BLOG
RESISTANCE BANDS WORKOUT
Resistance Bands Workout
Our resistance bands workout is incredible and will give you a muscle burn and muscle pump like nothing else. It is totally different to the feeling from weight training.
Resistance bands are made of strong, thin rubber and come in a variety of resistances depending on your fitness level. With resistance bands, you can do just about any type of strength training exercise -- chest presses, rows, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, bicep curls, and even squats -- without the need for heavy weights.
If you've never tried resistance bands, or you're new to them, you may be surprised at how much benefit you can get from what is essentially a reinforced rubber band, but as is often the case, the simplest tools are often the very best for your health.
10 Benefits of Resistance Bands
1. Incredibly Cost-Effective
Resistance bands are inexpensive and can be purchased for under £10.
2. Adaptable for Multiple Fitness Levels
Whether you're a beginner or an expert, resistance bands are for you. They come in a variety of resistances, including light, medium and heavy, and you can further adjust the intensity of your resistance-band workouts by giving the band more or less slack. You can even use multiple bands at once to increase the challenge.
3. Used with Familiar Exercises
You can often use familiar strength training moves with resistance bands, which means you don't need to learn a complicated new routine. For instance, resistance bands can replace the weights you use for biceps curls.
4. Whole-Body Exercises
Resistance bands can be used for a comprehensive, full-body workout that challenges virtually every major muscle group in your body.
5. Save on Storage Space
Resistance bands take up virtually no space to store them, which means you can use them at home even if you have very little extra space. When your workout is done, simply stash them in a drawer until your next session.
6.Excellent for Travelling
Resistance bands are lightweight and easily portable. You can stash them in your suitcase when travelling and use them to get a good workout right in your hotel room.
7. Add Variety
Your muscles quickly adapt to movements you do often, which is why adding variety to your workouts is key for challenging your muscles. Resistance bands can be alternated with free weights and exercise machines for ongoing variety.
8. Easy to Use Alone
It's not a good idea to lift heavy weights without an exercise buddy, but resistance bands can be safely used on your own. They're ideal for exercising any time, at home or on the road.
9. Can Be Combined with Other Equipment
Resistance bands are so versatile that you can even use them along with weights, allowing you to get the benefits of two types of exercises at once.
10. An Effective Workout
Resistance bands are incredibly simple, but they're also extremely effective at working your muscles. Additionally, resistance-band training can help you boost stamina, flexibility, range of motion and more.
Why Strength Training Is Important
I've explained why resistance bands make a smart addition to virtually any strength training program, but perhaps you're wondering why you should be strength training to begin with. Strength training will improve muscle and bone strength, which can help prevent falls and fractures, but it also increases your body's production of growth factors, which are responsible for cellular growth, proliferation and differentiation. Some of these growth factors also promote the growth, differentiation, and survival of neurons, which helps explain why working your muscles also benefits your brain.
So, while weight-bearing exercise, like resistance or strength training, can go a long way to prevent the loss of bone quality and density, and can help reverse the damage already done, interestingly enough, strength training also has brain-boosting side effects, which can help you avoid age-related dementia. You can use either gym equipment, resistance bands, free weights or a combination for your workouts. Gym equipment or resistance bands may be safer if you're a novice, as free weights will require better form and control. Whichever one you choose, I recommend having a trainer take you through each exercise to make sure you have the proper form performing the exercise, to avoid injury.
