Exercise Mats

2009-04-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

Exercise mats are essential these days for anyone that wants total body fitness and that trains primarily indoors. They’re commonplace not only in gyms, but also in yoga classes and martial arts classes. I’ve personally used them since I started training 20 years ago, and they’ve allowed me to exercise my body to fullest extent, including abdominal work and long stretching sessions. But exercise mats are not limited to just a few functions. There are many indeed that make good use of them.

Meditation on exercise mats makes for a comfortable and relaxing experience, exactly the physical and mental state one needs for meditative practice. Meditation is nearly impossible if done in a poor environment where the mind is incapable of relaxing. And believe me, sitting on a hard floor, chair, or standing for long periods of time are not conducive to a relaxing mind.

Stretching, like meditation, requires relaxation. And trying to stretch on hard wood floors or stretching bars is limiting and at times painful. Good exercise mats, ones that don’t stick but provide good padding from the hard floor promotes comfortable stretching even while in uncomfortable positions. You’ll be able to hold your positions longer and without the pain of bone on flooring.

Abdominal training on exercise mats is exceedingly more beneficial than working on an uncomfortable surface. They also protect the lower back, bony hips, the shoulders and head, depending on the type of abdominal work. And one of my favorite ab exercises, the plank, holding the body in a pushup position but supporting with the forearms instead of the hands, is best done on a soft surface. You’ll be able to increase your hold times and burn those abs to oblivion.

And one of my favorite uses for exercise mats, certain kinds that is, is floor padding for martial arts falling and rolling. Learning throwing and sweeping techniques is too dangerous without providing a soft landing for the person getting thrown. Even on good mats the impact of falling can knock the wind out of you. But with good exercise mats at least the fear of broken or chipped bones can be removed. And it allows students to grow gradually, practicing the complete technique safely until advanced levels are reached.

Whether you’re training at a gym or you’re putting together a home gym, exercise mats allow for complete body training. It provides a comfortable way to train parts of the body and mind that aren’t conveniently trained with exercise equipment or basic calisthenics.