Resistance Bands

by Molly Rausch Certified Athletic Trainer and Certified Personal Trainer

Hello everyone! This week’s “Fitness Tip of the Week” is about using the resistance bands. I am sure most of you have seen these, used these, and formed opinions about them. I will admit that they can be a pain to put on and keep from rolling, but the benefits of training with resistance bands greatly outweighs the hassle of getting them on. For those new to resistance bands, the color and thickness of the bands determines how much resistance they have. The different shapes of the different bands make it easier to do certain exercises. Whether you have experience using them or not, I am going to let you know why everyone should be using them! Warning: the following is going to sound like a “too good to be true” scenario, but they honestly are great.

To start, bands are a very cost effective way to strength train. You can get a set of four bands with different resistances for under $10 dollars. They are easy to travel with, meaning less excuses not to get a workout in, regardless of where you are in the world. Bands provide a different type of resistance that you can’t get from lifting weights. Regular weight lifting strengthens the body through a constant resistance. It doesn’t matter what place in your range-of-motion you are in, the resistance is the same. With bands, you get a progressive resistance. This means that as the band stretches, you are met with more resistance. It also means that you need more control to bring the band back to an unstretched position.

Progressive Resistance: 

Because of the progressive resistance bands provide, they are a great piece of equipment for everyone from seasoned weightlifters to the injured and recovering. They help improve your muscle strength and control through your whole range-of-motion. The more strength you gain through your entire range-of-motion, the more stability you will have. The more control and stability, the less likely an injury is from happening. Injuries happen when the weakest link in the chain breaks. Bands help keep all the links in the chains the same strength.

Full Body Workout Idea: 

For a great 30-minute band workout, I like to cycle through these 5 exercises as many times as I can. Resistance should be strong enough so the exercise gets challenging around the 7th or 8th repetition.

If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact me at mrausch@healthworksfitness.com or comment below!