Exercise Mat Buying Guide
In recent years, home fitness exercises have become a new way of fitness. This trend is not only simple, but also allows you to develop good exercise habits. If you also have the idea of working out at home, then I suggest you read this article, which will definitely help you choose a fitness exercise mat that suits you.
Catalog:
- Exercise Mat Function
- The difference between exercise mats and yoga mats
- Exercisemat buying guide
- Exercise mat recommendation
- Exercise mat FAQ
一、Exercise Mat and Fitness Mat Function
After a person reaches a certain age, body muscles will be lost over time. Proper fitness exercise is the best way for you to fight against time and keep young. Many people don’t like to exercise outdoors or in the gym. In contrast, home fitness has become the best choice for most people. Even the currently popular online fitness live broadcast courses can satisfy your diversified fitness needs. Exercise is needed. In addition, whether you are practicing static stretching or dynamic aerobic training. A comfortable fitness exercise mat can bring you better comfort. First of all, it can ensure your stable balance and safety during training. Secondly, appropriate thickness can also improve cushioning performance and comfort. Therefore, the role of fitness mats is still very important.
二、The Difference Between Exercise Mats and Yoga Mats
Yoga Mat
Yoga is essentially static, and many of its basic movements are stretching and relaxation. Therefore, what a yoga mat needs is sufficient stability, followed by cushioning, anti-slip, wear-resistant and other properties. From another perspective, a suitable thickness yoga mat can also be used as a sports fitness mat. Its main functions are cushioning and anti-slip. It can reduce sports injuries to some extent.
Currently, there are many types of yoga mats on the market. The main materials are rubber, PU, suede, cork, TPE, and EVA. The thickness of yoga mats is mainly 3-10mm. Beginners are recommended to use relatively thickness yoga mat.
Exercise Mat
If the yoga mat is static, the exercise fitness mats are moving. Because exercise fitness mats have to withstand your high-intensity dynamic aerobic training needs, this type of mats pay more attention to anti-slip and wear resistance, followed by stability and cushioning. The mainstream best exercise mats currently on the market are basically EVA, TPE, rubber and high-density PVC, which are not only wear-resistant, stable and non-slip. However, many people practice static exercises such as planks and sit-ups as well as stretching and relaxation on fitness mats. Therefore, fitness mats don’t need to be very wear-resistant and non-slip. Thick and cheap yoga mats such as NBR and PVC materials are more suitable.
三、How To Choose The Exercise Mat
There are many different styles of fitness mats on the market, but they all have the same purpose, so we mainly consider these aspects: material, thickness, size, resilience, stability, etc.
Material
1. PVC
This material must be foamed to have rebound and anti-slip properties. It is a representative material for low-end mattresses. It has a soft texture (low density) and is quite comfortable, but it is not very durable and has an odor. However, the best feature of this mat is cheap.
2. NBR
NBR is the abbreviation of rubber foam material nitrile rubber. Its main feature is lightness and low density. Therefore, this fitness mat is thick and light, soft, elastic, comfortable and sponge-like to use. The thickness of this fitness mat is usually between 8-10mm. When practicing on it, it is much more comfortable than other materials. It is also very cheap. However, This kind of exercise mat is not durable and can only be used for static exercises. You can use it to stretch and relax, do planks, and sit-ups. On the contrary, there is no way to do aerobic movements that require high stability, anti-skid and wear resistance.
3. Rubber
Compared with the previous mats, the price of rubber sports mats will be higher. The thickness of rubber fitness mats is usually 2-3cm. It is thick, durable, cushioning, and wih good sound insulation effect. If you are pursuing good quality, rubber mats are a good choice.
4. EVA
EVA is a rubber-plastic foam material with stable rebound and impact resistance. It is mainly durable. However, it is not as good as other materials in terms of anti-slip, so this material is mostly used as floor mats. If you consider the economy at home, you can try this product, but you must wear shoes to practice.
Fitness Mat Thickness
For high-intensity running and jumping sports like aerobics, don’t choose a fitness exercise mat that is too thick especially a material with a relatively low density. You need to ensure the stability and anti-slip performance of the movement. For example, the thickness of NBR and PVC exercise mat with a maximum of 10mm are enough. If it is too thick, it will hard to use. In addition to being comfortable, it is not durable and unstable. If the fitness mat is a high-density material such as TPE or high-density PVC, you can choose 6-8mm gym mats, or you can select a thicker one. Fitness floor mats are already very thick, basically between 2-3cm, so there is no need to consider this issue at all.
All of the above are based on aerobic exercise.
Fitness Mat Size
If you are doing running and jumping exercises, you can choose a shorter exercise mat. If you are doing planks, sit-ups, etc., you can choose a longer workout mat. The gym mat can cover your body. Generally, a 185cm fitness mat is sufficient. If you are using it for multiple people or setting up a small fitness space, you have to consider a large fitness mat.
四、Sports Exercise Fitness Mat Recommendation
1. Fitness Yoga Mat
The standard thickness of a yoga mat is 0.3 to 0.6 cm. The purpose of a yoga mat is to increase traction for the yogi and make it easy to carry. Since yoga comes in many different forms, different mats can be found to suit the changing style. Additionally, yoga mats tend to be individually owned, so you don’t have to worry about the hygiene of shared mats. Even so, remember to clean your mat regularly.
2. General Purpose Exercise Mat
General purpose exercise mats are widely used in gyms. Also it is great for home use. This mat is short and thick, which is designed to cushion the body throughout your workout. This is the ideal mat for most floor exercises like sit-ups, planks, and more.
3. Floor Protecting Exercise Mats
Floor protecting exercise mats are not removable like other mats but are placed in areas designated for exercise. These high-density EVA foam pads absorb impact, reduce noise and help protect the floor beneath. These are typically built in a “jigsaw” style and can be found in home gym environments. Place them under exercise equipment to protect the floor from damage.
五、Exercise Mat FAQ
1.The exercise mat slides easily, how to solve it?
You can choose fitness mats with high density or thickness. The mat is too thin and cannot provide enough grip. Coupled with your high-intensity exercise on it, it is normal for it to shift.
2.How to deal with the attachments on the surface of the fitness mat?
Wipe with a neutral cleaning solution and a clean cloth.
3.How to deal with the breakage and degluing of the fitness mat?
It means that the mat has been damaged and needs to be replaced with a new one in time.
