These days, when it comes to fitness and healthy living, not everyone can afford a gym membership or prefers to exercise in a commercial gym space. In many cases, a simple home gym setup beats having to drive to a public gym where people may worry about feeling self-conscious over their technique or looking like they know what they’re doing. Sometimes people get self-conscious or uncomfortable about having to share an exercise machine with a stranger or using a public training mat, so they opt instead for other exercise environments.

For example, making a habit of hiking or running outdoors can, in many cases, be a fun and fulfilling workout routine. As a supplement to these activities, setting up a small and private gym in your home makes for an easy and inexpensive alternative to holding a public gym membership. A small home gym complete with workout mats is perfect for private strength training and other exercises that are stationary or limited in movement and available space.

For the optimal home gym experience, however, it is important to invest in a quality training mat specific to your personal needs. While commercial gyms are typically large with high ceilings and heavy machinery that require heavy duty workout mats, a lightweight training mat would meet all your personal home gym needs. Home gym mats made of rubber usually come in smaller sizes made for people doing low-impact exercises and setting up private gyms where easy mobilization may be required.

Workout mats made of rubber are perfect for floor-based workouts such as yoga because of its lightness and mobility. For this reason, storage is clear and simple, and the soft material of a rubber training mat aids in exercise safety. Not only is a rubber training mat mobile, but it is also versatile in its uses and functionality. While it is great for yoga, it is also good for general floor stretches, mountain climber exercises, and most all other floor-based exercises. A training mat made of rubber is durable as well as pliable, so it can take quite a bit of abuse from physical exercise. Its durability and elasticity also makes it a reliable way of protecting your home flooring from any and all kinds of exercise-related damage.

In a home gym, some of the heaviest equipment anyone would have is typically an elliptical or treadmill. If damage to your residential floors is a concern, home gym mats are also ideal for this purpose. Most gym mats are thick because of high-impact workouts or because of the floors that need protection from heavy machinery. However, since a home gym doesn’t have so many of these machines, a simple training mat would suffice. While the thinner size makes for easy rolling and mobility, double-sided tape can be used to install a rubberized training mat as a protective measure underneath these machines. If a more permanent private gym is something you’re looking for, these home gym mats can also be an ideal option for long-term installment because they are fairly inexpensive and can be purchased in large quantities. Since the rubber training mat is in fact so inexpensive, that makes them easily replaceable should any damage occur or if user preference decidedly changes.

Workout mats are also ideal for home gyms because of the versatility of its uses. In home gyms, what do most people use their training mat for? Since there aren’t typically that many huge workout machine options in a private residential gym, many people do cardio exercises in their home such as jumping jacks or burpees. There are also low-impact exercises like pushups, planks, or various yoga stretches. For any of the floor-based workouts, a rubber training mat is helpful for providing extra padding and physical safety. The high-impact exercises could use rubber home gym mats because it is made of an excellent cushioning material that helps with absorbing the impact and sound.

The inherent resilience and elasticity of rubber makes workout mats great especially for home gyms where there is shared space. For purposes of cushioning and padding, home gym mats made of rubber effectively absorb heavy blows from high-impact workouts like Insanity or P90x. It is also a great material for softening the blow from dropped kettlebells, barbells, and any other weights you might have in your personal home gym. Since a rubber training mat absorbs contact so well, it softens the sound of impact, which is ideal for anyone who is concerned with disturbing their roommates. If you are someone who lives in an apartment building, a training mat made of rubber is also perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to be that noisy neighbor.

For the optimal home gym experience, investing in a training mat—or a few—carries more pros than cons. Home gym mats aid in physical safety and help to absorb hard contact from high-impact exercises as well as any drops from heavy kettlebells and other weights. By acting as a cushion to such heavy blows, these workout mats also help to soften the noise and keep your exercise routine quiet. In addition to this, training mats are also ideal for quick and easy mobility purposes. If anyone looks to invest in home gym equipment, a rubber training mat is certainly not something to pass up.