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Bodyweight How good are resistance bands?

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Tron2212

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Not been in a proper gym since lockdown 2 years ago. I know i should get back in but haven't yet, I've been using some resistance bands (10-30kg) in my at home workouts whilst doing mainly body weight exercises. Do people recommend any particular workouts to try or should I just drop the bands?
 
Coach Karen who is SF certified has a course. I purchased and found it an excellent resource. Bands are good. They hit differently. I would put them in the maintenance category. When other options are limited, they are excellent. If the full plethora of training options exist, then they perhaps drop down the pecking order dependent on age and fitness etc. I wouldn't drop them. An excellent tool in a fitness armoury.
 
With a proper approach (enough bands/strong enough bands to challenge and some programming) they should work as well as anything else and better than some.

Don’t throw em out, but you might need to buy more and configure them for the specific exercise. This could require a good bit of tinkering. I’ve toyed with the idea of using a bundle with my isometric deck&bar setup.
 
With a proper approach (enough bands/strong enough bands to challenge and some programming) they should work as well as anything else and better than some.

Don’t throw em out, but you might need to buy more and configure them for the specific exercise. This could require a good bit of tinkering. I’ve toyed with the idea of using a bundle with my isometric deck&bar setup.

I've attached "bodybuilder" accessories to some of mine via carabiners.

Things like rope handles (very successful) and V-bars (less successful).

Most of my bands are 41" in a variety of resistances.

But I've also gotten use out of the super thick, short, ultra high resistance "booty bands" to use for everything to monster walks to banded barbell hip thrusts.
 
Do people recommend any particular workouts to try or should I just drop the bands?
I had a good experience with the x3 bands product.
Big tension makes big muscles.

My regular use of heavy bands at slow tempo, without locking out, yielded me the single largest jump in my visible physique I've ever gotten from anything in 12 weeks.

That said if I had it to do over again I would have bought this for much less money.


I like bands for the large amounts of hypertrophy I got in a short time.
They are a source of tension.

So my understanding of how to get the biggest benefit from the bands is gonna be to use them in a slow rep, low tempo fashion, and to dwell a little in the peak tension ranges, And avoid lockout at the top or bottom of the rep.
That will put a lot of stress on the worked muscles.
 
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I had a good experience with the x3 bands product.
Big tension makes big muscles.

My regular use of heavy bands at slow tempo, without locking out, yielded me the single largest jump in my visible physique I've ever gotten from anything in 12 weeks.

That said if I had it to do over again I would have bought this for much less money.


I like bands for the large amounts of hypertrophy I got in a short time.
They are a source of tension.

So my understanding of how to get the biggest benefit from the bands is gonna be to use them in a slow rep, low tempo fashion, and to dwell a little in the peak tension ranges, And avoid lockout at the top or bottom of the rep.
That will put a lot of stress on the worked muscles.
Have you tried the rocka.fit bands? Just wondering since your said you like the x3 bands.
 
I've attached "bodybuilder" accessories to some of mine via carabiners.

Things like rope handles (very successful) and V-bars (less successful).

Most of my bands are 41" in a variety of resistances.

But I've also gotten use out of the super thick, short, ultra high resistance "booty bands" to use for everything to monster walks to banded barbell hip thrusts.

I figured I could just shlemp some eyebolts at the ends of my “barbell” and run em back to my plywood deck. If I keep the initial tension high, I’d just limit ROM to the first half or so and keep challenge high throughout.

That leads to my biggest issue with bands (and tools like the Bullworker) - if I can do a full ROM, the initial tension is lowest when muscle is longest length.
 
Have you tried the rocka.fit bands? Just wondering since your said you like the x3 bands.
I'm told serious steel hands are a reputable brand, and rarely have any problems or defects.

As far as the bar and board are concerned, they seem fine for the purpose. I'd gladly try them out.
 
Have you tried the rocka.fit bands? Just wondering since your said you like the x3 bands.

I read that most of the bands are made in the same factories, just with different branding.

I have Serious Steel, Rogue, Crossover Symmetry, and some other random bands and I haven't noticed any meaningful difference between any of them for a given resistance level.
 
I'm told serious steel hands are a reputable brand, and rarely have any problems or defects.

As far as the bar and board are concerned, they seem fine for the purpose. I'd gladly try them out.
This is the X3 alternative I always thought about getting. The board is similar to what @North Coast Miller made and the bar is much wider than the X3 while the price is much better.

 
Do people recommend any particular workouts to try or should I just drop the bands?
End Of Movement Loading

Bands provide increased resistance at the at the End Range of an exercise.

Thus, they are more effective for some exercise and less for others.

With that in mind, let's look the...

Three Type of Strength Curves

1) Ascending Strength Curve


Exercises of this nature are hard bottom an easy at the top.

Thus, with Weighted Barbell and Dumbbell Exericises, the bottom of the Range of the muscles in an exercise is OverLoaded and the top end of UnderLoaded.

With an Ascending Exercise, Bands UnderLoad the bottom part of the exercise and OverLoad the Top End of the Movement.

Exercise Examples

Squats, Pressing Movements, Deadlifts, Good Morning, etc.

Thus, Band Training in these types of Movement is more effective at developing Strength in the Top End Range of these exercises.

2) Descending Strength Curve

Exercises of this nature are easy at the beginning and hard at the End Range of the Movement.

Band Training with a Decending Strength Curve Exericise UnderLoads the first third of the Movement.

The same is true with Barbell and Dumbbell Movements.

Exercise Examples

Lat Pulldowns, Bent Over Rows, Upright Rows; primarily Compound Pulling Movements.

3) Bell Shaped Strength Curve

Exercises of this nature are easy at the beginning, hard in the middle and easy at the top.

Using Bands for these Movement OverLoads the Middle Range of the Movement; Underloading the beginning and End Range of it.

The same is true with Barbell and Dumbbell Movements.

Exercise Examples

Curls, Triceps Pushdowns and Extension...usually Single Joint Movements.

Solution To UnderLoaded Movements

Preforming Partial Range Movement is one of the most effective methods of OverLoad Descending and Bell Shaped Strength Movement.

Examples

1) Descending Strength Curve

Perform the first third of let's say a Bent Over Row with a Band that provide more resistance or heavier Barbell/Dumbbell Weight

2) Bell Shaped Strength Curve

Preform the first third and the last third of let's say a Curl with a Band that provide more resistance or heavier Barbell/Dumbbell Weight.
 
isometric
Explosive Functional Isomterics

This method is most effctive when performed with an Ascending Strength Curve Movement.

The Band Tension is low enough in the Bottom Part of The Movement to perform the bottom part of it Explosively.

The Band Tension toward in the Middle to Top End Rage of the Movement needs to be so high that you cannot drive it any farther up.

The Middle or Top End Range of the Movement at that point is an Isometric Action.

Accomodating Resiatance Explosive Isometric

1) Power Rack Training

Functional Explosive Isometric Training can be performed in a Power Rack with a Barbell.

a) The Barbell resting on a lower Pin that you drive it off of with a Low to Moderate Load that allows you to be Explosive.

b) A Pin Higher Up, that you can Ram the Barbell into and this perform an Isometric Action.

The Downside of This Approach

1) Rammng the Barbell into the Pin with a lot of force gives you a whiplash feel. It is like driving your car int a brick wall to some extent.

2) There is a lot of noise of Ramming the Barbell into the Pin. Essentially, you are Hammering The Weight Pin with the Barbell and it sound like it.

I doubt many gyms will put up with that.

Accommodating Banded Barbell Explosive Isometrics

1) It provides an gradual increase in Resistance, even through the limited Range of The Movement.

2) There no Whiplash effect and not loud noise. The is somewhat like a parachute that slow you down.

3) With right Band Tension and with the right Barbell Load, you eventually end up performing an Isometric Action in the Mid to Upper End Range of the Movement; since the Band Tension is so high that you cannot lock the with the exercise.

Experimentation

As with anything new, Banded Explosive Fundtional Isometrics requires some experimentation.
 
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Resistance bands are great! I've created and performed entire workouts using only resistance bands (or resistance bands and bodyweight).

You can get very fit and pretty strong using resistance bands if you do it right.

However, I wouldn't only use resistance bands. Even for a minimalist home gym or program, I recommend kettlebells/dumbbells, bodyweight, and bands (along with floor sliders and med balls if you have them) for the best results.
 
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