There are many reasons why working out with resistance bands is worth considering. They are affordable: they start at $10 for a set of three. They are compact and lightweight, so small space living and travel are not a challenge. They are also user-friendly for all levels of fitness and especially friendly to any struggle that you might have. For example, if you are recovering from an injury and are seeking low-impact reentry, if you are new to working out and are concerned about doing something wrong, or if you simply do not want to work out in front of people in a gym. I must mention, this last one is more commonly the reason people don’t start working out than you might think. My personal favorite thing about working out with bands is the hidden bonus, the one that is not often talked about: it demands use of the small muscles, also known as stability muscles.
When the term “exercise” is mentioned, traditionally people think of being sore afterward. Legs, arms, core, and more specifically quadriceps (aka quads), hamstrings, calves, biceps, triceps, and abs are expected to be tight and possibly a bit harder to move. What is not considered as often is the smaller muscles that keep the rest in line. Walking, sitting, and standing all require a large percentage of muscles whose names are not going to come to mind. When these muscles are ignored, the alignment of your body is lost. If you have ever planked, you have experienced the most up-front example of stability muscles in use. The goal of a plank is to keep your body in a rigid line while lifting it off the ground, usually in some degree of horizontal. Once lifted, there is no longer any one muscle in action, there are many. Some are working to keep your head down to your feet up, but not too far up, and others are working to keep your head down to your feet from moving right or left of center.
This translates into band workouts because it raises the question of “who’s doing the work?” When there is not a machine or piece of equipment that is going to line up your body for you to target the large muscle of your choosing, you must line it up yourself using all the other muscles. The fun part is learning how to crossover. A biceps curl is a move to work the biggest muscle in our arms, so arguably the strongest. When doing a biceps curl while sitting at a machine, the elbows are resting on pads and only the biceps and back are doing the work. For some, this could be easier than sitting and curling with dumbbells or a barbell. For others, it’s harder. When sitting at the machine there are only the target muscles being challenged, so those muscles need to be ready for that challenge. Comparatively, if you are sitting and holding a free weight, from the seat up can work to stabilize and thrust the curl. Or, if standing, your knees can be bent, and your full body can help to lift the weights up, over and over. Switch that into a band move, standing with knees slightly bent, the middle of a flat band under both feet and one end in each palm, arms resting straight down at your sides to start, and curl up till your fists almost hit your shoulders. In this move, your feet are working to hold the band down, your legs are holding you stable, and your core is pushing up into your shoulders to help in holding all steady while the biceps curl the end of each band up. The band will make your arms want to sway from side to side, your knees will possibly lock, and your core will fire up in an unexpected way. If a person has only done biceps curls on a stable machine their biceps may be built. However, the crossover to a workout that is not fixed could be surprisingly difficult. With the bands more of your body is working at once.
This combined with the benefit of resistant band flexibility adds the opportunity of a fabulous stretch session or solid workout to anyone’s schedule. It can be done in bed, before you get up and after you’ve turned in for the night. It can be done sitting on the couch while watching tv, or at your desk while working. You can commit a regular chunk of whatever time is best for you in your own home. If travelling, it can be a push against the aching side effects of sitting that may have been added to your body during transit. It can keep you in line with your established regimen while away from your usual tools. The bands, once learned, can help realign the natural imbalance that can come from injury, or from the time we all have spent keeping ourselves upright against gravity’s pull.
I have heard it said that “band work” is easy. The truth is that the difficulty factor is up to you. Athletes pay tribute to the unique addition they have enjoyed from them. Physical therapy providers, who help us back from the worst of it, would not be without bands. Any size, age or disability can find a way to move their bits more with bands than without. Working your stability muscles into your exercise program by using resistance bands training can help you live a more physically balanced life.
Next, I’d like to get into the many Product Options: from price point to intensity, with the differences each set gives to the workouts. Then, I look forward to sharing some of My Favorite Workouts with the bands, including what muscle/groups are being used and what traditional exercises these relate to. I will also talk about how to use each type of band set. So much good stuff.
Keep Moving.