Treadmill Mats - Treadmill Floor Mat and Gym Equipment Mats

It is easy to overlook accessories like treadmill mats as being something the retailer is trying to sell to make a few extra bucks in profit but in this case, nothing could be further from the truth. Protecting your floors is just one reason you want a floor mat but even more important is the role they play in protecting your exercise equipment as well.

A good thick treadmill mat will prevent dirt and grime from the machine from ruining your floor, stop scrapes, scuffs and gouges from the bulky machinery but also stop carpet fibers, pet hair and other garbage from being sucked up into the motor which can drastically reduce the lifespan of these machines. They also reduce vibration and bouncing by cushioning the impact of your footsteps and dampening down motor vibrations which left to their own devices, will both also lead to increased wear and tear and eventual parts failure which can be avoided with a nice cushioned exercise mat.

Yes, you need one of these and no, it's not all part of an upsell on the part of the retailer. A few dollars spend here can save you a lot of money in the long run.

So you've bought your new exercise machine or you are still in the planning stage and are wondering whether it is necessary to buy a thick rubber treadmill mat or if you can avoid it and save yourself some money.

It's true, accessories like this are an added expense we would all like to avoid, especially when you've already forked out for new exercise machine, but here's the unfortunate fact: home gym equipment mats for treadmill machines are made and sold for a reason and it's not because they look pretty or because retailers want a to lighten your wallet a little further, but for some very good reasons.

This product has numerous benefits some of which will end up costing you much more in the long run should you decide to forego this accessory.

The very first thing you should consider when finding a home for your new machine is where are you going to put it. Chances are, it's going in your house and onto your nice flooring and that's the first reason to consider buying a treadmill mat.

Rug, wood floors, tile, carpet and treadmills simply do not mix very well. Remember, you are taking a large, motorized treadmill and inviting it into your nice clean house. Then you are going to fire it up, jump on it, and start pounding up and down on it for countless hours over the course of its lifetime.

All that pounding will crack and gouge tiles, scuff and tear carpet, scratch and indent wood and heaven knows what else. Your floors will simply not survive unscathed from such rough treatment without some kind of protection from a treadmill floor mat! In addition, you will want to protect your home from the grease, lubricant and other gunk which will make its way off your running machine over time, not to mention your own sweat which will all end up spattered under the machine without a protective cover.

A home exercise equipment floor mat is designed to protect carpet and other flooring from treadmill abuse. They are typically made from some form of thick matting material like rubber, foam, acrylic or other material to absorb shock, prevent slippage and be easy to clean afterwards to mop up lubricant drips or other dirt and grime which can drop off a motorised treadmill.

A totally quiet running machine is a non-operational one...they simply do not exist. That said, yes, you can buy smooth running, quiet treadmills with virtually noiseless motors which make no sound worth whispering about but then you come along and start pounding away and nope...not silky silent any more!

Running machine pads absorb shock and reduce noise levels to a more bearable volume for those around you..and for you yourself if you'd rather sound a little less like a tapdancing elephant whilst working out. Treadmill mats for condo or apartment dwellers are a must have accessory if you want to avoid alienating your neighbors or having your landlord banging on your door with a string of noise complaints.

The same goes for anyone who shares their house with others, especially if you have floorboards under your workout area or have set it up for use upstairs. The rhythmic thumping and banging of your running footsteps are enough to drive the calmest person crazy after a while.

Thick treadmill mat pads control noise pollution by shock absorbtion, cushioning and soudproofing to an extent, in order to reduce noise caused via your workout. A good thick treadmill floor mat will also reduce vibration caused by the motor which leads us on to our third, and perhaps for many, the most important reason to buy a fitness equipment mat in the first place...

The best way to reduce treadmill vibration noise volume is to buy a thick padded treadmill mat. However, these fitness equipment pads not only help soundproof your exercise routine, thus keeping your neighbors and everyone else in the vicinity happy, but also save you money in the long term by reducing the chances you will need to perform repair and maintenance on excessively worn or damaged parts.

If you place any exercise machine directly onto concrete, tiled floor, wood flooring or even carpet, are providing little to no protection against rattling vibration which will resonate through the floors and annoy everyone in earshot but also vibrate back up into the machinery itself, vibrating the frame and all the other joints, components and moving parts increasing wear and tear and eventually expediting a breakdown.

A good sturdy treadmill mat reduces vibration and protects your equipment from long term damage this can cause. In addition, if you are wondering about whether carpet works as a good treadmill pad then don't even think about it as carpeting is one of the worst things for the motor.

Carpet fibers sucked up through the motor filter will soon start to clog it up making it work harder, run hotter and eventually break down without maintenance. A floor pad underneath a runner machine puts a barrier between carpet and running machine and stops this from being a major issue, it also stops a lot of the dust and dirt from other types of flooring from finding its way up into the works.

Exercise equipment mats come in a variety of different materials and in several different styles. You can find folding gym pads which are nice and easy to stow away when you are done using them, which is especially useful if you have something like a folding treadmill for example as you can stow everything after use. There are interlocking gym mats which fit together like a puzzle allowing you to build it as big or small as you need or just the plain simple ones which are just made from a single piece of rubber or foam.

They vary in thickness, type of material used, size and coating and chosing the right one for your needs should bring into account a few of these things. For example, a thick fitness mat will be better at damping down sound and are generally more expensive but if you are only interested in protecting the carpet, you can buy cheap and thin instead. The type again depends upon what you need. Rubber treadmill mats can leave rubber skid marks on sensitive floors and if it's a permanent fixture you might prefer a clear transparent PVC treadmill mat as they blend in a little better with your décor when you can see your flooring through it rather than choosing the more industrial looking black rubber.