Strap With Handle

Resistance Band Exercises – Am I using these things right? resistance band exercisesIf your past exercising experiences are at all similar to mine, then you are plenty comfortable using free weights for most of your weight lifting moves. Maybe on a few occasions you get adventurous and use a cable machine, some medicine balls, or even kettle bells! But what in the world are those brightly colored stretchy tubes and bands over in the corner for! Those are for resistance band exercises of course! Now you may be concerned about using these bands because you don’ t know any specific “ resistance band exercises” , but don’ t let that term confuse you. Most moves that you perform with free weights can be performed with resistance bands as well. Personally I love resistance bands and use them at home constantly with my home workout programs. I just wanted to take a moment to clear up any questions, myths, or misconceptions everyone may have about using bands so that everyone reap the benefits and results that resistance band exercises can provide! Resistance Band Exercises Aren’ t As Challenging? There is a completely different type of feeling that your muscles get when performing resistance band exercises. When using free weights, gravity often plays a significant factor in how you will feel the resistance during the movement. For instance, while doing bicep curls, you often feel a great deal more resistance when curling the weight up and gravity does most of the work on the way back down. Where you are really going to see amazing results is by focusing on that lowering of the weight, sometimes called the negative of the rep. When using the bands, tension is constant which can often help trigger the muscles to respond with more control during those negative reps. There is also a significant amount of intensity added by using the bands due to the stabilizer muscles needed to keep the band in alignment with your anchor point throughout each exercise. Resistance Band ExercisesWhen it comes to resistance band exercises, form is the key to success. With free weights you can look at the weight and there is a number there telling you how much you’ re lifting. The bands are a little bit different. They are often color coded for the amount of resistance they provide to give you an approximation, but depending on how far your movement is away from an anchor point such as your foot or a door, the resistance can vary. That’ s the beautiful thing about bands! You can increase resistance by making a loop in the band under your foot, making the band seem shorter and raising the intensity of your resistance band exercises. Since we already talked above about how the bands work your muscles in a slightly different manner, through feeling out the resistance during your workouts you can figure out how to dial in the right band or resistance for you! Need more reasons to give resistance band exercises a try? resistance exerciseResistance bands are perfect for the travelling workout enthusiast. I can through a pair of handles and 3 bands in my suitcase and have enough resistance to get through an entire P90X workout. Bet you can’ t say the same for all those free weights you have on a rack at home. And those weights certainty wouldn’ t make it past the weight restrictions airlines have these days, where has bands weigh next to nothing! Variety is the spice of life, and resistance band exercises can definitely add some spice to your daily workout routines! Muscle confusion is the key to changing your body and by using a combination of free weight and resistance band exercises you can provide different ranges of motion for exercises, different positioning and break free from the limits of traditional exercises.