Weight room mats can help crossfit enthusiasts and weightlifters execute exercises safely and properly. When someone first starts working out, they often charge into the weight room, guns blazing. The enthusiasm is great, but beginners must be aware of the nature of weightlifting, especially its risks and hazards. Picking up heavy items is not without safety concerns, especially for new gym rats!
At its most essential, weightlifting involves an individual using physical strength, muscle coordination and balance to manipulate heavy weights in a prescribed manner. Now, most veteran weightlifters probably wouldn’t define weight training like this verbatim, but they do understand that proper technique is vital to prevent injury and maximize results. To learn proper technique, a beginning lifter should consult an experienced trainer for instruction and critique. But, before you seek instruction, set up the proper weight training environment with weight training mats. Here are a few “Must Have” reasons for rubber weight room mats.
Usually most weight rooms are floored with rubber flooring. In areas where extra attention is needed, rubber weight room mats are installed under heavy weightlifting equipment, like a squat rack or bench press. This offers an extra pad of protection for the floor and the equipment being thrown onto it. Generally made with eco-friendly recycled rubber, rubber mats provide excellent grip to prevent weight training equipment from slipping or rocking. This is not only an important safety measure, but also a necessity for proper weightlifting technique. On harder slipperier surfaces like concrete, equipment may slip or rock back and forth during use, causing the lifter to compensate by twisting, turning and contorting her body. Equipment and feet are stabilized by a rubber mat which allows the lifter to focus on their technique instead of crashing to the floor.
Weight training mats also serves as a demarcation between the machine’s range of movement and safe-to-stand areas. When I was in high school weight class, black rubber mats were placed underneath each of the weight machines. One of the first rules of the class was to stay away from the black mats if you weren’t using the machine; the black mats were areas where there was potential danger from moving weights. For beginning lifters, this safety precaution is imperative to avoid serious injury.
Whether you are setting up a commercial gym, a high school weight room or even just a home lifting room, weight room mats are essential in helping a beginner lift properly, safely and effectively. Rubber mats also protect your floor and equipment from damage and will remain durable and resilient for many lifting sessions.