Shock absorbers?

[blank]

Which DDR pads are best for absorbing shock?

I live in a very old house, the kind where the China in the dining room falls off the shelf because I walk around in my room on the other side of the house.

Which type of DDR pad should I get so as not to disturb the other inhabitants of my home, living or otherwise?

My mom doesn't consider DDR as an excercise (she's never even seen it) even though she is a health nut, so it would be very easy to agitate her with the bouncing around required for DDR.

Which pad is quiet and best at absorbing shock?

[talon]

hmmm, well I dont think the flat soft pads that come with the game will do you any good at all because all your force is transfered right through the pad into the floor. the foam insert pads might coshin a bit but I doubt it would be enough. a metal pad is solid for the most part and so again may result in alot of force being transfered. I honestly cant make a fair assesment here because I truthfully dont know, if I had to guess I would say a foam insert would be best.

[legend]

try just putting a folded blanket under it, it should help the noise, and the shock.




P.S. It should work because I tried it and it worked fine.

[abrannan]

Physics lesson ahead:


It's not so much shock absorbtion as shock dispersal the you need. The problem with most mats is that, as talon said, your force is transfereed straight through it. Your foot is about 4"x9", or 36 square inches. If you weigh 150 lbs, that works out to about 4 lbs/sq in just standing. When you step, stomp, and jump to play the game, you're putting a much greater force on the 36 sq in, which is apparently over what your house can effectively handle without breaking china.

What you want to be able to do is disperse that force over a much greater area, like, say, an entire DDR mat (33"x33" or 1089 Sq. in.) Now you'd only be putting about .13 lbs/sq in. of force standing. If you can, get a 3'x3' piece of plywood or MDF, and put your mat on that, and put the blanket legend recommended under the board. Now you've dispersed the force over a much greater area, and are shock absorbing that reduced pressure.

This method does have it limits, as it can't overcome structural issues with your house (loose floor joists, etc) where, no matter how much you disperse the force, the room's floor itself can't handle much. But it's worth a shot, and it shouldn't cost more than $20 in lumber.

[legend]

I got through about half of the first paragraph and all most passed out.

Lots of words, too many words feeling dizzy