Resistance bands target and work your muscles from many different angles and directions. In fact, some exercises work your muscles better than weights and other forms of strength training.
And more…
You can combine resistance bands with weights, dumbbells and kettlebells for explosive new force against your muscles that just weights on their own can’t produce.
Why use bands?
Because as you’re about to discover bands are potent, bands build muscles, bands help you shift stubborn unwanted fat off your body, bands are safe. And when you know how to use them, the results you get have you grinning like a cat who just ate a cockatoo.
Do Resistance Bands Actually Work?
Okay, let me give you a little bit of the science of muscle growth.
Regardless of what form of strength training you’re looking at using, all types of strength training operate under the same principle…. and that’s progressive overload.
To build muscle, you’ve got to increase the reps or add more resistance.
Muscles grow when you work them hard, which means working them close to their full capacity. Then, you give your muscles time to rest and recover.
When you use resistance bands you’re adding resistance to the movement.
It looks like this…
Let’s say you can smash out bodyweight dips. What you’d do is, put a band across the back of your neck so it’s over your shoulders, then grab it in both hands, then jump onto the dip bar or rings.
Now, when you drive up you’re going to notice that extra resistance. Instead of the 12 reps, you got out, you can only get 7 reps out. Because the band makes it harder for you by adding resistance.
Asking do resistance bands actually work is like asking can a golf club hit a ball 150m. When you know how to hold a golf club and swing it, 150m’s is easy
Yes, resistance bands actually work. Like any piece of equipment when you know what to do and how to do use it, you’ll get the most out of it.
Why Are Resistance Bands Better Than Weights?
Studies show that muscle activity and peak load during elastic-resistance exercise are similar to that of free-weight training.
Studies found, programs utilizing elastic tubing, elastic bands, and similar devices increase muscle strength and size, and decrease body fat in a similar manner to free-weight training programs.
Here’s what’s exciting about this…
If you know how to train and use bands, you get results.
Where bands differ to weights is in horizontal planes of movement.
Dr. Jim Stoppani says…
“Because free weights rely on gravity, they can only provide resistance in a vertical plane—the direction of gravity. This means that if you do an exercise with a free weight in the horizontal plane—such as moving your hand while holding a dumbbell from the left side of your body to the right side—there’s no horizontal resistance to that movement.
This isn’t the case with elastic tubing. Horizontal plane movements are fair game. Thanks to elastic bands, you can perform exercises such as twisting your body from side to side, sidekicks and punches, as well as movements that mimic a baseball swing or basketball pass, with added resistance. This is especially useful for athletes looking to enhance performance and reduce injury risk.”
When it comes to training with bands, for some people training with bands are a safer way to train.
Tom Brady the 8-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback trains with resistance bands instead of weights and has done for years.
Should You Use Resistance Bands Every Day?
With any form of strength training, you’ve got to give your body time to rest, recover, and grow. Depending on your age and how you’re training, if you trained every day with resistance bands, you get diminishing returns.
And more, if you’re over 40 and you are strength training every day you’ll end up injured, or your joints get sore and inflamed.
Fact is…
You don’t need to train with bands every day to get results. You can get great results training 2-4 times a week depending on what type of program you follow.
If you’re doing a full body workout, 2-3 times a week is plenty. If you’re doing a split program upper body one day, lower body the next day. 4 sessions a week is plenty.
Again, if you’re over 40 some might struggle training 4 days a week. So, you might do upper one day lower the next. Have a day or two off, then do a full body work out which gives you 3 days a week exercising with bands.
What Are The Strengths Of Resistance Bands?
You can get resistance bands that range from:
- 5-15LBS
- 15-35LBS
- 30-75LBS
- 35-85LBS
- 45-100LBS
- 50-125LBS
- 65-175LBS
- 85-230LBS
There are many types of bands you can purchase. With the bigger looped bands, you can get them in sets of 3-5. With a set of 5 bands, you’ll always find the right amount of resistance for you, and there’s hundreds of exercises you can do so you get your body into peak physical condition.
Resistance Bands Recruit Your Stabilising Muscles
What you’ll find using bands is, they recruit more muscles which is a good thing for faster results.
Try to do a side delt raise and you’ll feel exactly what I’m talking about.
To do a side delt raise, stand with your feet further than shoulder-width apart, put the band under one foot, and grab it in the opposite hand. You now pull the band across your body raising your hand towards the sky.
This works your shoulder muscles and your abs automatically engage.
Try doing…
An overheard banded press. You can sit or stand. You stand on your band, then grab the band in both hands and drive your arms straight up, so your hands finish above your head.
Your arms want to wobble, which means more muscles are recruited to stabilize you. Again, your abs kick-in.
We’ve only run through two exercises here, there’s many more like this where more muscles get activated and worked. The great thing is, bands are super-effective for building a strong powerful core.
Great Alternative To Machines
To use a machine, you’re usually in a sterile gym environment. Machines are often restrictive in their movement patterns and may force you to move unnaturally. And more, you’re usually sitting, or lying on a machine.
Bands allow you to work your muscles in a full range of motion and in many directions. The bands move with the natural flow of your movements, which makes them unrestrictive.
Unlike a gym, you can take your bands outside and enjoy the fresh natural air.
Resistance Bands Target And Hit Your Muscles From Different Angles
The more you study, use, and experiment with resistance bands, the more you realise how potent they are for building muscles. And they make it easy to target and work your muscles from many different angles.
Take your glute muscles, using a band here’s just a few of many exercises you can do:
- Standing band abduction
- Lateral Band Walk
- Hip Hinge Banded Hip abduction
- Banded Kickback
- Standing Pull throughs
- Banded Glute Bridges
Resistance bands are unique in the fact they allow you to quickly and easily target muscles from many different angles.
If you love shoulder muscles, then you’ll love what you can do with the bands.
More Resistance Band Exercises
With a set of resistance bands, there’s over 75 different ways you can use them to lose weight, build muscles, make your body firm, tight, and youthful. If you get a door-anchor with your bands then you really are unlimited as to what you can do with resistance band exercises.
And get this…
You can use a resistance band with weights, kettlebells or dumbbells to add more resistance and remove any ability to cheat with an exercise because bands keep constant force applied to the muscles.
Who Should Use Resistance Bands?
Here’s the thing about bands…
Bands are a great piece of workout equipment because everyone can use them. From seniors, beginners, seasoned trainers, rehab, to elite athletes. The versatility, effectiveness, and potency of the resistance band makes them a great piece of equipment for everyone to use.
Add Assistance Or Resistance
For a lot of people, chin-ups are an impossible exercise to do. Using a band, you can do band-assisted chin-ups.
What you do is, anchor your band to the pull-up bar, pull the band down and step onto it with both feet, now pull yourself up. The band makes it easier for you to get back up. This is how you build your pull-up strength.
Take Your Resistance Bands Anywhere You Want
Resistance bands are lightweight which makes them easy to pack and take anywhere.
You can go on holidays, or head off on a 3-day trip, or simply head out into nature because that’s where you feel like training today. Or use them in a hotel room. Throw your bands in your bag because bands offer you a full body workout where ever you are.
Best part:
With different types of resistance, you get an effective workout done and hit every muscle group. You get stronger and each workout counts. Invest in a set of 3-5 bands, because then you know you’ve got enough resistance to force muscle growth and the ability to target all muscle groups.
What other gym equipment could you throw into your bag and take anywhere with you and work your upper and lower body, that’s lightweight, yet has the force to grow muscles and increase strength?
Fact is, there really isn’t anything with the all-round benefits of resistance bands.
How Long Do Resistance Bands Last?
It’s hard to say exactly. Depends on what type you get ad where you get them from. I’ve had a set of bands I use 4 days a week and have done for the past 5 years.
You’ve got to check your bands for any tears, or places that are showing wear. If in doubt throw the resistance band out.
Don’t put your resistance band around sharp edges or anything that could cut, rip, or tear the distance band.
When you anchor your resistance band to a point, use a door-anchor, a G-shackle, or around pipe or bar. Never sharp edges. Do this and you’ll enjoy years of muscle building, fat burning workouts your resistance band deliver.
Summary Benefits Of Resistance Bands
Using resistance bands, you can target and work muscles in ways you simply cannot do with weights and other forms of strength training. You can target your muscles in a horizontal plane and keep the muscles engaged which you can’t always do with weights.
If you don’t have any room at home for a gym, all you need is a set of resistance bands.
Bands are safe to use and allow you to work your muscles in a full range of motion. And you can target your muscles from many different angles.
Bands come in all different resistance ranges from 5LBS right up to 230LBS which means from beginners to advanced trainers you get a solid muscle growing fat burning workout done.
For such a small investment, bands deliver concentrated workouts that force-feeds powerful muscularity into all the right places of your body.
