Joint Friendly Exercises Archives - Resistance Band Training

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 45193 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2020-12-03 23:54:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-12-03 23:54:40 [post_content] =>

For those not familiar with “Contrast Band Training” it involves combining the constant resistance of free weights with the variable resistance of bands.

Applying Contrast Band Training into your weekly strength training workouts allows you to:

Make free weights harder without increasing the weight
Make free weight training more joint friendly
Change up rep speed which you can't do training with free weights alone
Create a stronger muscle contraction at the end of the lift
Learn how to accelerate a weight which fits how we function in life
Make weight lifting more power based without the risk of injury

Contrast band training was developed and is used frequently in the power lifting community but honestly it doesn’t have to involve some of the complex setups you will see used in this training population. I understand power-lifters want to quantify their resistance. However to me the key is the effect of contrast training versus quantifying the resistance. As a result I like to keep contrast training simple while still getting the effect. Below are 4 Easy Contrast Training Setups I will frequently use in my weekly training. When trying these make sure you start with a lower level of band resistance until you become more comfortable with the setup and the movement pattern. However once you have the exercises mastered, I think you will find contrast training to a great way to workout and more than challenging enough when band resistance scaled correctly. Let’s Hit Some Contrast Training.

Bent Over Rows with Bands and Weights

Deadlifts with Bands and Weights

Chest Press with Bands and Weights

Split Squats with Bands and Weights

Get Access to Done-For-You Exercises, Workouts, and Direct Access to Dave Schmitz

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[post_title] => 4 Easy Contrast Band Training Setups [post_excerpt] => Start learning how to combine "constant free weight resistance" with "variable band resistance" and begin feeling the impact "Contrast Training" has on your body. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 4-easy-contrast-band-setups [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-01-21 18:51:02 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-01-21 18:51:02 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://resistancebandtraining.com/?p=45193 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ID: 45193Array ( [0] => 1775 [1] => 1776 [2] => 1 [3] => 1288 )

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 31408 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2019-01-24 12:52:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-01-24 12:52:40 [post_content] => For active aging adults, who love to workout with weights, contrast band training is the easiest and most joint friendly way to keep weight lifting a part of your weekly workout routine without beating up and aging your body.

Why Contrast Band Training?

Less free weight resistance required
Less load on your spine and peripheral joints
Allows you to train in different movement patterns
Allows you to apply resistance in different directions besides vertically
Applies resistance through the entire range of motion
Allows you to change up repetition speed
Helps improve end range joint stability and injury prevention
Makes lifting weights more portable due to less weight needed

“Stop Beating Up Your Body Lifting Weights Only ... Contrast Band Train and Start Feeling, Moving and Looking Your BEST”

4 Ways to Program in Contrast Band Training

1. Alternating between band resistance and free weight resistance

The easiest way to contrast band train is by alternating between a band resistance exercise and a free weight resistance exercise that trains similar muscles or movements. An example of this would be Kneeling DB Shoulder Press followed by Kneeling Band Press. This can be done several ways but my recommendation for the active aging adult is to do 3 to 4 sets of band presses followed by 3 to 4 sets of dumbbell presses. Doing the band resisted exercise first activates the stabilizing muscle better and creates a safer warm-up effect. This makes it easier on the joints when free weight training is initiated.

Contrast Band Training - Shoulder Press Example

2. Combine free weight resistance with band resistance simultaneously (Dave's Favorite Option)

To me this is one of the most effective ways to contrast band train. However, it may require more set up and a higher level of strength training skill. Typically the setup involves attaching bands to the actual free weight exercise. For example, attaching bands to the barbell when doing squats or bench presses. However, it could also entail attaching the band resistance to the body and then performing the free weight resisted movement. For example, using the crossover band setup with squatting. Regardless which approach is applied, the ability to work against both types of resistance simultaneously is the goal.

3. Do primary strength exercise with free weight resistance followed by auxiliary exercises with band resistance

The #1 goal behind contrast band training as an active aging adult is to stimulate the nervous system using different types of resistance. Therefore, simulating the same movements with band and free weights is not necessary. Another effective way to contrast train is to perform the primary strength building movement with free weight resistance. Then apply band resistance while performing the auxiliary strength movements. For example, body weight pull ups followed by a band high attached pulling circuit. The primary pulling muscles are stimulated by the free weight resistance and then stimulated in different planes of movement by band resistance.

4. Do a movement or muscle specific primer workout with band resistance and then a strength specific workout with free weight resistance

Band resistance is obviously more joint friendly than free weight resistance. This is why I will often contrast the two by performing a "primer workout" that is synergistic with the movement or muscles I plan to train that day. A good example of this is my regular overhead pressing and pulling day that includes some type of free weight overhead press or pulling movement. On these days, I will always incorporate a 30 on, 15 off interval band circuit that includes the following exercises:

Primer Workout Ideas

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Best Place to Learn and Be Coached By "The Band Man" on Exactly How to Contrast Band Train

Learn More and Join The Band Gym

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WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 28116 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2018-05-28 07:00:24 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-05-28 07:00:24 [post_content] => One of the best ways to make traditional barbell strength training more joint friendly is contrast training using gravity-dominated resistance with band resistance. It's also better for active aging guys.

How is Barbell-Band Strength Training More Joint Friendly??

First, it eliminates having to load up the bar with heavy resistance. This creates joint shearing forces that wear and tear on the joints. Instead, by using a band it decreases the load at the start of the concentric phase. This is where most joint trauma is created. The second way contrast training is joint friendly is it creates a higher level of joint stabilization at the end of the concentric phase. This is where injury is most likely to occur.

Here Are 5 Other Benefits of Contrast Training

Eliminates needing super heavyweights
Creates an incredible muscle squeeze at the end of your range of motion which is what increases muscle recruitment and definition
Increases distal stability where joints are most unstable (big injury prevention benefit)
Allows for greater muscle recruitment, making it a strong fat burning interval strength strategy
Allows you to work on fast-twitch muscle recruitment since speed is variable

Let me take you through how to contrast 7 major muscle groups using traditional Barbell Strength Training exercises. These exercises will provide you with a more joint friendly, free weight strength training alternative.

Chest-Barbell Bench Press

Back-Barbell Bent Over Rows

Shoulders-Barbell Push Press

Legs-Barbell Front Squats

Summary

Substituting these barbell and bodyweight contrast exercises has been proven to help you gain strength. It also helps you build muscle and create greater muscle definition without having to create extensive wear and tear on your joints. As a result, barbell training becomes a more joint friendly training option for active aging guys and gals that enjoy that form of strength training.

Want to Build Joint Friendly Strength and Muscle Definition?

Follow the 28 Day Muscle Maximizer Program

Program With Band Kit | Program Only

28 Day Campaign Muscle Maximizer - strength training

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WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 24813 [post_author] => 1620 [post_date] => 2017-11-17 07:00:30 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-11-17 07:00:30 [post_content] =>

Is Weightlifting Beating You Up?

Earlier in my life, when I was in my twenties and thirties, I regularly enjoyed doing challenging weight lifting workouts. However, as I continued working out with heavy weights, there were times that my workouts would hurt my body more than they helped it. Over time, as a physical therapist, I have come to realize that when that happened, there were 6 key indicators that could tell me if those injuries were being caused by weight lifting, or by something else.

6 Key Indicators Weightlifting Could Be Beating You Up

1. You struggle with frequent soft-tissue injuries

Workouts should not create medical diagnoses. Tendinitis and bursitis are injuries that indicate that tendons (which hook muscles to bones) and the bursa sac (which keeps the tendon from rubbing on a bone) are breaking down due to recurrent exercise-induced trauma. This occurs because repeated high-tension loads that have been placed on the tendon, causing it to breakdown and become inflamed. These kinds of injuries are often seen in people that exclusively lift weights and perform high-volume workouts.

2. Your soft tissue injuries last for more than 2 days

Generally, within 24 hours of completing a workout, any residual soft tissue soreness will have diminished by 50%, and within 48 hours, the soft-tissue pain should be almost entirely gone. Soreness that lasts longer than 48 hours indicates that the body is not recovering fast enough or is breaking down too much. Obviously, any workout activity which results in continued soreness, will eventually lead to injury, and will therefore, need to be modified in order to minimize injury.

Reasons Resistance Bands Don't Make You Sore

3. You can’t work out on back to back days

Obviously, it is not recommended to continue doing the same workouts that have caused soft-tissue pain on consecutive days. However, any properly-designed workout routine should allow you to work out on back-to-back days. If you find that you are experiencing so much pain that it is difficult to work out on back-to-back days, even with modified workouts; then it indicates that your body is experiencing too much exercise-induced trauma. This trauma is the result of doing the same, free-weight resistance stimuli, while not incorporating enough pattern changes into your workouts.

4. You have to constantly modify exercises

I often see athletes modifying their workout exercises in order to avoid pain. If an athlete is doing this, it is a definite indication that their body is not positively responding to their workout. In most cases, it's not the exercise that is causing the pain; it is the lack of training and an insufficient variety of resistance to the body, that are causing the discomfort.

5. You experience daily pain while running stairs or reaching overhead

The knees and shoulders are two joints that can provide instant feedback to how your body is tolerating your weight lifting workouts. If you are experiencing either knee pain, with daily activities, like running stairs, or shoulder pain, due to overhead reaching; it indicates that those joints have become inflamed. These kinds of movements are also commonly known to cause complaints of pain in individuals whose bodies are not able to tolerate doing weighted squats or pushing weights directly overhead. Workouts should cause you to fell better throughout the day, not make it feel worse.

Aging Knee Joint Solutions

6. You are mentally fatigued, before and after workouts

Strength training should be creating energy during and after a workout, as well as throughout the day. While it is true, that sometimes the athlete's body may become tired during a workout; however, their energy and alertness levels should still be high. When you are mentally fatigued and find it difficult to complete workouts, it is an indication that your weightlifting routine may be over-taxing the nervous system, which can lead to diminished workout results, as well as decreased performance and muscle strength.

RBT can eliminate all 6 of these indicators!

Resistance bands load your muscles with an ascending resistance that is different from a constant, gravity-dependent free-weight resistance. Ascending resistance is more joint-friendly because it creates less joint compression than free weights. Frequent increases in joint compression, which occur when lifting weights and doing other common daily activities, can eventually result in prematurely-aged joints. A resistance band’s ascending resistance allows you to train with horizontal forces (forces not affected by gravity), resulting in significantly less joint compression. Band training is therefore, far more joint-friendly than weight lifting. Training with resistance bands also requires less effort at the beginning of a movement, versus the end of the movement. Additionally, resistance bands do not over load the joints in loosely-packed positions; thereby minimizing the risks of joint trauma, which is so common with weightlifting.

My Recommendation

It is my recommendation that you regularly incorporate both free weights and resistance band training into your workouts. Also, perform resistance band-only workouts on a weekly basis. By incorporating band resistance more frequently into your workouts as a flexibility tool or auxiliary strength training tool, it will allow you to continue to build your strength while avoiding unnecessary exercise-induced trauma that can lead to lost workout time or injury.

RBT Provides Unlimited Training Options Single Leg Squatting for Aging Knees Contrast Strength Training with Weights and Bands Lifting Weights Safely at 40 Free Weights vs. Bands Part 1 Free Weights vs. Bands Part 2 DB vs RBT

Build Your Own Band Gym and Keep Your Body Looking, Feeling and Moving Great

Let Me Help You Get Started!!

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