Gymnastics Training Mats & Skill Mats Buying Guide

Find the Right Mat for Skills, Drills, Stunting, Preschool Activities & Home Practice
Not every gymnastics mat serves the same purpose. While traditional tumbling mats provide a general padded surface for floor skills, gymnastics training mats and skill mats are designed with special features that help athletes learn, practice, and improve specific skills. Some include visual hand and foot placements. Others provide beam lines, hopscotch markings, added rebound, or modular shapes that help coaches create creative stations and movement activities. Tumbl Trak training mats are used in gymnastics clubs, cheer programs, preschool classes, schools, therapy settings, and home gyms. Use this guide to compare the different styles and decide which mat best fits your athlete, program, or training goal.

Which Gymnastics Training Mat Should I Choose?

Mat	Best For	What Makes It Different	Great Choice For
Cartwheel Beam Mat	Learning cartwheels and basic balance skills	Printed hand/foot placements on one side; 4-inch beam line on the other	Young beginners, preschool, recreation, home
Hopscotch Beam Mat	Tumbling, beam drills, movement patterns and multi-use training	12-foot folding mat with hopscotch graphics and graduated beam stripe	Gymnastics clubs, home practice, preschool, adaptive programs
Handstand Homework Mat	Handstand shaping and at-home skill practice	Attaches to a standard door and includes visual training surfaces	Gymnasts practicing handstands at home
Rebound Mat	Tumbling and cheer stunt training	Added foam creates a springier, more responsive surface	Cheer, gymnastics, tumbling
Rainbow Pizza Mat	Preschool movement, stations and class organization	Colorful circular mat separates into movable wedge-shaped sections	Preschool, recreation, movement programs

Cartwheel Beam Mat

Best for young gymnasts learning cartwheels and basic beam skills

The Cartwheel Beam Mat is a simple training mat designed specifically to help beginners understand where their hands and feet should go when learning a cartwheel. The visual guides also help athletes learn proper weight transfer as they move through the skill. One side features printed hand and foot placements for both left- and right-sided cartwheels. Flip the mat over and the athlete has a 4-inch-wide white line that can be used as a visual balance beam for walking, turns, jumps, leaps, and straight-line tumbling drills. At 2 feet wide x 6 feet long x 5/8 inch thick, it is smaller and easier to handle than a traditional full-size tumbling mat.

Choose the Cartwheel Beam Mat if:

• You’re teaching a child his or her first cartwheel.
• You want visual hand and foot cues built directly into the mat.
• You want one mat that can also be used for introductory balance-beam activities.
• You need an easy-to-move station for preschool or recreational classes.
• You’re looking for a simple gymnastics practice mat for home.

Cartwheel Beam Mat vs. a Regular Tumbling Mat

A traditional tumbling mat provides more general-purpose training space. The Cartwheel Beam Mat is smaller and specifically designed to teach body placement and direction. Best choice: Cartwheel instruction and beginner skill development.

Hopscotch Beam Mat

Best all-around training mat for tumbling, beam drills and movement activities

The Hopscotch Beam Mat is one of the most versatile mats in this category. Although its graphics make it look very different from a conventional tumbling mat, functionally it can be used much like one. The important differences are its narrower 3-foot width, 12-foot length, printed hopscotch pattern and beam-training markings. The mat is 1-3/8 inches thick and folds into 2-foot sections. One side features a beam stripe with one-foot graduations. The opposite side features the hopscotch pattern. Its 3-foot width x 12-foot length also makes the Hopscotch Beam Mat an excellent size to place underneath an 8-foot training beam. The mat extends beyond the beam on the sides and ends, creating a practical padded training area for beam work while still remaining easy to move and store. That allows coaches to use visual landmarks for:

• Cartwheels
• Handstands
• Jumps and hops
• Leaps
• Tumbling combinations
• Beam progressions
• Body-position drills
• Spacing and class organization

Why Coaches Like the Hopscotch Mat

The graphics aren’t only decorative. They give instructors built-in visual cues that can make verbal instructions easier for younger athletes to understand. For example, coaches can tell an athlete to land inside a particular square, travel from one marking to another, start a skill at a specific point, use the center line for alignment, or move through a sequence without placing separate floor markers.

More Than a Flat Training Surface

Because the mat folds into 2-foot sections, it can also be folded into a box-shaped stack and repurposed for other drills. Coaches can use the folded mat as a raised station for skills such as bridges, donkey kicks and other shaping or strength activities. That versatility makes it especially useful in programs where equipment needs to serve more than one purpose.

Also Useful Beyond Traditional Gymnastics

The Hopscotch Mat can also be useful in adaptive physical education, therapy, motor-planning activities and movement programs, especially when athletes benefit from clear visual targets. Best choice: Customers wanting one highly versatile mat for tumbling, beam work, visual-cue training and creative skill stations.

Handstand Homework Mat

Best for practicing handstand shapes at home

The Handstand Homework Mat is designed around one of the most important foundational skills in gymnastics: the handstand. In women’s artistic gymnastics, handstand positions appear across vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, making handstand shape and control fundamental to progress throughout the sport. That is why the Handstand Homework Mat is one of our top picks for home gymnastics training. Developing a strong, well-shaped handstand supports better gymnastics across every event. Rather than requiring a freestanding wall space, the mat can be attached to a standard 80-inch interior door up to 1-3/8 inches thick using the included mounting hardware. The design helps athletes work on correct handstand shaping while protecting the door and providing a defined training surface. It also isn’t limited to handstands. The mat can be laid flat on the floor and used for additional gymnastics practice. The current design incorporates a cartwheel training surface and a carpeted side with a beam stripe. The carpeted side also allows coaches to use Hook Velcro manipulatives to create customized visual and body-alignment aids for a variety of skills and drills. A 60-page Handstand Homework Book is included to provide instruction and skill-shaping guidance. This is especially valuable for home practice. Coaches are often cautious about athletes practicing skills at home because repeated practice with poor form can reinforce bad habits. The combination of the Handstand Homework Mat and the included workbook gives athletes structured guidance designed to encourage good positions, body shape and technique while they practice.

Choose the Handstand Homework Mat if:

• You want to strengthen a foundational skill that carries over to every women’s artistic gymnastics event.
• Handstand technique is the primary training goal.
• The athlete practices primarily at home.
• You don’t want the athlete kicking directly against a wall or door.
• You want instructional material along with the mat.
• You want a product that can serve more than one purpose when removed from the door.

Best choice: One of our top home-training choices for gymnasts who want to practice and improve handstand shape with structured guidance.

Rebound Mat

Best for tumbling and cheer stunt training when athletes want more response from the surface

The Rebound Mat looks similar to a traditional folding mat, but the internal foam construction gives it a distinctly different feel. An additional foam layer provides more rebound than a standard tumbling mat, giving tumblers and stunters a somewhat springier training surface. The mat measures 5 feet x 10 feet x 2-3/8 inches and folds into five 2-foot panels. This makes it useful for:

• Tumbling drills
• Cheer stunt practice
• Dance and acro
• Repetitive skill training
• Programs wanting more response than a standard panel mat

A Particularly Good Option for Cheer Programs

Two 5-foot x 10-foot Rebound Mats with four-sided Velcro can be connected side-by-side to create a 10-foot x 10-foot stunt-training surface. This makes the Rebound Mat more than simply an alternative tumbling mat—it can become a dedicated modular cheer stunt station.

Rebound Mat vs. Regular Tumbling Mat

Choose a regular Tumbling Mat when you primarily want a versatile padded surface. Choose the Rebound Mat when you specifically want a more responsive surface for tumbling or stunting. Best choice: Cheer programs and athletes seeking increased rebound.

Rainbow Pizza Mat

Best for preschool gymnastics, movement activities and creative training stations

The Rainbow Pizza Mat is designed around movement, color, spatial awareness and class organization. When assembled, the colorful wedges form a large circle that provides an easy visual gathering space for preschool classes. Athletes can be assigned a color or section for circle time, movement activities, or stations. But the real versatility comes from taking it apart. The mat separates into four two-panel sections, allowing instructors to rearrange the pieces for drills, obstacle courses, individual stations, hopping, rolling, cartwheels and other activities. Sections can even be positioned to create small pyramid-shaped obstacles. It is available in 5-foot and 8-foot diameter versions.

Choose the Rainbow Pizza Mat if:

• You run preschool or recreational gymnastics classes.
• Class organization is as important as skill training.
• You want visual color cues.
• You regularly build obstacle courses or stations.
• You want equipment that encourages creative movement rather than training one specific skill.

Best choice: Preschool gymnastics and creative movement programs.

How Are These Mats Different From a Regular Gymnastics Tumbling Mat?

A traditional gymnastics tumbling mat is designed primarily to provide a padded surface for floor skills and general practice. A training or skill mat may perform that same basic function but adds features that support a particular training objective, such as:

• hand and foot placement graphics,
• balance-beam lines,
• visual spacing cues,
• hopscotch markings,
• increased rebound,
• specialized dimensions,
• or modular pieces that can be rearranged into stations.

If you simply need a versatile padded surface, start with our Tumbling Mats Buying Guide. If you’re trying to solve a particular coaching or training need, one of the mats in this guide may be a better choice.

Quick Recommendations

Best Mat for Learning a Cartwheel

Cartwheel Beam Mat — Printed hand and foot positions make the skill easier for beginning athletes to understand.

Best Mat for Multiple Gymnastics Drills

Hopscotch Beam Mat — Its longer training surface, visual markings and beam stripe make it especially versatile. Its 3-foot x 12-foot size also fits well under an 8-foot training beam, and when folded it can become a raised block for drills such as bridges and donkey kicks.

Best Gymnastics Mat for Practicing Handstands at Home

Handstand Homework Mat — One of our top picks for home gymnastics training because handstand shape is fundamental across every women’s artistic gymnastics event. The included workbook helps athletes practice with better form and purpose.

Best Mat for Cheer Stunting

Rebound Mat — Its more responsive surface works well for stunting, and two mats can create a 10-foot x 10-foot training area.

Best Mat for Preschool Gymnastics

Rainbow Pizza Mat — The colorful sections work well for class organization, motor activities and creative stations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a gymnastics training mat?

A gymnastics training mat is a padded mat designed to help athletes practice skills, drills, body positions or movement patterns. Some training mats include visual markings, specialized dimensions, additional rebound or other features not normally found on a standard tumbling mat.

What is the difference between a gymnastics training mat and a tumbling mat?

A standard tumbling mat provides a general padded surface for gymnastics skills. A training mat may add features such as hand and foot placements, beam lines, visual targets or extra rebound to support specific drills and skills.

What is the best gymnastics mat for learning cartwheels?

For young beginners, the Cartwheel Beam Mat is designed specifically for cartwheel instruction. Printed hand and foot placements help teach both left- and right-sided cartwheels.

What is the best mat for cheer stunt practice?

The Rebound Mat is a strong option for cheer stunt training because it provides a more responsive surface than a standard tumbling mat. Two mats with four-sided Velcro can be joined side-by-side to create a 10-foot x 10-foot stunt area.

What is the best gymnastics mat for practicing at home?

It depends on the athlete’s goal. The Cartwheel Beam Mat works well for beginners, the Handstand Homework Mat targets handstand technique, and the Hopscotch Beam Mat provides a larger multi-purpose surface for tumbling, balance and other gymnastics skills.

Why is the Handstand Homework Mat a good home training aid?

A strong handstand is fundamental throughout women’s artistic gymnastics, appearing in skills and positions on vault, bars, beam and floor. The Handstand Homework Mat gives athletes a defined surface for practicing handstand shape, while the included workbook provides structured guidance that helps reinforce good form rather than simply encouraging unsupervised repetition.

What mat is best for preschool gymnastics?

The Rainbow Pizza Mat and Cartwheel Beam Mat are particularly useful in preschool programs. The Rainbow Pizza Mat supports movement, spatial awareness and class organization, while the Cartwheel Beam Mat introduces basic cartwheel and balance concepts.

Can the Hopscotch Mat be used as a regular tumbling mat?

Yes. Although it includes hopscotch and beam graphics, the Hopscotch Beam Mat can be used for many traditional gymnastics and tumbling drills. Its 3-foot width is narrower than many traditional panel mats, while its 12-foot length provides a useful runway for skill practice. That size also works especially well beneath an 8-foot training beam, providing matting on the sides and ends. When folded, the mat forms a box-shaped stack that can be used for additional drills such as bridges and donkey kicks.