Hi all and Happy New Year!! I recently got some new mats for my garage - they're not the best thing but they are cheap and much better than training on a concrete floor! They are puzzle mats about 2ft x 2ft and 1/2 inch thick. Anyway, in my first couple of sessions with them I've noticed they are a bit on the slippery side. I've washed them a couple of times with a swifferjet (which doesn't appear to have had any affect either way) but do any of you have any experience/suggestions in terms of increasing the grip/friction of the mats? As a side note, I was reading on another forum that the best idea would have been to go to a Farm Supply store and buy some of their stall mats (apparently would have been cheaper and more effective). Thanks!
The stall mats are somewhat hard. Used them for protecting the floor from deadlifting. I wouldn't train on them. Sandpaper may do the trick if you're trying to be cheap about it. The other option is buying some of the thin black exercise matting. It's about 0.5 cm thick and slightly rubbery in texture.
Thanks for the replies! I believe the mats that Sifi Ben referred to are the same type as I have. Rather than trying to describe them, here's a link http://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00...&dpID=41oOg0mQmDL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40
Stall mats.are way to hard for throws and ground work, unless you are super experienced. I like them for my weight equipment though.
Every set of new mats I've tried have started off slippery and eventually wore down to a reasonable level. I'd try them out a bit before doing anything too drastic.
Actually I meant more like this. http://www.floormats.co.uk/rubbermats/rubbermatting I've used similar stuff from a wider roll to cover wrestling mats so the tape doesn't rub off and let them pull apart.
Thanks for the feedback all. Im going to keep training on them for a few weeks and see how I get on and, if needed, I'll look into some of the suggestions - thanks!
Great point. It's actually a bit of both but mainly my feet are slipping on the mats - I already have a set of mats there that aren't so slippery and although they aren't a 1-1 fit with these (in terms of the 'puzzle' grooves) they are pretty good. So I went ahead and duct taped them together and since then I havent had issues with them sliding on the floor.
I've got some jigsaw mats and I *think* they end up slippery as part of the manufacture process. Some sort of coating or by-product. When I rolled on mine early on I could feel something on me afterwards. The only thing that really sorts that is using them and scuffing them up. Get on them an use them. Wear some old (but clean) trainers/shoes.
