, leaving less for the foam to absorb.
Unless you’re dancing with the abandon of a uhhh, flying cow, this ought to bring peace to the house.