Make Your Muscles Stronger With RESISTANCE BAND
Elastic resistance exercise has been around for almost a century. Resistance band, fitness band, TheraBand – you know this prop by lots of different names. Resistance bands are large elastic bands that we can use to exercise all areas of the body. They can be good for people with limited mobility, as many of the exercises can be done while seated.
Today, elite athletes around the world in all sports use bands —football players, UFC fighters, powerlifters, and bodybuilders—to develop strength, power, speed, and even muscle size.
Strength activities make your muscles stronger while flexibility exercises stretch them, making everyday activities easier. Some of these you can do while seated.
Programs utilizing elastic tubing, elastic bands, and similar devices increase muscle strength and size and decrease body fat in a similar manner to free-weight training programs. Your muscle fibers don’t know the difference between dumbbells and elastic bands in a given range of motion—provided the amount of resistance is more or less the same. Studies have shown that muscle activity and peak load during elastic-resistance exercise are similar to that of free-weight training.
There are two main types of resistance bands: looped and tubed.
• Loop bands, or power bands, are made of a single, looped piece of lightweight rubber latex. These bands range in resistance from 5 pounds to 175 pounds and are great for bodybuilding, physical therapy, and improving athletic performance. Loop bands also come in mini versions that range in resistance from 5 pounds to 50 pounds.
• Tube bands are straight, made of harder rubber, and have handles on each end. They are great for beginners who are looking to have more control over the exercises.
To determine which resistance is right for you, perform a few exercises with different bands to find the one that you can stretch completely to the end of a move. Once you’re able to do 10 repetitions with your starting band, you can increase to 15 repetitions. Once that becomes too easy, increase to the next resistance level. They come in different colors to show different levels of resistance.
BENEFITS OF RESISTANCE BAND TRAINING
– Strengthen and tone your whole body;
– With minimal stress on our joints, reduce the chance of injury;
– Bands are light and portable;
– Easy change the intensity of your workout gradually by increasing the resistance of the band or rather, moving the band to different tension points on the body;
– They add variety to your training program.
When bands are combined with Pilates exercises our muscle fibers are strengthened much more as you can work on each muscle group individually. For Pilates fans looking for a challenge, this prop can make both mat and equipment exercises more difficult. Despite doing an excellent job of making exercises more difficult, that is not all resistance bands are good for.
This prop is particularly useful in Pilates sessions for beginners or for people with injuries. People also commonly use resistance bands in physical therapy, specifically for muscular injuries. Doctors recommend that cardiac rehab patients allow slow rebuilding of strength.
WORKOUT
For an efficient, full-body resistance band exercise, select four to five exercises. Do each exercise for 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds. After completing one set of the selected exercises, you can take extended recovery as needed or continue on to the next set. Complete four sets total.