Home gym mats are designed to provide durable gym floor protection as well as non-slip safety. Rubber is the ideal material for creating workout floors due to its superior shock absorption and anti-slip capabilities. A shock absorbing workout mat can be made of either post-consumer tire rubber or synthetic rubber materials. A rubber gym floor mat will effectively protect your home gym floors from impacts damage as well as scrapes and abrasions caused by shifting fitness equipment or machines. Additionally, rubber is a naturally non-slip material that will not be affected by moisture. Furthermore, rubber is a highly durable material that will not be damaged or deformed with the use of heavy or abrasive gym equipment.

Why Do You Need Gym Mats?

You need gym mats for home gym floor protection against impacts, abrasions, and vibrations as well as to prevent slip and fall accidents. Home gym mats are made of resilient recycled, reclaimed, SBR, or thermoplastic rubber materials that can offer superior shock absorption and anti-slip properties. Recycled and reclaimed rubbers are post-consumer rubber variations that are made from discarded vehicle tires. Vehicle tires experience harsh conditions and rough terrain without showing signs of damage or deterioration. The same durability is seen in the performance of a recycled or reclaimed rubber gym floor mat. Recycled rubber home gym mats are made using tire crumb rubber and re-adhering them into a solid material – this produces a surface texture that helps enhance rubber’s natural traction properties. On the other hand, reclaimed rubber is made by heating shredded tire rubber and melding them together to form a solid material – this produces a smooth and more solid material than recycled rubber. SBR and thermoplastic rubbers are synthetic rubber variations that are made with a blend of chemical compounds, allowing for ultra-durable home gym mats. SBR is “a general-purpose synthetic rubber, produced from a copolymer of styrene and butadiene...particular advantages include excellent abrasion resistance, crack resistance, and generally better aging characteristics” (Britannica.com). Because it is a synthetic rubber, SBR is made with a blend of chemicals, meaning it will be more durable and long-lasting than natural rubber materials. Contrastingly, thermoplastic rubber is usually made using a blend of plastic and rubber materials. Due to its makeup, thermoplastic rubber retains “the ability to stretch to moderate elongations and return to its near original shape creating longer life and better physical range than other materials” (Wikipedia.org). Thanks to its resilient properties, thermoplastic rubber can provide long-lasting rubber home gym mats that can withstand harsh settings involving abrasive equipment or fitness machines.

• (a) Why Do People Put Mats Under Workout Equipment?

  People put mats under workout equipment for gym floor protection and to help keep equipment in place while in use. Rubber offers superior shock absorption capabilities that cannot be achieved by other materials. Oftentimes, home gyms will be filled with heavy equipment and vibrating fitness machines. It is inevitable that some equipment, such as weights, will be accidentally dropped – heavy gym equipment can easily dent or crack workout floors. Additionally, fitness machines emit constant vibrations that will eventually damage workout floors with enough exposure. A rubber shock absorbing workout mat has the unique ability to return to its original form when pressure is removed from the surface of the mat. A shock absorbing workout mat can also absorb the force of impacts without worry of damage. Case in point, “[Rubber] has the ability to deform significantly by tension, compression, or torsion and then return to almost its original shape upon release” (journals.sagepub.com). This bounce back allows rubber home gym mats to effectively prevent damaging energy from reaching the subfloor. A rubber gym floor mat also retains a naturally grippy surface, providing a safe and non-slip surface. Rubber is naturally a traction-enhancing material that retains a high coefficient of friction that is not affected by moisture on its surface. This grippy surface helps keep equipment and fitness machines in place while also keeping feet firmly planted while during exercises. Usually, rubber home gym mats are available with an added surface pattern that helps enhance rubber’s natural traction-enhancing properties by acting as extra gripping points for footwear to grab onto for better grip. Rubber home gym mats are used for both home floor protection as well as non-slip safety.

Home gyms are filled with abrasive equipment and fitness machines that can damage your expensive home floors. The use of rubber workout floors can help significantly reduce chances of damage coming to your floors. A rubber shock absorbing workout mat can be made of either post-consumer or synthetic rubber materials. Recycled and reclaimed rubbers are the two post-consumer rubber variations that are made from vehicle tire rubber. Due to their makeup, recycled and reclaimed rubber will retain the same durable and long-lasting properties seen on vehicle tires. On the other hand, synthetic rubbers, SBR and thermoplastic rubber, are made with a blend of chemicals that enhance their strength. Due to the resilient materials used to make home gym mats, they can efficiently protect your home floor from any damage.