Do you know what Drop Pads are?

If you have a sports facility, whether it is a CrossFit box, a studio or a fitness boutique, or you are a personal trainer and you have a space for your personal classes or even if you teach them at home, Droppers or Drop Pads can take away many headaches.

It has been proven that most complaints and claims by neighbours and communities of owners about sports facilities are motivated by problems with noise and vibrations . This makes sense since in these facilities what is done is to move heavy objects for which at some point they have to be supported or in some cases even let them fall.

It is true that over time, flooring for gyms has been improved with rubber and rubber polymers, which reduce these types of problems, while extending the useful life of the material. It must be said that if we drop the weight in a controlled manner on these rubber floors, or on rubber tiles, it is usually sufficient.

However, in sports such as CrossFit or weightlifting, it is sometimes not feasible to drop the weight in a controlled manner, as the goal is to lift weights that are close to the athlete's limits, or sometimes there are workouts whose intensity does not allow for such delicacy when releasing the weights . And let's not even talk about possible accidental falls.

For these particular cases, anti-vibration shock absorption mats are a specific solution that will prevent problems with neighbours, accidents and will protect the material.

What are Drop Pads or Shock Absorption Mats?

These cushions can have different sizes and thicknesses depending on the amount of noise and vibrations we want to reduce, but their internal composition is similar. Covered in PVC or combinations of cotton and high-resistance nylon, they will ultimately withstand falls of very heavy material, which is what really absorbs the problems.

A high-density polyurethane interior, a very dense foam, with great insulation capacity, manages to absorb the energy of falls and retain the sending of vibrations.

The higher the density of this foam, the greater the absorption (making it more difficult for it to contract). If we add to that greater thickness, we will have even more resistance to falls.

When can I use them?

In weightlifting classes, lower density weights can be very useful for novice athletes, who are not used to the weight of the bar and may sometimes find themselves having to drop it empty or with 5kg plates. Two things that shorten the useful life of both the bar and the plates, since the latter are thin and can easily crack.

They will also be useful when trying to obtain RM in movements such as Cleans or Jerks. At this point, the athlete manages to lift the bar with great effort and sometimes it is not feasible to return the bar to the ground in a completely controlled manner, which can cause injuries.

In this situation the bar must be dropped and we are talking about lifts of easily over 100 kilos, so vibrations and noise are more than guaranteed. In these cases, heavy impact absorption mats are the ideal solution.

Drop pad functions:

But Olympic bars are not always used in a facility.

Drop pads also serve to protect the floor and equipment in, for example, kettlebell and dumbbell workouts, and even more so when these exercises are mixed in with high-intensity routines between stations.

This causes athletes to become tired, sweaty, and eager to move on to the next station or exercise, leading them to lose control over the fall of the material. We can be talking about objects weighing between 12 and 30 kilos that accumulate kinetic energy, meaning they do not stop as soon as they touch the ground. However, drop pads would slow down this movement while preventing noise and vibrations from being transferred to the ground.

Conclusion

In short, an investment in this type of equipment will ultimately result in fewer worries when dealing with neighbours, whether they are neighbouring homes or businesses, as well as lower material costs as we will extend the useful life of the equipment.