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

You’ve probably crossed paths with a resistance knitted elastic band or two along your health journey. While they appear to be simple gym equipment, they come jam-full of a full vary of benefits.

So, we turned to two Aaptiv trainers to inform us more about resistance bands and the way to use them in our coaching.

How do resistance bands work?

Aaptiv trainer Candice Cunningham says, «Resistance bands work by including an external resistance pressure that may be applied with out having to carry extra weight per se.» They are flat, typically looped bands that vary from skinny sizes to thick.

Aaptiv coach and proprietor of Trainers in Transit, Jennifer Giamo, additional explains, «They present resistance at varying levels of problem (light, medium, heavy, additional heavy) when offering the opposing drive with your own physique weight. When they’re anchored in place, you possibly can push, pull, curl, etc. towards the rubber resistance.»

What are some benefits of resistance bands?

Travel-pleasant

There are a number of advantages to using resistance bands, which makes them so widespread amongst gym goers and trainers alike. «They are portable [and] cheap,» Giamo says.

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

Just pop one of these bands in your luggage, and you’ll set up your personal house gym in the middle of your resort room.

Multi-level

You may have noticed that resistance bands come in numerous colours and thickness. Each measurement and color usually correlates with a sure resistance level.

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

Variety

«They’re great for activating muscle teams previous to heavy lifting or cardio exercise to make sure correct muscle teams are working and doing their jobs,» Cunningham provides. «They’re additionally great for toning smaller muscle areas.»

But you don’t must learn new workouts or movements to make use of the bands. Take exercises you’re already accustomed to, and make them extra challenging by adding further resistance. Alternatively, you’ll be able to truly make some moves simpler by using the bands as leverage and offsetting some of your bodyweight.

«They provide selection to a routine workout and likewise permit for muscles to work concentrically and eccentrically-offering resistance during the ‘work phase’ and the ‘rest section,’» says Giamo. «[Resistance bands] are additionally quite easy to use when working out on your own. They’re safe and effective.»

What exercises can I do with resistance bands?

You need to use resistance bands as a part of quite a lot of fitness routines and workouts. But they’re significantly helpful relating to power and toning workouts.

«The benefits of utilizing resistance bands for strength training are countless,» Giamo says. «You can carry out workout routines for every main muscle group, challenge your present routine ([for example], add them to push-ups for elevated issue). You may also improve your vary of motion, flexibility and muscular endurance.»

There’s a spread of workouts you should utilize them with reminiscent of assisted pull-ups, chest press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.

«Some [other] great workouts are scapular retraction pulls and pull ups for upper physique, for decrease physique glute bridges, lateral kicks or walks, and clams,» says Cunningham.

Are resistance bands better than free weights and gym machines?

While resistance bands are great, it doesn’t imply that it’s good to shun the free weights and gym machines utterly.

«I think they are a good complement to weights and machines,» Giamo explains. «They assist add a different factor to power coaching and are particularly great when weights and machines usually are not out there. You possibly can mimic nearly all workouts and work the identical muscle teams utilizing resistance bands.»

In fact, studies present the results of mixing knitted elastic webbing and free weight resistance on strength and energy in athletes. A combination of the bands and free weights, for example, reveals significantly higher results in contrast to simply using free weights alone.

Ultimately, to enhance your overall physique composition, don’t simply depend on one or the opposite. For those who have just about any questions regarding wherever and the way to use knitted elastic band buy, it is possible to contact us with the web site. Use a mixture of resistance bands, free weights, and machines to present yourself an incredible workout – you can find this and more inside the Aaptiv app.