Do I Need an Equipment Mat for My Elliptical Trainer?
An equipment mat is a mat that sits at the base of a piece of exercise equipment like an elliptical. It is similar to an exercise mat in terms of appearance but is made of heavy duty rubber making them extremely durable. Equipment mats sit perfectly under the machine and serves several purposes. Some use a mat while others do not but placing a mat under your elliptical can do a lot of good. Let’s discuss why you need an equipment mat for your elliptical.
Benefits of Equipment Mat
Floor Protection
Whether you have carpet in your home gym or hard flooring, an equipment mat will protect your flooring. For hard floors like hardwood, laminate and tile, such a large, heavy machine like an elliptical trainer will damage the flooring. It is almost impossible not to have scratches or a series of scuffs on your floor but laying down a mat prior will keep flooring damage free. Equipment mats also protect carpet by preventing those deep indentations that never seem to go away.
Noise Reduction
Elliptical trainers produce vibrations when in use. The continual motion that occurs stride after stride creates vibrations that increase the noise output of the machine. This noise is increased more when the user weighs close to 200 pounds. Ideally, an elliptical should be quiet during operation. It makes the workout more enjoyable. Having that soft surface below the machine acts as a cushion to reduce noise, absorbs the vibrations and muffles sound.
Non-Slip Surface
Rubber equipment mats also provide users with a non-slip surface when they get off of the machine. Those who use ellipticals regularly have probably slipped or lost their footing as they were dismounting the trainer but the mat will decrease the chance of that happening.
Improved Stability
Having a shock absorbent surface under an elliptical will improve the stability of the machine. Several models have a small base that can cause the trainer to rock back and forth during use. The cushion provided by the equipment mat will stabilize the unit.
Prolonged Machine Life
Many are surprised by this but placing a mat underneath your elliptical will prolong the life of the machine. Mats do this by protecting the parts against carpet fibers and dust that may become trapped in the moving parts. They also balance friction. Dust and fibers cause obstructions while a friction imbalance can result in the misalignment of essential components which can cause them to fail leaving the trainer less comfortable or inoperable.
As you can see, you do need an equipment mat for your elliptical. This inexpensive and very durable mat will protect your floor, reduce noise, prevent slips, improve stability and prolong the life of your trainer. A small $15 to $50 investment is definitely worth it.
5 Best Mat for elliptical trainers
SuperMats Heavy Duty Equipment Mat 30GS
Wonder how you can keep your floors protected from unnecessary strains from the heavy exercise equipment? Well stop wondering, you can always use an exercise mat to avoid direct contact of the metal body of the exercise equipment and your home floor.
Also, you can use the Heavy-duty exercise mat 30GS from SuperMats to do a workout without equipment.
Features:
- Durable: Metal bodies of the equipment tend to damage any specific mat. But not this one, it has sheer durability that guarantees protection from heavy exercise strains from the exercise equipment.
- Mat cushion: the mat has a thick cushion that prevents dust from entering the equipment and wearing them quickly.
- Fits various equipment: usually, there are specific types of mats for specific equipment. But this Superman has a size that enables you to keep any equipment unit on it.
Sunny Health & Fitness Exercise Equipment Mat
If you’re willing to buy an exercise mat always opt for the one you can use for multiple purposes. Like this one, the Sunny health & fitness exercise equipment mat, you can use this one to exercise without equipment and also use it to protect your wooden floor, regular floor or carpet from the heavy strain flickering from heavy exercise equipment like treadmill, rowing machine or upright bikes.
Features:
- Material: The mat is made of high-quality high-density EVA foam which ensures comfort while using it for free-hand workout and also keeps the floor safe from heavy equipment.
- Lessens equipment vibration: while using exercise equipment, it’s bound to vibrate and cause some damage to the floor. But the mat comes lessens the vibration that’s inflicted by the equipment.
- Easy to clean: it’s a lightweight mat that you can easily clean. You don’t need any extra stuff to keep it clean from dust.
AmazonBasics High-Density Exercise Equipment and Treadmill Mat
A marketplace is a big place with thousands of similar products. It’s hard to choose only one among those. What makes things easier for everyone is when it gets recommended by the marketplace itself.
So, introducing AmazonBasics High-density exercise equipment treadmill mat which can be an ideal choice for you.
Features:
- High-quality material: the mat is made of high-quality PVC that ensures that the floor gets no strain whatsoever coming from your exercise equipment.
- Big size: usually the size of any mats is between 6 feet of length but this one is 8 feet long to meet your needs if your equipment is big.
- Warranty: exercise mats don’t carry warranty but this is a special one which comes with a 1-year warranty from Amazon Basics.
BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat
Want to make your exercise mat fun and stylish? The best possible option for you is the BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat. It is literally a puzzle. It’s a mat with 36 pieces that you have to interlock with each other in order to set up as a whole mat. Sounds fun right? Indeed it is.
Features:
- Moisture resistant: mats are usually foam-like so they are expected to soak in and hold water for a sufficient amount of time. It makes the cleaning process easy but the drying process hard. But with the moisture-resistant technology, you get to keep this mat moisture free and clean with ease.
- Easy to assemble: with the lightweight interlocking technology you get to assemble the mat with ease
- Warranty: the mat comes with a 2-years manufacturer’s warranty so that you can be assured of the quality it provides.
ProsourceFit Puzzle Exercise Mat
Usually, puzzle mats are not considered perfect for flooring for gym equipment. Because of the obvious reasons of course. But this one, in particular, is designed to ensure that you can easily keep your gym equipment on it to keep your floor safe from the strain coming from the weight.
Features:
- Floor protection: the non-skid tiles provide extra protection to the floor as well as comfortable exercise experience.
- Noise reduction: the low vibration technology helps to zone out the vibration that causes even the slightest noise from the equipment.
- Superior quality material: superior quality EVA foam ensures the perfect floor protection and cushion for a comfortable workout.
Do I Need an Exercise Mat?
An exercise mat is one of those must-haves everyone should own. They are inexpensive and extremely useful. Whether you do most of your workouts at the gym, in a yoga studio or at home, having a comfortable mat on hand for floor work adds a certain level of comfort and can actually improve the efficiency of floor exercises. Let’s discuss the instances in which an exercise mat can be used and how it can help.
Home Workouts
Whether you have hardwood floors, tile or carpeting, performing exercises like sit-ups, push ups, the plank or donkey kicks, having that padded, non-slip surface underneath is greatly beneficial. With such moves, you need traction and a certain level of comfort that flooring cannot provide. Without a mat you may get a little rug burn, may feel yourself slipping during certain moves or experience discomfort due to the pressure associated with having your knees or elbows against a hard surface. As a plus, they lay nicely on the floor and stay put, unlike towels.
The Gym
Everyone that goes to the gym needs an exercise mat due to the reasons above along with sanitary reasons. Gyms are nice but, unfortunately, they’re filled with germs. Mats are available at most gyms but they are breeding grounds for bacteria. Having one of your own reduces your exposure to bacteria while providing the flexibility to perform all the exercises in your workout routine.
Yoga or Pilates
In a yoga or Pilates class, an exercise mat will designate your personal workout area, prevent you from slipping and bringing your own will guarantee that you get a mat for class (there is often a limited supply).
Types of Exercise Mats
As you can see, if you exercise on a regular basis, you need a mat. If you don’t have one already or your old one needs replacing, be sure to get the mat that suits your needs. There are fitness mats, yoga mats, and Pilates mats. Fitness mats are for general use, tend to be the most inexpensive and are made of foam or other soft material. Some feature air pockets for additional support and come in a variety of sizes. Yoga mats, as you may have guessed, are best suited for yoga. They are thinly cushioned mats with a sticky non-slip surface that is easy to clean and tote around. Pilates mats are much thicker to better cushion the body during various Pilates moves. They also feature a non-slip surface and are portable.
