Resistance bands: The versatile exercise buddies. How to workout with them?

Do you ever work out with resistance bands? They are a great training helper for everyone - anytime, anywhere. Whether you work out at home, outside, or during a holiday or business trip in a hotel gym. You can attach the resistance bands to your bed, a door, or a tree or just step on them with your foot. They weigh almost nothing and don't take up much space in your travel bag, so they're ideal for traveling to exercise and stretch your whole body. It is also an alternative to training with weights or machines. This is a versatile type of equipment that you can really work out all your muscles with. Plus, resistance bands are a long-term investment because they will last you for many years if used properly.

I want a resistance band!

This article is written with the know-how of personal trainer and our ambassador Peter Nuota.

Types of resistance bands

Resistance bands are available in different colors. Each color represents a different difficulty, but it is not always the case that yellow rubber is the weakest (as shown in the picture below). Each brand determines the colors to suit its own needs. However, you can easily see the difficulty of the band by the width. The wider, and therefore thicker, the band is, the bigger its resistance during exercise.

Resistance bands can be divided into four groups:

1) Flat resistance bands

2) Resistance bands with grips

3) Mini resistance bands

4) Elastic resistance bands

Benefits of exercising with resistance bands

We have 4 key benefits of exercising with resistance bands for you:

1) They are suitable for beginners

Want to start exercising but don't know exactly how to do it? Try resistance bands! Thanks to them, you will learn the correct technique of exercises without having to practice with heavy weights and dumbbells, which can cause problems with stability or coordination in some exercises. Exercising with them is also a safer option in the beginning, unlike heavy dumbbells that can injure you if handled incorrectly.

2) Effective warm-up and stretching

You can also use them to warm up your muscles and joints before strength or other types of training. The same goes for stretching at the end of a workout. They push stretching to a new level and take your workout one step further!

3) They are putting up constant resistance

Resistance bands provide resistance during the eccentric and also concentric phases of the exercise. The resistance that the muscles have to overcome is increased by stretching the band and the muscles are constantly in tension. For example, in a biceps lift - if you lift the barbell too high, you reach a point where the muscle is not under tension. This is not the case when you exercise with a band. It creates tension all the time, so you're working against the resistance the rubber creates. If you want to get the most out of your training, focus fully on exercise technique and proper grip setup. This is regardless of whether you're hanging it from furniture or standing on it with your feet.

4) They work as an exercise assistance

As well as creating resistance and serving as a strengthening tool, you can also use them as an exercise aid. They are most often used when training push-ups on the trapeze bar - you hang the band on the bar, put your feet or knees, or just one, and hooray! A great tool for push-ups. You can also use resistance bands to help you with pull-ups, squats, or deadlifts. Just use your imagination!

Get your resistance bands at Top4Fitness and boost your workouts!