Whether you're looking for a fun way to spark new life into your fitness routine, need a safe and effective way to build strength, you're new to fitness or recovering from an injury, resistance bands are the answer!
Resistance bands offer the ease of portability and storage while providing great versatility to nearly any fitness routine. You may have seen them at your local gym, mentioned in a on-demand workout, or come across them searching Amazon for fitness tools and wondered if you should give them a try.
As a nutritionist and certified personal trainer, resistance bands are not only a regular part of my own fitness routine, but a tool I recommend to my clients because of their versatility and ability to support strength, endurance, flexibility, and mobility. And after you read about all the ways you can use them and they're amazing benefits, you're going to want to add them to your fitness routine too!
What makes resistance bands such a great asset
They come in a variety of sizes, colors, and strengths - great for beginners and beyond!
They have the ability to challenge multiple muscle groups at once by offering varied tension throughout an exercise movement
They make a low impact, safe alternative to traditional free weights and heavy load bearing fitness equipment
You can easily dictate the amount of tension placed upon a muscle group, so you can personalize them to your fitness level
11 Awesome Benefits of Using Resistance Bands:
Improves flexibility
Builds strong muscles
Keeps you balanced
Budget friendly
Offers convenience
Supports fitness as you age
Safer alternative to heavy weights
Varies the intensity of your workout
Helps you recover from injury
Boosts performance
Puts the “fun” in function
Improve your flexibility and build strength. Do you often wake up stiff with new aches and pains? Adding resistance bands to your fitness routine can help. A 2019 study of 23 rugby players found that using bands in a 5-week training program improved their flexibility and range of motion. This is also why you'll find resistance bands are widely used as a training modality in physical therapy clinics, helping folks improve their range of motion while repairing and recovering from injury. The tension of the bands creates space within joints while you stretch and improve mobility.
Resistance bands help you strengthen weaker muscles while simultaneously challenging stronger ones, boosting strength and promoting healthy muscular balance by providing resistance for your muscles to work against, using varied tension throughout an exercise movement, whether it's a squat, bicep curl or donkey kick.
Support healthy balance. Balance is a key component of our overall wellness, important for avoiding injury, and supporting quality of life, especially as we age.
In one small study, older people did a 40-minute resistance band exercise program 5 times a week for 4 weeks. And not only did their balance improve, but they also improved scores on a survey measuring mental health and physical function.
Affordability and versatility. Think you have to have to have a big budget to get a good workout? Don't underestimate the value of these rubber bands! You can find resistance bands for under $10 and usually purchase an entire set of varying strengths with handles, anchors and more for less than $20. Even the most hardcore fabric bands don’t cost even close to what a set of dumbbells would. Amazon is my go-to source for mini loop bands, booty bands and full size resistance bands!
Resistance bands are basically like having a gym in your pocket. They're easy to grab-and-go, take outdoors, pack in your suitcase and use solo or with a workout buddy.
Support your fitness, today and tomorrow. Their low impact design enables you to do a variety of exercises without the strain of conventional weight bearing equipment. This is especially important if you're new to fitness, recovering from an injury, or simply want to reduce your risk of injury. With bands you get to control the level of difficulty and resistance of the band you’re using. Which means, unlike traditional weights, you can’t pick up a resistance band that’s too heavy and risk injury from dropping it on you, straining a muscle, or struggling to maintain proper form.
And they're not just for beginners! A good set of resistance bands can support you throughout your fitness journey, from beginner to tone and fit! You can use bands to do light range of motion stretching exercises or high rep intense muscle building exercises. And that versatility means you can easily share your resistance bands with others in your household, even if you have different fitness levels.
More than muscles, support functional movement. Functional fitness means your body has the strength, flexibility, and coordination to perform your day-to-day activities, from climbing the stairs and getting up off the floor, to unloading the dishwasher and doing the laundry. There’s evidence that resistance band training helps you build this kind of functional fitness.
A 12-week study of 168 women assessed their functional fitness along with other health factors. The women showed an increase in cardiorespiratory fitness, handgrip strength, overall body strength, flexibility, and agility, with improved glucose control and cholesterol levels.
And in another study, participants who did a 12-week program of moderate intensity resistance band training for 60 minutes, 3 times a week showed improvements in grip strength, sit and reach flexibility, one-legged stance (balance), and blood pressure.
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