Exercise Mats Are Essential Accessories When Preparing to Work Out!
Water, check. Towel, check. Gym shorts, check. Oversized shirt that you got from the insurance company, check. With a few tweaks here and there, you’ll find your pre-workout preparation list very similar. Being prepared with the proper equipment allows for a more efficient workout. Yet, as we run down our list of essentials, we may overlook one of the more useful workout accessories: exercise mats.
Available in rolled rubber or interlocking fitness mats, the rubber covering promotes a safer and more pleasant workout. Here are three ways that exercise mats prepare your workout area:
- Grip: Whether you are contorting your body with yoga exercises or gracefully shifting your weight doing tai chi, it’s critical to have a stable footing with the floor beneath. An incidental slip can be a fateful, and it’s possible to sprain an ankle or overextend muscles. Using rubber mats for exercise activities introduces slip-resistance to a workout area. Shoes and bare feet maintain better toehold with the rubber material due to the naturally high coefficient of friction of the stretchy material.
- Cushion: Working out on a hard floor surface can be pretty unforgiving. Just doing abdominal crunches on a hard surface like concrete can be painful. The reason? Harder surfaces do not flex when pressure is applied. Instead, it forces your body to conform to the surface, which can result as anything from a tolerable pinch to a painful abrasion. Rubber is a material that flexes upon pressure, much like a spring or a pillow (though, I wouldn’t recommend sleeping on an exercise mat!). Hence, utilizing the mats for exercise sets a workout area for safety and comfort.
- Anti-microbial: Rubber does not harbor the growth of mold or mildew, two debilitating threats to your health. Both rolled rubber and interlocking fitness mats are also incredibly easy to clean, only requiring a quick sweep or mopping. A hygienic workout area ensures that you’re on your feet, heart-beating instead of in bed, sleeping.
Exercise mats supply features that make your workout safer and more comfortable. The surface grip and cushiony composition of the rubber mats help reduce the risk of injury and is invaluable for stationary and dynamic physical activities alike. The mobility of the long-lasting mats allows any user to position and relocate their workout area as he sees fit. In preparing for your next workout, take advantage of the beneficial flooring accessory. Rubber mat, check!