In different workouts—like a row or pull-down, for instance—the resistance is flip-flopped: It’s heaviest when your muscular tissues are at their weakest, and lightest at their strongest level, which is additionally a plus as it could possibly enable you to progress by way of your energy coaching by engaged on the purpose the place you wrestle essentially the most, Dr. Reiner explains.
What’s extra, bands are an “glorious method” to ease into energy coaching or rehab from damage, Dr. Reiner says. That’s as a result of they create a slower development in comparison with weights, since you may make workouts tougher in smaller increments by merely shortening the size of the band (versus selecting up the subsequent set of weights, which can be a number of kilos or extra heavier.) “You’ll be able to inch your method towards full-on energy coaching that method,” Dr. Reiner says. Plus, in a rehab (or prehab) situation, you should use them to isolate particular muscle teams and work in numerous planes of movement just by altering your place to the band, Dr. Reiner explains, which will be a straightforward, efficient technique to pinpoint particular areas.
They’re additionally stellar for getting in some type of energy work when you will have restricted entry to different gear, she provides, like these occasions if you simply can’t make it to the fitness center after work or are touring with no weights at your disposal.
As well, bands are budget-friendly (you should purchase a five-pack on Amazon for $24), transportable (simply toss ’em in your fitness center bag or suitcase), and extremely versatile (they work with tons of various workouts—from conventional energy strikes like lunges, bridges, and presses to extra stability-focused workouts like pull-aparts, clamshells, and lateral walks).
Lastly, the truth that they’re mainly simply outsized rubber bands could make them much less intimidating in comparison with a cumbersome set of free weights. “It’s so much much less scary to have a look at a resistance band than a dumbbell,” Hart says, which may make them a extra approachable device for anybody new to, or in any other case overwhelmed by, energy coaching.
However there are some downsides price figuring out about too.
Moreover the truth that bands can solely present energy coaching to a degree, making them a not-so-great-choice in case your aim is heavy positive factors, their shifting resistance stage might hinder your energy positive factors by way of your full vary of movement, if you’re counting on bands alone and no weights, Dr. Reiner says.
