One thing that you are going to need to decide on is how thick you want your mat to be. Exercise mats are typically sold at any thickness between 1/4 of an inch thick all of the way to 1/2 of an inch. You may also be able to find mats that are thicker than 1/2 an inch but they are not as common. There are a few tradeoffs that you are going to want to consider as your mat gets thicker.

There are a few reasons why you would want to own a thicker mat. A thicker mat is going to provide you with more cushion between you and floor. This will help to relieve pressure points, absorb impact, and make it easier on your joints. A thicker mat also weighs more and will be less prone to slipping than a thin mat will be as well. Finally, mats that are thicker are less prone to wear and tear than thinner mats.

However, the thicker the mat gets the less you are going to be able to feel the floor. This will reduce the amount of stability that you have as you are exercising which can make certain workouts more difficult. Thicker mats are not as easy to pack and carry with you either so if you are looking for something to take to and from the health club than you are going to want to look for a mat that is thinner. Your goal in picking out an exercise mat will be to find the perfect balance in thickness that allows you to work out in a comfortable fashion and make your exercising on the mat enjoyable.

The surface area is the part of the mat that touches your body and the floor so it's a critical area that you are going to want to think about when you are shopping for a good mat. You can get textured mats, smooth ones, and sticky mats. All of them have a significantly different feel to them so you are going to want to try a few different ones out in different styles to figure out which ones are the most comfortable for your body.

A textured mat is one that has a bumpy surface. The idea of the bumpy surface is to make sure that the mat doesn't slide around on you. Textured surfaces can come in the form of bumps or raised patterns that will let the mat grip the floor and your body. This will reduce the likely hood of you slipping and falling but for some people, the texture can feel uncomfortable.

If you find the texture to be uncomfortable, you can try a sticky mat. This kind of mat works by creating a suction between the mat and the floor so that the mat doesn't slip. Typically the mat will be smooth on the top and sticky on the bottom so this design accommodates people who want to feel a smooth surface on their skin. However, you may feel the mat start to stick to your body while you are using it which can be annoying to some people.

A final option is to get a one-sided mat that is smooth on the top and sticky or textured on the bottom. This makes it possible for you to get a non-slip surface but still have a smooth surface for your skin. You will need to pay attention to which side is the top and bottom when using this kind of mat.

You aren't going to be using your mat all of the time throughout your day so you are going to want to put it away when you are finished using it. That means that you are going to want to take a look at what it takes to store the mat between uses. Of course, this can vary a little bit depending on what sort of mat you happen to buy but most of them are stored similarly.

For many mats, you simply need to roll them up when you are not using the mat. Better designed mats will have straps included with the mat that will keep it rolled up so that it doesn't unroll. You may find that the straps will also give you a handle so that you can carry the mat. Such a feature can be useful when you want to carry the mat between your car and the health club.

Large mats may not have a carrying handle. Instead, they will normally have straps so that you can keep the mat rolled up and then a storage bag for the mat. This design is normally used for workout mats that are intended to cover a large area in your home. For example, a 36 square foot mat may be stored in a bag. Also, when it comes to home mats, they may not have a storage option. For example, there are puzzle cut mats that are intended to be placed on your floor and left there. These are usually put underneath a piece of large exercise equipment or a weight bench so that your floors are protected from your workout activity.

One of the main reasons to use a workout mat is so that you have a clean surface to lay one rather than on the floor. However, you will need to clean your mat between uses in order for this to continue to be the case. This is why you are going to want to look at the cleaning instructions to make sure that you can wipe your mat clean when you have finished using it. The main kind of mat has a moisture resistant surface and there are also mats that have an absorbing surface. Each of them is cleaned differently.

The moisture resistant surface is a surface that will not allow moisture from sweat or other sources to soak into the mat. Sweat has salt in it which can degrade the foam over time and cause it to break down which is why it's important to wipe the sweat off of the mat quickly. When you have a mat with a moisture resistant surface, you will usually use some sort of a moist towel and just wipe the surface off until it's clean. Many health clubs have moist towels throughout the club which is why this design is popular.

Alternatively, the mat can be designed to absorb sweat. This helps to reduce slipping and can be popular for this reason. Normally, you will wash this kind of mat in the washing machine and then line dry it when it has finished washing it. While it may sound convenient, there is a drawback to this style of a mat. Line drying it can take several hours so you will need to plan accordingly in order to use this kind of mat.

Durability is a common problem when it comes to foam mats. The problem comes from the fact that while foam is a pressure relieving and shock absorbing, it is not strong and is prone to shredding and tearing. This can result in the mat ripping if you are doing an intensive workout or you may experience permanent indentations forming into the mat after you have used it for a while. Other problems come from the surface losing its grip and you may also experience issues where the sides no longer remain flat and start to curl up.

There isn't a lot you can do other than research the mat that you are interested in purchasing. Generally speaking, thicker mats are more likely to be stronger and less likely to tear. When it comes to textured mats, a rougher surface will be able to maintain its grip for a longer period of time as opposed to a smoother surface. This is because it will take longer for a rough surface to wear down from getting rubbed against.

Some mats have mesh in the foam that will reinforce the foam and help it last for a longer period of time. The mesh effectively limits the amount the mat can stretch which will help to prevent tearing and ripping. If you move a lot on your mat, you will want to look for such a feature to help it last longer. Finally, impressions can be avoided by looking for a rubber core or a high-density foam. Rubber is unlikely to form permanent impressions while high-density foam is more likely to resist impressions. Generally speaking, more expensive and higher quality mats are more likely to be durable but this isn't always guaranteed.