Exercise mat - what is it?

Welcome to another #Beshaped post! On our blog you will find advice on nutrition, exercise, suggestions on choosing the right clothes and a handful of tips on typical female issues.

This post is dedicated to the topic of exercising at home, and to be more precise, we dedicate it to exercise mats, which are basically an essential element of home workouts.

If you are at a stage where, after the pandemic, you have switched from fitness classes in a club and gym to exercising at home, or you have had a child and you do not really have the opportunity to leave the house and spend more than two hours in the gym, you are definitely either reaching a point where an exercise mat is simply necessary or you already have such a thing as an exercise mat but you are looking for a new one. Since you are here, I assume that you probably know that an exercise mat at home is indeed necessary - it protects us from injuries and significantly increases the comfort of exercise.

But - what are the differences between mats? Can you make a bad choice? Why use an exercise mat at all and why is it worth using one?

In this post, we will help you find answers to questions such as:
1. What does an exercise mat offer? What should you pay attention to when choosing one?
2. Exercise mat for what? Why is it so important? Why, if you exercise at home, do you need this accessory?
3. How much does an exercise mat cost?

In addition to these important questions, we will tell you what kind of mats are available on the market, what they can be made of, and which type of mat will work best for a specific type of exercise.

So let's start from the beginning!

What are the benefits of exercise mats and what to look for when choosing a mat for yourself? Exercise mat what does it give, exercise mat why:

Of course, we could start this paragraph by listing a whole bunch of advantages of exercise mats in dashes, but would that convince you? Maybe to some extent, but in our opinion, for a given argument to be truly credible and convincing, it is worth placing the given facts in practical circumstances!

What does an exercise mat do? What features make it easier and safer for our body during exercise?

During exercise, one of the most important issues is the safety of the joints. Whether your joints will be safe during exercise depends of course on many factors, including a proper warm-up, but one of the additional factors is whether, for example, when performing abductions in a supported kneeling position, your knees are properly secured.

What makes a given mat better or worse at protecting our joints - knees and wrists?

Its THICKNESS. The most popular and most common mats on the Polish market are 3 to 6 mm thick. These thicknesses are most often found in gyms, pilates schools, yoga or fitness centers. In addition to the most common thicknesses: 3 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm, there is also a category of thin mats and thick mats. Thin mats are mats dedicated to travel and short-term use - in this category you will find mats with a thickness of even 1 mm or 1.5 mm. In addition to travel mats, there are thick mats with a thickness of 8 mm to 1 cm - these are dedicated primarily to very intensive and dynamic exercises. Their main purpose is to ensure maximum stability. What thickness is the safest and optimal? For diverse exercises at home, which consist of aerobic elements, exercises taken from yoga and pilates, choose mats whose thickness is in the range of 6 to 8 mm.

Exercise Mat - Is It Necessary?

We have already established that a gymnastics mat is necessary. Apart from the fact that, depending on its thickness, it protects our joints from injuries and strains, the issue of safety is also important. An exercise mat, especially at home, protects us from losing balance and uncontrolled slipping.
So, the most important answer to the question: “What does an exercise mat provide?” It provides safety and control while exercising.

What exercises will an exercise mat be useful for?

An exercise mat is basically essential for all exercises that involve our knees as support for the body. It is also useful for other exercises in sitting or lying positions. Given its anti-slip properties, it is also good to do standing exercises on it.
The exercise mat is perfect for home pilates, yoga, stretching, leg, buttock and abdominal exercises.

How much does an exercise mat cost? Exercise mat price:

How much does an exercise mat cost? The price variation that occurs in the context of mats is basically comparable to the price variation of other products - in stores you will find mats at low, medium and high prices.
- Exercise mat price for a thin mat ranges from PLN 49 to PLN 149
- Exercise mat price for a medium thick mat ranges from PLN 79 to PLN 199
- Exercise mat price for thick mats usually starts from PLN 179 and goes up to PLN 300
To sum up, as you can see, it is impossible to answer in one sentence the question of how much an exercise mat costs.

Where to buy an exercise mat?

Technical issues are behind us. Time for decisions and two most important issues:
- exercise mat price? How much do exercise mats cost, why is there such a large price difference on the market? Why can you buy a mat for 40 PLN in a supermarket, but in dedicated, specialized stores, the prices of mats are much higher?
- where to buy an exercise mat? should I buy a mat at a discount store, a supermarket, or a specialist shop?
Of course, each of these questions must be answered independently to some extent because where and what kind of mat to buy and how much to invest depends on how much we plan to exercise and what type of training we want to do most often.

If you need help making a choice, write to us!