Introduction: A Gym for Your Feet: 3D Standing Mat (DIY Monkii STOIC)

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I have been lucky enough to perform my office job from the comfort of my home for the past year. In that time my home-office has evolved from a dinner table, to standing at my kitchen island, to a makeshift desk in my basement, and finally to a rolling sit-stand command center I built myself. Having the flexibility to sit or stand has really helped my mobility and activity throughout the work day, but there is a more primal problem at hand here: standing on hard floors sucks.

Our feet were not built to stand on an hard concrete surface, or even a soft flat padded surface if you're able to stand on carpet or a foam standing mat. Our feet crave terrain, to have their dozens of bones and joints and hundreds of muscles stretched and activated. Without that we tend to develop posture and balance problems, literally from the ground up.

Enter STOIC, a standing mat designed to give your feet the wildness they deserve.

Monkii developed this modular mat with 3D scans of outdoor features that would challenge and engage your feet. They went through a successful Kickstarter phase for STOIC and are beginning to ship their first kits now. However, as their mission is more focused on their community than their bottom line, they've asked me to create a DIY version of their standing mat make the benefits of such a product available to everyone, including those on tight budgets.

**WARNING** Use caution when using the tools and materials described in this guide. Always use proper safety equipment and handling procedures as outlined in the labels of these products.

Supplies

Materials

Tools/Adhesives

  • Wood Saw
  • Sharp blades or hot-wire foam cutter
  • Utility knife
  • Heat gun
  • Construction glue
  • Contact Cement

Step 1: Video

If you're a visual learner, I hope you find this video helpful and entertaining.

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Step 2: The Plan

I'm going to essentially copy the STOIC's design, which is comprised of the following:

  1. A solid heavy base with a slot in the middle
  2. Swappable foot pads with different textures
  3. Balance beam(s) that fits in the middle slot

I'll make some concessions for budgetary reasons and the lack of injection molding processes, and leave out certain premium additions STOIC has, like toe spreaders and fidget beads. This should be a relatively simple process that involves cutting the pads and base, making textures out of the rubber and foam balls and blocks, and gluing the textures onto the foam mats to make up terrain features.

The items I picked are what I had available in my workshop and local stores. Feel free to improvise and get creative with whatever you pick for your textures. I found hard form and rubber make the best textures, and you can find some great options in the athletic and/or pet sections of most stores. The foam of STOIC is a firm EVA foam that can only be described as "challenging" to stand on. It's definitely not the cushy standing mat you're used to, but once your feet adapt to the challenge it does feel really good to stand on.

Step 3: The Base

STOIC base has a footprint of about 27"x19". It's made of a dense plastic with rubber gripping material on the bottom. For my DIY I decided on a base of 24"x18" plywood for simplicity (and because I only had a 24"x24" piece to begin with). I also cut the corners off to make an oblong rounded hexagon shape, similar to the STOIC.


Balance Beam Slot

There is also a slot in the middle of the base for holding various balance beams

  • I decided to use some cove molding I had laying around
  • Two quarter-pipe pieces put side by side made a nice half-pipe slot
  • I used the 1" PVC pipe to get the placement of the cove molding right
  • I then glued the pieces to the plywood with the construction glue
  • I finished the look and used some more glue to fill in the gap and reinforce the joint


Footpads

The footpad textures will be built onto the gym mat foam pieces. These foam pieces can be cut down to fit onto the base

  • I traced the base shape onto the foam mats and cut them out using a sharp utility knife
  • Make sure to cut off any puzzle fittings the mats may have so that the fit flush against the balance beam slot

Step 4: Foot Pad 1: Bed of Nails

The first set of textures I wanted to emulate was the "Bed of Nails" which provide an acupressure/deep tissue massage experience on your feet. I happened to have a spiky "massage" foam roller (it's excruciating) that I never used that nearly perfectly mimics the material and design of the Bed of Nails.

  • I cut the foam off the roller's cylinder
  • Next I used a heat gun on the foam to mold it and remove the curvature, back into a flat piece
  • I then cut the piece in half to be used on the left and right footpads
  • Finally I glued the foam pieces onto the footpads using contact cement
    • Paint the contact cement on both sides being joint in a thin layer
    • Let the cement sit for 5-10 minutes to get tacky (according to the directions)
    • Line up and press the foam onto the footpad firmly
    • I used some weights to hold the foam onto the pad overnight to make sure they'd never separate

Step 5: Foot Pad 2: 3D Terrain

The second set of textures I wanted was a mix of STOIC's textures. STOIC has "Redwood Forest" and "Flathead River Rock" textures, each with challenging terrain that stretch and train your feet as you move around on them. I decided to use the materials I had to make a blend of the two textures, taking some of the rounded features from the River Rock and some of the long crossing features and peaks and valleys from the Redwood Forest.

  • I started by cutting all the balls in half or on a bias to make uneven rounded shapes
  • Then cut the tire chew toys in half and used the heat gun to warp them back into a straight log shape
  • I also cut some long and short peak-style shapes from the foam block

I found that a single raquetball or tennis ball half did not provide much resistance when weight was put on it, so I doubled them up and used them as a two-layer piece, which was much sturdier and closer to the feeling of STOIC's dense foam textures.

  • I placed the materials on the footpads in a design I felt emulated the features of the STOIC terrain
  • Next traced the outline of the materials onto the pad so I knew where to place the contact cement
  • I painted the contact cement on both the footpad and each individual ball, tire, or block foam piece
  • After the cement had set up for 5-10 minutes, I placed each piece back onto the footpad according to the outlines
  • I put some weight plates on each piece overnight as well to ensure a strong bond

Step 6: The Balance Beam

The last part of this DIY is to implement a balance beam to fit in the slot we made on the base.

I found a rubber dog chew toy in the shape of a stick that perfectly in the slot and had some interesting texture, so that was an easy solution. But I also wanted a more even balance beam.

  • I cut some 1" PVC pipe to the same size as the slot (about 18")
  • Then I wrapped the pipe tightly with some plumbing "rescue" tape
    • This tape stretches and compresses onto itself really well and creates a grippy/rubbery surface

There are plenty of other material and design options for balance beams, so get creative here!

Step 7: Stand on It!

Put everything together and you've got a decent approximation of the STOIC platform! Try different combinations of textures and balance beams. Make some different terrain footpads to suit whatever needs your feet may have. Get creative and have some fun with it!

Whatever you do, don't just settle for sitting all day. I found that my energy and activity levels went up dramatically when using the real STOIC or this DIY version. I found myself with motivation to do several microworkouts throughout the day and to be more focused at work so long as I alternated between periods of standing on the STOIC and sitting. My posture and mobility has improved and some aches and pains have subsided. So many health and mobility problems start with the feet, so give this a try!

The Monkii app will be seeing an update soon to include workouts based on STOIC, so be sure to check that out as well.

Thank you for checking out this guide, and good luck on your build if you decide to make one for yourself!