Resistance bands are a must have in your home gym, although many people are still using the traditional free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells. There are some big advantages to resistance bands over free weights, but first what are resistance bands?
Resistance bands can mean several different products depending who you talk to, including Fitness Cables, Sleeved Tubing, Strength bands (looped bands), and Mini Flat Bands. One thing in common with all these resistance training tools is they are inexpensive and effective tools for men and women to build whole body strength through functional exercises.
With so many options, it can be difficult to decide what equipment you need for an effective resistance workout. We’ve created the Smart Resistance Training Bundle to keep the guess work out of your fitness routine! The Smart Resistance Training Bundle includes 3 Fitness Cables, 1 pair of Smart Quick Flip Triple Pocket Handles, 1 Smart Deluxe Door Anchor, and the Smart Resistance Training Drawstring Bag to keep it all together. This training bundle will give you the versatility to train from 20lbs to 120lbs!
What are the Big Advantages of Resistance Bands Over Free Weights at Home?
There are several advantages to using resistance equipment like the Smart Resistance Training Bundle over traditional free weights at home. The two big advantages of resistance bands are space required and continuous resistance.
Resistance equipment is extremely portable and compact. Whether you travel often, or your home gym is actually your living room, you will be much happier with the amount of space required to store resistance equipment. No need for 5 pairs of dumbbells when you can match fitness cables with our Smart Quick Flip Triple Pocket handles. They will allow you to achieve the same amount of difficulty as traditional free weights.
The other big advantage of resistance equipment when exercising at home is training your muscles with continuous resistance. This gives your muscles a greater challenge per exercise, resulting in better outcomes then doing the same exercise with traditional weight training equipment.
How do Resistance Bands Deliver Better Results than Free Weights?
The point of maximum resistance is different for resistance bands compared to traditional free weights. The point of maximum resistance is where your muscle does the most work. Traditional weight training works against gravity, your point of maximum resistance is where the movement peaks against gravity, which isn’t necessarily the ideal peak for that movement. Meanwhile the point of maximum resistance for resistance bands is where the band is fully stretched, which is typically at the peak of the movement.
This continual resistance of resistance bands challenges muscles throughout the entire movement instead of just at the peak point against gravity.
Another big difference between resistance training and traditional weight training is in resistance training there is no momentum. When working against gravity the initial start to the movement is very difficult and can results in the need to create momentum to start the lift. The use of momentum reduces the work required to complete the exercise.
When using resistance equipment, you are not able to gain momentum like you can with free weights, the continual resistance is provided through the entire movement. So, resistance training is often safer to use during quick and large range exercises such as wood chops.
How to Safely and Effectively Use Resistance Bands:
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- Adjust the resistance by changing where you hold the tubing.
- Anchor firmly to its fixation point.
- Start with lighter resistance for new exercises. Increase resistance once you have perfect technique.
- Keep the wrist in a strong functional position – a firm grip around the handle with the wrist slightly extended.
Resistance Training Workout
Smart Fitness Cables with Quick Flip Triple Pocket Handles allow you to easily switch the cables between exercises to get the resistance you desire.
Try these SMART Upper Body Resistance Exercises to start your resistance training program:
- Front Raise
- One Arm Row
- Should Press
- Bicep Curl
Start with lower resistance then what you use with free weights and complete 2 set of 8 reps. Too easy? Increase resistance and do a third set!
