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Exercise Bands
I added a new piece of equipment to my home gym – Exercise Bands! Contrary to what you may be thinking, these really do give you some good exercise. You won’t get huge muscles using these but they will give you a host of other benefits and certainly well worth it.
I have a couple of different types of exercise bands that I use. I have this one in my home gym.
The other types that can be used are these
There are many different types of exercise bands that you can find.
What are the Benefits?
Avoiding Boredom
Remember my post about staying gym motivated? Some days I lose my motivation in the gym or even to go to the gym. It could be for any number of reasons… tired, nasty weather, bored to name a few. Well, if you add something new to your routine, it will help to keep you from getting bored. This is important as boredom with routine is the main reason people stop working out.
They are Portable
With some of the viruses going around nowadays, especially Covid-19, it is nice to be able to take your own equipment to the gym with you. You know you are the only person who has used your bands. Exercise bands are lightweight, compact, and portable.
Maybe you have to travel for work or a quick weekend getaway. You can pack these in your luggage. They don’t take up any space in a suitcase or carry-on luggage. This allows you to get a quick workout in your room while you are on the move.
Not only that but because exercise bands are inexpensive, you can leave one set at home and one set in your car or office.
A Different Strength Training Option
Not only are exercise bands portable, they also make it easy to get in a full-body workout by using resistance training methods.
Using free weights and machines can only give you so much of a range of motion. These bands can access and engage more muscle groups. When you work with the exercise bands, you work with a constant tension that comes from all directions.
In addition to the additional range of motion, bands use tension to help you strengthen and tone muscles as well as your bones. When you add exercise bands to your workout routine, they will only serve to enhance it. Another plus is that they tend to work the muscles more. This work results in a greater calorie burn.
Here are some of the exercises I have done with them – squats, lunges, clamshells, donkey kicks, and glute kickbacks. When I do high plank and side plank leg lifts, I feel I get a more effective workout.
And you know how you get tired on your final reps when working with free weights? You are relying on momentum and sweat and a little external motivation to get you through. Exercise bands allow you to push further than you would when using free weights.
And trust me when I say this, something as simple as a lateral band walk will be felt in your sore muscles the next day.
Check out this video I have used for some ideas for my exercise band workouts
The nice thing that I have found while using my exercise bands is that I can use them to target specific muscle groups as well as a whole-body workout.
Let’s say that I want to use them to focus on my abs, back, legs, thighs, and glutes, I can do that. Another day, I may want to add a little extra burn to my workout. I can pull these out and target my biceps, triceps, chest, and shoulders and top off my workout.
One of the exercise band options that I use is the door anchor. This allows me to use a kneeling crunch to target those abs! And since these exercise bands come in different sizes, you can focus on and target muscles like the hip muscles.
Controlling your Workout Intensity
As I said before, sometimes I get bored with the same workout. That is when I rely on my exercise bands to break up the monotony. A great benefit of these bands is that you can be any fitness level and any style of athlete. I have been able to customize my workout to the intensity that I want on that particular day.
If I want a more challenging workout, I grab the thicker bands and I even double up some of the bands to increase the resistance. If I am focusing on cardio for one day, I might reach for the thinner bands just to give my muscles a little burn and stretch.
Low Impact
As I have gotten older, I appreciated the lower impact workouts. My knees have taken a beating over the years from playing football to running on concrete. Exercise bands provide a low impact workout. There has even been some evidence that they are effective in providing relief and reducing symptoms for people who are suffering from arthritis in their knees.
How are they low impact? Exercise bands don’t rely on gravity like free weights and weight machines do. Because they are not using gravity, there is no pressure on your joints. And if you are using them when you are doing squats… well, it is much easier on your joints without that heavy weight on your back.
Final Thoughts
Does it surprise you that I use exercise bands? I am sure it does a few people. But as I have journeyed on my healthy highway, I have learned that there are many ways to maintain, build and increase my health and muscles as I get older.
Let me know if you use exercise bands and what benefits you have found using them. And if you have some exercises you want to share, let me know.
