If you want to run a fitness kickboxing course that combines aerobic and anaerobic activity with the martial arts – you are going to want to consider the ground you stand on. As you will be doing a lot of bouncing movements and standing, it is important that the surface you train on offers a little give and take in order to help protect the knees, ankles and back. However, you don’t want the surface to be too soft, which will actually do more harm than good.
A great floor for fitness kickboxing would be one made out of firm EVA foam puzzle mats like the ones used as martial art mats in many training centers. These mats are interlocking, so you can move them around as you desire and create your own fitness map. For example, if you have enough space you could have them run a small circle on the red mats. You could have them do kettlebell training on the black mats. How about rolls and falls, push ups or squats on the blue mats. You can even stack mats up for more padding and move them when you are done.
For example we will cover the whole floor with red mats. Then we have a stack of various colored puzzle mats in the corner. We can take the ones we need and create mats on mats when we want either more cushion or to separate a training area by using the different colored jigsaw mats.
What is great about the interlocking mats for fitness and martial arts is not only the durable foam but what I love is that you can even wear shoes on them or perform fitness kickboxing classes without fear of ruining your mats. They are truly multi-purpose. You also don’t have to worry about jump ropes or even dropping weights on them. Though you will want to keep anything with a sharp edge away from foam puzzle mats as they are easy to cut. However, this would not reduce their effectiveness.
A strategy that we like to also use is to cover the fitness kickboxing area with a full size carpet square. This gives us the cushion but also a cheap piece of carpet that looks nice and is easy to replace. Just pick out the cheapest carpet you can get from your Home Store. We usually do this if we want to allow members to wear any shoes that they own onto the floor, otherwise they will grind dirt into the foam mats which are harder to clean.
If you have your members only using shoes when they are on the mats then you don’t need to use a carpet cover. However, sometimes you might want to do it just to change the look of the floor.
To see more information on EVA Foam Jigsaw Mats for Fitness Kickboxing and Sparring Gear, please visit the web site Pad-Up Martial Arts Equipment.