Resistance Bands 101: Why You Need Them And Where To Begin – Aaptiv

You’ve possible crossed paths with a resistance band or two along your fitness journey. While they appear to be easy gym tools, they come jam-packed with a full vary of advantages.

So, we turned to 2 Aaptiv trainers to tell us extra about resistance bands and how to make use of them in our training.

How do resistance bands work?

Aaptiv trainer Candice Cunningham says, “Resistance bands work by adding an exterior resistance pressure that may be utilized without having to hold extra weight per se.” They are flat, typically looped bands that range from skinny sizes to thick.

Aaptiv coach and proprietor of Trainers in Transit, Jennifer Giamo, additional explains, “They present resistance at various degrees of problem (gentle, medium, heavy, additional heavy) when offering the opposing power with your own physique weight. When they are anchored in place, you can push, pull, curl, etc. towards the rubber resistance.”

What are some advantages of resistance bands?

Travel-friendly

There are multiple benefits to utilizing resistance bands, which makes them so common amongst gym goers and trainers alike. “They are portable [and] inexpensive,” Giamo says.

Resistance bands can be used anywhere-the gym, on the park, in your home. They’re compact and light so that they don’t take up much space or add weight. Basically, they’re perfect for fitting in workouts on-the-go.

Just pop one of these bands in your luggage, and you may set up your individual home gym in the middle of your lodge room.

Multi-level

You’ll have observed that resistance bands are available in varied colors and thickness. Each measurement and shade typically correlates with a sure resistance stage.

So, you possibly can select which band to make use of primarily based on your skill and the train you’re doing. It makes this multi-stage fitness software great for all levels, says Giamo.

Variety

“They’re nice for activating muscle groups prior to heavy lifting or cardio exercise to ensure correct muscle teams are working and doing their jobs,” Cunningham provides. “They’re also nice for toning smaller muscle areas.”

But you don’t need to learn new exercises or movements to use the bands. Take workout routines you’re already aware of, and make them extra difficult by including further resistance. Alternatively, you can really make some strikes easier through the use of the bands as leverage and offsetting a few of your bodyweight.

“They present selection to a routine workout and also permit for muscles to work concentrically and eccentrically-offering resistance in the course of the ‘work phase’ and the ‘rest section,’” says Giamo. “[Resistance bands] are additionally quite simple to make use of when understanding on your own. They’re secure and efficient.”

What exercises can I do with resistance bands?

You should use resistance bands as a part of quite a lot of health routines and workouts. But they’re particularly helpful relating to power and toning workouts.

“The benefits of using resistance bands for energy training are countless,” Giamo says. For more info regarding jacquard elastic band price check out the web page. “You can carry out workout routines for every major muscle group, challenge your current routine ([for example], add them to push-ups for elevated difficulty). It’s also possible to enhance your vary of motion, flexibility and muscular endurance.”

There is a range of workout routines you need to use them with resembling assisted pull-ups, chest press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.

“Some [different] nice exercises are scapular retraction pulls and pull ups for upper body, for decrease body glute bridges, lateral kicks or walks, and clams,” says Cunningham.

Are resistance bands higher than free weights and gym machines?

While resistance bands are nice, it doesn’t imply that you’ll want to shun the free weights and gym machines completely.

“I assume they are a superb complement to weights and machines,” Giamo explains. “They help add a different component to power training and are especially great when weights and machines are not available. You possibly can mimic almost all workout routines and work the identical muscle groups utilizing resistance bands.”

In fact, research show the effects of combining elastic and free weight resistance on power and energy in athletes. A mix of the bands and free weights, for example, shows significantly higher results in contrast to simply using free weights alone.

Ultimately, to enhance your general body composition, don’t simply depend on one or the other. Use a mixture of resistance bands, free weights, and machines to present yourself an amazing workout – you will discover this and more contained in the Aaptiv app.