If you’re looking for a home gym, to train outside, or even in the gym to change or mix it up, resistance bands are the perfect thing. Resistance bands take up little to no space, are portable to be used anywhere, and have unlimited movement possibilities: these are just some of the excellent quality the bands have to offer. Now, let me tell you about the best part, the training.

One or two resistance bands are all you need to instantly create a challenging and full-body workout because you can vary the resistance and change the exercises immediately!

Versatility and Functionality

You can secure and loop a resistance band around anything that will anchor it and resist it being stretched: steel beams, jungle gym, a tree, a fence, a pillar, etc. The sky’s the limit. You can do squats, deadlifts, rows, presses, curls, or any other exercises. What’s great is, you can change the direction of force quickly, produce more force in your exercise, strengthen a different angle, or transition into another exercise. By hanging it from above, you can make a lat pulldown to train your back, triceps, biceps, and abs. The options are endless in what you can do.

• Great for HIIT and full-body workouts.
• They are great for sport-specific movements that cannot be repeated in the gym with dumbbells, like throwing and punching.
• Bands can be used to train specific movements like hopping, lunging and jumping.
• The bands are more versatile and offer resistance in various directions, like horizontal, diagonal, vertical, or even in reverse. Something barbells and dumbbells cannot do.
• Bands produce much higher eccentric force and will develop eccentric strength in many different directions. The farther you pull a resistance band, the more it resists.

Accommodating Resistance

Usually, using dumbbells or long bars, for example, during a chest press, it is more challenging to press from the bottom-midpoint position. When ascending during the press, after the mid-point to top, it becomes easier. And, the same goes for the squat. To ascend after the mid-point needs less effort. This occurs in many other movements as well.

With a banded lift, it is harder to move through the entire range of motion. The bands will accommodate the force by increasing the force at the mid-upper position, whereas using dumbbells, the force becomes reduced in the mid-upper position and easier to move. The difference is that the tension increases from the bottom and midpoint to the top position, accelerating and generating force through the whole motion. The constant pull from the band also takes out any momentum. And, no matter what angle you move your body into or try to cheat, there is a constant force of adaptation.

You can attach the bands in two ways: You can produce tension:

• In the mid-bottom position.
• Through the whole range of motion to the mid-upper position.

Accommodating resistance increases the resistance over the whole range of motion. For example, with a standing chest press, the further you grab on the resistance band will determine the force. As you grab the resistance band away from the beginning of the loops, it will become harder in the mid-bottom position and the full range of motion.

Superior Upper Body Resistance Band Exercises

Bands and Force

To complete a sport-specific movement like hitting, swinging, kicking, jumping, or throwing etc., you must accelerate throughout the entire range of motion. For example:

• Swing a bat. You must accelerate the bat until it hits the ball,
• when you jump, you need to accelerate through the motions until you jump off the floor, or,
• when throwing a ball, you must accelerate your arm until the release of the ball.

The great thing about resistance band training is, you have to stay more focused in the movement using your brain to focus, stabilize, and accelerate and contract your muscles.

Excellent Lower Body Resistance Band Exercises

Superior Resistance Band Strength and Conditioning Exercises