It’s important to include weight-bearing exercises into your workout routines as they are particularly useful for bone and muscle development. And you don’t have to always use traditional weights for this. Resistance bands are an excellent alternative; they serve a similar purpose and can be used in almost any settings. They also offer effective and safe workouts and many physical therapists recommend the use of resistance bands in physical rehabilitation routines.
Types of Resistance Bands
These bands come in a number of different tensions, lengths and types. While some of them come in the form of a tubular band others have a flat composition. The tubular ones are generally surrounded by a specialised protective material. These also have handles at the end that are used for gripping; however, the flat ones are sans hand grips. Based on your specific needs, you can buy bands that offer tensions in the range of 6 kgs – 90 kgs of resistance. Most brands colour code their resistance bands based on the levels of tension.
Resistance Exercises
Similar to weight machines or free weights, resistance bands offer force against which the different muscles in your body work. The action results in contraction of the muscles that stimulates bone & muscle growth. When you are exercising using bands, the tension increases when you stretch them; this is why in some ways, resistance bands can be more effective than free weights. Using resistance bands is one of the safest methods of increasing bone strength and reducing the chances of osteoporosis.
Benefits of Using Resistance Bands
- They are lightweight and compact and can be used in a gym, at home, your workplace or even a hotel room when you are travelling.
- They’re available in a range of resistances; this makes them suitable for both advanced athletes as well as beginners.
- You have the option to adjust the intensity of the workout by giving the resistance band less/more slack. If you want to make your workout more challenging, you can use multiple bands, simultaneously.
- They are ideal for use in physical rehab sessions as the therapist is able to provide varying resistance levels in many different motions and postures, based on the needs of the client. In comparison, when weight machines/free weights are used, that offers a very limited number of movements.
- Bands provide a robust workout as they can be used to provide resistance in almost any motion and are excellent for athletes. For example, tennis players can use resistance bands to strengthen their backhand move.
- These bands provide you a full-body workout that is comprehensive enough to challenge almost every muscle group in your body.
- Resistance bands are extremely simple; however, they’re also very effective at improving your range of motion, boosting stamina, working your muscles, and enhancing flexibility and power.
- They are very low cost and as mentioned earlier, extremely portable too. You can easily purchase ones of different resistance levels and use them to add variety to your exercise routine.
Resistance Bands Can Work Wonders For Your Physique and Health
If you haven’t tried using these bands in your workout yet, we urge you to give them a try. You can easily buy them at any store that sells sports equipment or can buy them online too. Incorporate some resistance band exercises into your regular workout routine and see how much of a difference it makes to the way you look and feel.
If you have any questions about how to use resistance bands, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Schembri PT. Our number is 02 9648 6405. You can send us an email to info@schembript.com or fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Schembri PT Team
02 9648 6405