Benefits of Resistance Bands
• offer a high resistance for their size, compared to tubing and dumbbells.
• lightweight and compact size make them easy to carry around, making the bands easy to fit into your daily routine.
• can be combined with other equipment such as free weights or kettlebells to create more varied workouts.
• resistance bands, by their nature, are suitable for a wide range of people to exercise at different levels.
Exercises with resistance bands:
resistance band exercises can be done anywhere. You do not need any equipment or training partner.
You can use them at home, in hotel rooms, or while traveling on business trips. If you go hiking, camping, biking, or climbing, you can take your resistance bands with you and train outdoors as well.
Can do them in a crowded gym or a small apartment – anywhere, anytime.
See the full article “resistance band exercises” for more detailed information about resistance band exercises.
In addition to resistance bands, you should also explore other equipment such as dumbbells and kettlebells. The right combination of these tools will give you a complete workout program that will allow you to achieve your fitness goals quickly and effectively. In the section below, you can find many interesting articles with step-by-step instructions on using resistance bands, dumbbells, and kettlebells.
Kettle Bell Exercises:
Kettlebells work out your grip strength, shoulder stamina, and endurance while improving core stability. In addition, it helps one burn more calories than riding a stationary bicycle for the same amount of time.
Dumbbell Exercises:
Dumbbells are one of the best strength-training tools because they allow you to perform a wide range of exercises that target different parts of your body in various ways. With dumbbells, you can target muscles from all angles and perform many basic compound moves such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, overhead presses, and bicep curls.
Disadvantages of resistance bands:
1. resistance bands have a low amount of tension that can be achieved. Therefore, compared to free weights, weight machines, and other standard training equipment, the magnetic resistance mechanism of exercise bands cannot perform as much total work as those other methods.
2. the band’s length constantly changes during an exercise, so you have to continually readjust your grip or footing throughout an exercise throughout its range of motion to stay on target with gravity and provide optimal tension on a muscle.
If a band is too long, then it won’t create enough force for you depending on where you grab it from; if it’s too short, then holding onto the band might be painful or uncomfortable on your hands because there isn’t enough slack between the bar and your hands.
3. resistance bands are typically not looped around a user’s foot, ankle, or wrist to provide the most optimal mechanical advantage for an exercise compared to free weights, weight machines, or other standard training equipment that can create external forces on the body.
With the methods mentioned above of resistance training, there is tremendous potential for overload because their patented and well-designed shapes and designs (i.e., weight stacks) increase tension at specific points in an exercise at all times during its range of motion which doesn’t occur with resistance bands because they’re usually looped around only one joint; tension may be drastically different depending on where it’s applied as opposed to other types of resistance training equipment.
4. resistance bands do not provide uniform tension throughout their range of motion or during the entire duration of an exercise because they tend to lose the amount of pressure the further you go out away from the center point.
With some good old fashion weight machines, free weights, and other standard training equipment; it is possible to calculate how much tension precisely is being applied at different points in an exercise (i.e., pounds per square inch) with these methods because there is no change or shift in force for that specific amount of distance compared to what occurs with resistance bands.
5. muscle confusion can’t be achieved through resistance band training alone; therefore, one will need to incorporate some uniform external resistance like free weights, weight machines, weight stacks, etc.
There are ways to use resistance bands together with some of the methods mentioned above, known as a combination training approach that allows the muscles to be overloaded through a different stimulus without changing pieces of equipment.
6. resistance bands have a limited amount of weight they can hold compared to most free weights and weight machines, so you most likely won’t be able to challenge yourself by adding additional external loading, which also prevents muscle confusion from occurring.
7. resistance bands don’t apply force in an isolated manner for each joint because exercises using them usually require movement at more than one typical; therefore, it’s difficult when using these types of tools to stimulate all parts of a muscle properly.
Benefits of resistance bands for glutes:
1. resistance bands can help activate muscles not fully stimulated through standard training methods like free weights, weight machines, and other pieces of equipment that allow muscle confusion.
2. because they’re considered an outside force acting on a muscle or joint, resistance bands have been found helpful for glute activation, which is essential for normal movement and enhanced athletic performance.
3. by manipulating how you attach a band’s anchor point (e.g., closer vs. farther away from the foot), you can change its difficulty. Hence, it’s possible to use it as a warm-up tool before performing exercises with external loading to increase blood flow into the muscles being targeted during those exercises.
4. when attached at different points in an exercise, the resistance band can create a more uniform tension on a muscle throughout its entire range of motion, which can help to more fully overload it than methods without them.
5. their compact nature makes them ideal for travel, especially if you’re training, somewhere that doesn’t have any other training equipment readily available.
6. suppose you don’t want to or are unable to make long-term fitness resolutions. In that case, resistance bands are an easy way of adding variety into your workouts without changing pieces of equipment which is exactly what’s needed now and again after hitting a plateau with free weights, weight machines, or other standard training equipment.
7. they provide stimulus through their user-friendly form that is already familiar to most people, whether through activities of daily living or other forms of exercise.
8. resistance bands are considered a safer alternative to free weights and weight machines, especially for individuals with any joint dysfunction, because there is a less compressive force on the joints than methods that use uniform external loading.
9. they work well in conjunction with different training equipment like free weights, weight machines, weight stacks, etc., which means you can use them together to enhance your fitness results while preventing yourself from getting bored with what you’re doing at the gym.
Benefits of using resistance bands for squats:
1. you can manipulate how you attach a band’s anchor point. Hence, it’s possible to change the difficulty of the exercise just by moving it, which allows for muscle overload when using different phases of a repetition.
2. they’re considered an outside force acting on a muscle or joint; resistance bands have been found helpful for glute activation, which is essential for normal movement and enhanced athletic performance.
3. their compact nature makes them ideal for travel, especially if you want to take your workout with you on the road and don’t want to spend money staying in hotels or rental apartments that provide access to gyms.
4. if you fail with external loading, there are safety concerns with exercises because heavier weights can put excessive compressive forces on the joints, leading to injury if they’re not handled properly.
5. resistance band exercises are easy to perform at home because their compact nature allows them to be stored easily in small spaces like under your bed or a closet by hanging each band off both ends of an iron pipe that’s secured into ceiling joists with screws; then, you slip the bars over your feet before beginning your routine.
6. all you need for training is one set of resistance bands. However, suppose you’ve got multiple groups like this. In that case, it’s possible to buy accessories like ankle straps to make exercising even easier when using them because they make it simpler to anchor down your feet without having to use towels instead.
7. features a greater variety of exercises because you can attach them to eyelets, holes, loops, or different pieces of equipment within a gym, depending on your workout preference.
8. resistance bands are popular as a travel option because they’re better for joint health than free weights and weight machines.
9. they’re low-cost compared to other training methods, making them perfect for those with minimal financial resources but still want to get in shape using the right tools that work best for them.
How to use a resistance band:
1) anchor foot: lie down on a flat bench, so there’s enough room behind you to hold the band with both hands, then reach back and grab each end of it before anchoring one foot onto the floor, which prevents the bar from skidding out.
2) grab handles of the band with both hands, so there’s tension on it before you begin your workout, then slowly squat down while keeping your head up and back straight.
3) stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor before returning to the start position, this time squeezing the glute muscles of both legs at the top of each rep for 1-2 seconds. Then, 4) repeat for the desired number of reps or sets.
Tips:
When using resistance bands for squats, choose a weight that’s heavy enough so you can complete 5-8 reps in good form but not too heavy where you compromise technique. Additionally, after doing all your sets with one leg in front of the other, do an equal number of groups on each side before moving on to your next exercise.