Why NOT Train with Bands?

Understand this…back in the day, pumping iron was the only way to get stronger, bigger and shredded. Body weight training, kettlebells and resistance bands were not on the strength training radar for me and many others I trained with. As a matter of fact, I like many of my training partners laughed at bands back then.  …. I am not laughing anymore.

As a physical therapist and athletic trainer, the more I learned about how the body functioned and got injured, the more I realized lifting weights was not the only solution.   Honestly, it was my physical therapy patients that really changed my mind set.  For most of them, free weights were ineffective at helping them get back to doing what they truly wanted to do. In most cases, it was a painful experience for them to use weights and since I wasn’t into creating more pain for them, lifting weights was not an option.

Fortunately for me and my patients, I discovered resistance bands early in my PT career.   The more I trained with bands the faster my patients got better and with minimal to no pain or verbal cuing.  It quickly became obvious what I needed to start using to help people, not just my patients,  get better.

Reasons to Train with Bands

Muscles are dumb. They do not recognize what is causing them to adapt, only that they have to.

What you are about to read in terms of training with bands will hopefully make a lot more sense if you keep that statement in mind.

Let’s talk about band training as it relates to how the body works neuro-muscularly. (I promise I won’t go mad scientist on you)

• Bands strengthen your muscles  where they are the weakest which is at the end range of movement. Considering how often we function with our arms and legs fully extended away from the center of our body, and knowing that 95% of injuries happen when our legs or arms are extended out away from our center of our body, you better train the body to be strong and stable where it counts the most. Its call being long and strong and its the key to keeping joints from getting beat up.
• Bands allow you to train the body with true horizontal resistance where free weights can only create a vertical gravity dependent resistance.  Knowing every step we take requires our body to deal with horizontal forces created by momentum and ground reaction, it becomes important we strength train with more than gravity depend free weight vertical resistance.

• A band’s ascending resistance (resistance that gets harder the further you stretch the band) trains the body how to accelerate (get faster) and decelerate (slow down). With a progressively stronger resistance, it trains us how to accelerate movement when performing the concentric or working phase of a movement and in contrast, how to decelerate or slow down by having to handle a resistance that is forcing us to move faster during the eccentric or recovery phase of a strength exercise. This is a very important aspect of strength training that is needed when you look at how often we must speed up or slow down our body throughout the day.

• Bands allow us to train like athletes because we can simulate movements that are very athletic like shuffling, jumping, running, throwing or hitting. Bands also allow us to do basic movements like pushing, pulling and pressing while in a standing posture. Being able to train using athletic movements allows the body to maintain balance, coordination and agility while improving muscle communication.   This is something most people start to lose as they age which makes it even more important to continue to work on.
• Each band creates 30 to 40 lbs of variable resistance that will push the strongest while easily adapting to the weakest of individuals. It also allows you to quickly change resistance on the fly to maximize each rep, set and workout by keeping the exercise challenging at all times. Meanwhile, free weight resistance remains constant and won’t adapt as fatigue sets in.  Instead you have to stop and change the weight or compromise movement when your muscles say “no more”.

Understanding these facts about band training and combining it with these real world facts, make answering the question of “Why train with bands” even easier:

Real World Facts About Training with Bands

• Flat, continuously looped resistance bands are the most convenient and portable training tool on the planet. There light weight construction and unlimited resistance allows training to take place anywhere, anytime and at any intensity.
• The pliability of resistance bands allow them to simulate any strength training or functional movement which in turn allows muscle strength and power as well as the coordination of muscle working together to be enhanced.

Bands Strength Train Movements Not Just Muscles

• Bands are a simple training tool which makes them very user friendly, non-threatening strength training option that can provide an optimal resistance challenge that can match any individual strength level.
• As the body ages, strength training must adapt as it relates to allowing muscles and joints to recover while also allowing movements to be modified. Resistance bands can do that while easily adapting to anyone thus making them by far the most joint friendly training approach for an active aging population.

I understand that many individuals that exercise and specifically strength train regularly have never considered the impact resistance bands could have on their body.  To date most considered RBT (resistance band training) to be a last alternative.  Hopefully this article has opened up your mind and created a level of curiosity that resistance band training may be more of necessity than a last alternative strength training tool.

Summary

Dead-weight tools like free weights, body weights, sandbags, kettle-bells and machine based resistance all create the same muscle response on the body. On the contrary, resistance bands create a completely different and unique response that has actually been proven to enhance the strength created by dead weight.

However, training with dead weight tools has not been shown to improve flexibility, balance, muscle coordination or distal joint stability as well as resistance bands can. Combining that with the fact that resistance bands are super portable, joint friendly and easy to learn it makes them even more intriguing for those active aging bodies that want to look, feel and move their best for a long time.

Consider RBT as a viable option to add into your next workout.

 

 

Click Here to Purchase RBT 
Quantum Resistance Bands Online