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10 Reasons to Use Resistance Bands, Loops, and Tubes

Should I use resistance bands in my fitness training?


Whether you are a beginner to working out, an experienced weight lifter, or recovering from an injury, the answer is YES!, according to Holly Pinkham, Certified Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach and other researchers.


Most important tip: Learn how to figure out what's best for you.


WHAT ARE RESISTANCE BANDS?

Resistance bands are tools to strengthen and/or stretch your muscles, whether for aesthetics (that "hot summer" body), athletic performance (peak performance), or physical therapy (Injury healing).


  • Primarily used for working out and building muscle strength and size.

  • Handles provide a sturdy grip and allow for a variety of exercises, similiar to what you might perform in the gym with free weights or machines.

  • Stackable and uses carabiners to allow the user to combine bands together to increase/decrease the resistance level as needed.





  • Often found in therapy settings, such as a physical therapist or sports therapist offices.

  • Wide and flat, making the length easily adjustable by wrapping around your hand, and they can also be cut into smaller pieces or used to stretch.

  • Used in Pilates programs for added resistance.

  • Can be used for general strength training.






  • Similar to therapy bands, but are smaller and form a closed loop.

  • Primarily used for strengthening the legs and glutes.

  • Found in most gyms and physical therapy offices.




  • Closed-loop tube bands come in several variations, such as leg bands with ankle cuffs and figure-8 shapes with handles for the upper body.

  • More muscle-specific and limited in the variety of exercises that can be performed.




  • Heavy duty bands loop bands that are most popular for cross-training and power lifting.

  • Used for stretching and correcting mobility issues, adding variable resistance to weight training, and pull-up assistance.







RESISTANCE BANDS (10 REASONS WHY)

Yes, your gym is full of dumbbells, machines and weights of all kinds. However, resistance bands have beneficial qualities that standard weights don't:


1. LESS CHANCE OF INJURY with SAME MUSCLES ACTIVITIES

For anyone with existing injuries or joint pain, this is pleasant news because resistance bands may allow you to continue working out and performing exercises that you can’t perform with dumbbells. Training with elastics bands provides similar and sometimes even greater muscle activity as weight training, according to StrengthandConditioningResearch.com. One major difference is that using resistance bands and loops involve a lower amount of force on the joints, meaning, more stimulus can be provided to the muscles with less chance of injury.


2. GREATER MUSCLE STIMULUS

What this means, according to Dr. Jim Stoppani, is that when using resistance bands, “The muscle is receiving greater resistance at its strongest point in the range of motion and therefore is receiving more adequate resistance to better stimulate strength adaptations.” This is the one major difference between free weights and resistance bands is the variable resistance applied through the full range of motion of an exercise. When exercising with free weights, there's actually parts of the movement when the muscles aren’t performing a lot of work due to lack of gravity, such as at the top of a bicep curl.


3. STABILIZATION/CORE ACTIVATION

The consistent and constant tension from bands adds an element of required stabilization from your body to maintain form during many exercises. According to Holly Pinkham -Certified Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach, this also means that you will often need to activate your core for balance. The need to control them from snapping back into place means greater stimulation and strength through the muscle’s full range of motion, and the pull of the bands reduces your ability to cheat by using momentum.


4. IMPROVED STRENGTH & ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

According to one study from TheSportJournal.org, “Experienced power lifters and strength and conditioning professionals have claimed elastic band resistance combined with traditional training produces strength gains for several years”. One test using elastic tension for back squats and bench press demonstrated that the bench press increase was doubled, and the back squat one rep max improvement was nearly three times higher after using bands. “The [resistance band] group’s average lower body power increase was nearly three times better than the free-weight only group.” Resistance bands are very effective fathletic training tools because of the increased load, variable resistance, and instability. Using bands with weights improves neuromuscular performance and strength more than weight training alone. These bands can also be used for speed and agility drills for various athletic purposes according to research.





5. MORE EXERCISE OPTIONS

Dumbbells or barbells, limit you to certain body positions in a vertical plane of motion to use the force of gravity. When you use resistance bands, you can perform exercises in both the vertical and horizontal plane. For example, you can do a chest press or back row in a standing position rather than having to use a bench. You are also able to train / perform sideways movements, which are ideal for athletic activities like swinging a baseball bat or golf club, as well as daily tasks like opening a door or moving a box.


6. INEXPENSIVE

You can perform various exercises with one band as mentioned in the examples above, which means you don’t need so many weights and machines. If you workout at home, at work, or while traveling, a set of resistance bands can save you from buying so many expensive weights that also take up space.


7. IDEAL FOR REHABILITATION

Research has proven resistance bands and tubes improve strength, size, and function of muscles in the elderly as well as those undergoing rehabilitation. Bands and loops can provide very light or heavy resistance which can be used in targeted ways for specific muscles that also protects your joints.


8. STRETCHING & MOBILITY

For both post-workout stretches, as well as pre-workout mobility work, any type of tube or flat band is great. Ordinarily, you are limited during stretches by your level of flexibility and range of motion, and many efficient and effective stretches even require another person to provide pressure to the muscle. You can use bands to assist with stretching to extend your reach and provide pressure instead of another person, such as with lying down hamstring stretches. Resistance bands are also excellent for mobility work when wrapped around sturdy object, such as improving ankle and hip mobility for squats.


9. EXCELLENT FOR TRAVEL

When you travel it can be challenging to fit in workouts or even find a gym. Resistance bands , loops, and tubes are an excellent option to pack in your bag because they allow you to workout in a hotel room or outdoors without heavy equipment. Also, they don’t weigh down your luggage, yet will still give you an effective, and efficient full-body workout. For this identical reason, they are ideal for bodybuilders and fitness competitors, as well as models who need to pump up their muscles before a show or photo shoot.


10. WELL-BEING AND HAPPINESS

According to research, when you get your blood flowing and your body moving, you release endorphins which combat stress.” Upon exercising, neurotransmitters like serotonin or norepinephrine, BDNF, and dopamine, the reward chemical, that help teach your body how to better respond to stressors. Therefore, higher levels of those chemicals during exercise naturally make you feel good. It goes without saying that decreasing negative chemicals and increasing positive chemicals results in a large shift towards feeling happier. Adding resistance Bands, loops and tubes to your workout routine will no doubt aid your overall well-being and help maintain happiness.


WHO SHOULD USE RESISTANCE BANDS?

After scrolling through the benefits of resistance bands, it’s probably becoming more clear that anyone can use them to reach their fitness goals. Below are some specific groups that should use them and reasons why:


ANYONE TRYING TO GAIN MUSCLE

  • Can use bands in place of dumbbells and machines to provide a new and challenging stimulus to your muscles for growth.

  • Can also add them to barbell exercises to increase intensity and neuromuscular performance.


ANYONE WANTING TO LOSE WEIGHT

Losing weight is easiest when you properly combine a healthy diet, cardio, and strength training. It is what helped me lose over 200 pounds.

  • Add resistance bands, loops, and tubes to your exercise routine, such as in a full-total body circuit. For instance, doing a resistance band chest press, followed by squats with a band, followed by a back row with a band. You will burn calories and build muscle at the same time, which will help you to lose weight over the long-term.



OLDER ADULTS

Standard weights at the gym can be challenging and harsh on the body of adults around or over the age of 60, . Resistance bands assist in the maintenance of strength and muscle mass without overdoing it. According to research, training programs using elastic tubes are a practical, effective and efficient means of increasing strength in adults over the age of 65. Resistance bands as one of the safest methods to increase bone strength and help prevent osteoporosis, as recommended by Johns Hopkins Medicine.




ATHLETES

Resistance bands assist in preparing athletes for movements in all planes, both to improve strength and power, as well as to prevent injuries. “As an athlete, I learned that there is nothing better out there to make you faster and stronger then resistant bands. You can take them with you everywhere get a good work out no matter where you are - very important for my training, especially with my shadow boxing, punching speed and even toning with no weight involved. If I had to pick dumbbells or bands, I would choose bands every time.” - 2004 National Boxing Champion, Daniel Sanchez.


FOOTBALL


BASKETBALL


HOCKEY


BASEBALL


GOLF


PREGNANT WOMEN

During pregnancy exercise is important for improving energy, sleep, mood and preparing for childbirth. However, this it's absolutely not the time to diving into an intense weight-training program. According to Personal Trainers, resistance bands and (15-20) high repetitions are great for light muscle-toning. Using one light and one medium band will allow you to hit all of your major muscles without strain.



  • Give them a try.

  • Film yourself. Beginning and progress/results after a few weeks.

  • Follow @asexyfit.

  • Send a video of your efforts, progress, results and transformation for #asexyfitshowcase to @asexyfit or cultiv8thyself@gmail.com.

  • Also, leave a comment below letting us know what results you see from adding resistance bands to your fitness routine!


Sources:



Jacki Lynn - M.Ed (Human Potential Coach)

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