"Essential" is a word being used like never before, whether it be to describe travel, shopping or work. But now as a fitness enthusiast and after months of COVID- induced lack of access to any of my usual training equipment, I would stretch it's use (pun intended) to owning and incorporating resistance bands into my workout routine.
If you wish to complete a comprehensive muscle growth or maintenance exercise regime at home without any other bulky equipment, resistance bands are an excellent way to achieve that and are a great way to boost an already established routine. They are easily
portable and can be used indoors, outdoors and now (finally!) back in the gym and provide a much cheaper option than other home fitness equipment if you are just getting started. But are they worth it?
My Covid Context
At the time of writing this, gyms were closed and home gym equipment was either overpriced, unavailable or wouldn’t fit into the space we had at home. This posed a huge problem for me wanting to maintain my muscle percentage, physique and strength.
I tried HIIT workouts, body weight exercises, plyometrics and all sorts of different running training. My cardiovascular fitness soared, but I failed to consistently put my muscles under tension especially my upper body ones. The other ingredient in building and maintaining muscle is progressive overload and I found body weight exercises had a ceiling in how much you could continuously increase the intensity of exercises. Whilst I increased the number of reps and sets, I felt I hit a point of diminishing returns, lost interest and I actually began to lose muscle mass.
When I left the gym for the last time in March 2020 I weighed in at 76kg, without access to heavy weights I dropped to 68kg, my arms, back and chest felt significantly smaller. I then contracted the virus and felt my strength slip away.
Following this gyms reopened for a short spell, I was able to hit the weights consistently and begin to regain what I had lost. When a further lockdown was announced I was determined to avoid the same pattern, I knew I needed resistance training in my routine...
Joining the Resistance
I, maybe like many, believed stretchy bands were more at home on a cable shopping channels and they were just a gimmick for those not strong enough to lift "real" weights.
I then researched how resistance bands can actually provide tension throughout a range of movement where traditional dumbells often may not, they remove the ability to use momentum and promote sustained control.
Imagine a bicep curl using a dumbell for example. Once you have curled the weight through the mid range of the motion the final part of the exercise is significantly easier. Whereas with a band the tension actually increases as you complete the rep. You cant swing the band up, so no cheating here and on the decline phase if a dumbell is too heavy you may just let the weight fall, but with a band you can increase the time under tension and slowly lower the rep. In a short space of time pulling and pushing the bands began to feel as normal as pushing and pulling iron. It was great to feel those next day DOMs that had eluded me previously.
Ok this advantage isn't apparent in every exercise and in fact the reverse can be true, but this small pro gave me hope that I could tap into the exercises where bands could be superior and come up with a routine fit for purpose.
I found the most helpful advice on which banded exercises to incorporate at athleanx.com. Its creator Jeff Cavalier is a world renowned pro athlete trainer and physical therapist who is "putting the science back in strength". His Youtube content is engaing, professional and helps to keep all the sports science easy to digest. I would highly recommend checking his channel out if you want free workouts and training advice from one of the worlds best in the industry.
His video specifically on resistance bands can be found here; https://youtu.be/OhOe6yA_zYk
Investing £22.99 for a 4-piece set was a much cheaper alternative to any of the other fitness equipment I had my eye on, but their value in terms of the impact they have had and the progress I’ve made by using them has hugely surpassed the cost of my initial investment.
I was sold on resistance bands when I reaslied that not only could they provide a force against me, but that I could actually use that force to complete exercises I previously couldn’t achieve.
Before trying them I used to say that bodyweight exercises didnt work for me. The problem being I wasn't strong enough to complete key bodyweight exercises like pull ups and chin ups correctly. However by looping a resistance band over the pull up bar, my body weight was countered, I started to increase the reps and improve my form. The band gave me that moment of inertia that my muscles alone could not carry out. This is where I plan to take my training next into the world of Calisthenics....
Overall in my experience resistance bands have proved to be versatile but purposeful, easy to use but the best thing I‘ve found is how surprisingly effective they are. They make a great addition for people at any fitness level, beginner to expert, male or female, with a range of resistance options and at a fraction of the cost of alternative home workout equipment. Even though I’m so happy to have returned to the gym, these will continue to remain an integral part of my workouts for the foreseeable future. Bring on the muscle-ups!
Author: Chris Wynn
Pull Up Assistance Resistance Bands Set Latex Durable Pull Up Assist Bands for Workout Body Stretch Powerlifting, Stretching, Resistance Training https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086SXM4W6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NJBCC0BY36P7YQJY5MNH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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