by Sarah Brown

Created on: August 27, 2008

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands, sometimes called exercise bands, are pieces of rubber tubing that have become a popular tool for strength training in recent years. Resistance bands come in a variety of shapes, colors, and lengths. They also come in different levels of resistance. Bands made for beginners or those with less strength are easy to pull and stretch. Those made for more advanced exercisers who have good strength are much harder to pull and stretch.

The popularity of resistance bands has come about largely because of their price and convenience. A single band usually costs under $20, can be taken with you when you travel, and is easily stored out of site. Another reason resistance bands have become popular is that they are easy to use. People often see them as much less daunting than free weights and machines at the gym. Using resistance bands regularly will help you to gain strength and endurance in your muscles, increase bone mass, improve your range of motion, and will even aid in fat loss. However, if your goal is to build muscle mass, you would be better off sticking to free weights. While resistance bands are an excellent strength tool, they have not been show to help with increasing muscle size in most cases.

If you are interested in starting to work with resistance bands, check out your local sporting goods store. Some bands come with instructions including exercise examples with pictures. You may also find DVDs available that will take you through entire workout routines using bands. In addition, there are countless websites that will show you exercises you can do with resistance bands, using pictures or videos to demonstrate how to do them properly.

When you start working out with resistance bands, remember that it is important to work each of your muscle groups. This means working all of the leg muscles, glutes, back, chest, shoulders, arms, and abs. At least one exercise should be done for each muscle group. Larger muscle groups, such as legs, back and chest, can be worked more than smaller muscles, such as arms and shoulders. Aim for doing 2-3 sets of each exercise, and 10-12 repetitions with each set. If you find 10-12 repetitions are not challenging, you can either choose a more challenging exercise, or purchase a band that provides more resistance.

Your resistance band workout should take about 30 minutes, and should be done two to three times per week. In addition to this, don't forget to warm up before hand, and stretch after. Warming up will help prepare your body for exercise and prevent injuries. Stretching after will help you maintain your flexibility.

If you are interested in improving your health and fitness level but don't want the expense and travel of going to a gym, give resistance bands a try. You may be surprised at how simple they are to use, but what a challenging workout you will get.

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