The main aim of the paper is to present the procedure allowing one to determine correct mechanical characteristics of a rubber material compressed within a wide range of strain rates. In order to obtain a satisfactory wide spectrum of material data, a number of tests were conducted both under low and high strain rates with the use of a universal strength machine and split Hopkinson pressure bar set-up equipped with polymethyl methacrylate and 7075- T6 alloy bars. During the investigations, the necessity of performing pre-compression tests and the problem of specimen geometry were pointed out as key methodical requirements to guarantee achieving valid experimental data both from quasi-static and high strain rate tests.