Fitness at home has become a habit for many people, who find time to dedicate to do bodyweight exercises. Among the numerous exercises that can be done at home – even with the use of targeted apps – there is training with resistance bands, a workout that you probably hadn’t taken into consideration. Resistance bands can be used by everyone, both beginners and fitness experts.
Band training offers the benefits of weight training, the ability to tone and strengthen muscles, but without the drawbacks of training with barbells and dumbbells. They are an accessory widely used by swimmers and climbers, who appreciate the double benefit, the muscle remains contracted both in the concentric and eccentric phases, unlike weights. In practice, it manages to fully train the muscle fibers in both contractions.
The types of resistance bands
On the market there are different types of fitness bands to be used for toning and strength development exercises; one type is the simple elastic bands, thin and wide, the loop bands, used for legs and buttocks and finally tubular bands with handles at the ends, to make it easier to grip. Then there are the elastic bands by the meter, rolls starting from 10 meters to be cut to size, in the cheaper version used in gyms or by professionals. Furthermore, the resistance varies according to the colour, normally the lighter colors correspond to a lower resistance, the contrary to the dark colors a greater one. Many kits have different voltages.
5 reasons to train with a resistance band
Improve the quality of exercise
The muscles are solicited in a more specific way, starting from the core – or the central block of the body – and passing through the lower and upper limbs (legs and arms), compared to normal bodyweight training without equipment.
Improve balance
Some exercises that are normally performed on the ground can also be practiced standing up with the elastic, this difference increases the ability to balance and requires less effort. For example, in exercises that are usually performed to implement the abductor muscles, such as the rowing machine, it is instead possible to obtain the same result standing up, with which – through the use of the elastic band – the right resistance is obtained between the back, shoulders and arms.
It makes the most complex exercises easier
Carrying out a workout with the elastic band is more fun, easier and brings great results, reducing the difficulty of performing the exercises without affecting their final validity and effectiveness. The advantage of elastic bands is that the effort to start the movement is much less than what would be needed to move a weight, dumbbell, barbell or weight plate, in this way even those who are not very trained or start a training program from scratch toning and strength development can do something more challenging than bodyweight movements but not so hard that you risk muscle and tendon injuries or inflammatory overload syndromes.
Increases movement speed
Using the elastic band, the speed of the movements is greater than with normal weight training. Furthermore, the range of action and freedom of movement itself, for each type of exercise, will be much wider than normal. This is undoubtedly a great advantage in terms of both results and training times.
Helps develop all muscle groups
The elastic band is an effective aid to implement exercises that affect all muscle groups. They facilitate the execution of practically all the exercises that could also be done with weights, the curls with dumbbells, the rowing, or even the extensions of the legs that simulate the squat with the press or the exercises for the abductors and adductors of the thighs. As a complete strength workout, or for a specific body part, choose 3-5 exercises, from 8-25 repetitions to be repeated 2-5 times, based on your fitness level and the resistance level of the band.
Read more from the source GQ (Italiana Edition)
