Work Out with Exercise Bands

Do They Really Work?

Exercise is recommended for lots of reasons: to lose weight; to prevent weight gain; to gain muscle; to improve balance and coordination; to reduce stress and improve mood; to lower insulin levels; to lower blood pressure and triglycerides; and even to sleep better. But it’s hard for some of us to fit in a daily exercise routine. We lead busy lives, and in those few precious hours between work and sleep, we’d rather talk to a friend or watch “Gray’s Anatomy” rather than do a workout. 

Band exercising can be done almost anywhere. It is easy to do and beginners, people who have joint or muscle pain, those who are overweight and find it difficult to exercise, or even a fit person who needs a light workout for awhile will find exercising with bands beneficial. This type of exercise uses resistance. Basically you use a group of muscles to stretch a big rubber band in a controlled, repetitive fashion. Other resistance bands are made from rubber tubing, and called exercise tubes, but the workout is the same. 

Initially, exercise bands were used by physical therapists to assist clients in regaining strength after surgery or an injury but they can be used to perform the same kinds of resistance training as using free weights or weight machines.Sometimes people who are used to other types of strength training feel that they won’t get a real workout with exercise bands. There are some differences between using free weights and the exercise bands. 

The resistance does feel different when using the bands. When you use a free weight, gravity assists you in the motion, so the resistance is stronger during one part of the exercise. An example of stronger resistance would be the upswing of a bicep curl when using a free weight. With an exercise band, the tension should be constant throughout the movement.