Resistance bands workout for men and women

Republished from an earlier post.

How to stay fit with resistance bands exercises

Resistance bands have been around for a long time and lots of exercisers, including professional athletes continue to use them for everyday fitness.

I must admit that over the years I’ve used them sparingly because I attended a gym facility regularly and thought that bands weren’t necessary. However, lately I have become a real fan of them.

As you get older your joints need a rest from the continual pressure weights put on them . . . . especially when doing hiit (high intensity interval training) weight training.

Also, training with resistance bands are a good way to transition to doing regular weighted exercises.

What are resistance bands?

Before I discuss the benefits of resistance band exercises let’s find out what these things are.  They are heavy-duty rubber tubing or bands of different tensions and lengths that gives the user an alternative to lifting  weights. The original bands were made from surgical tubing.

First used as a rehab tool by therapists in the early 1900’s . . . . today they are an integral part of many health facility’s training equipment.

They are very effective in building and maintaining muscle strength and are a necessary mainstay of many home gyms. They are used by tennis players, baseball players, swimmers, cyclists, martial artists and a host of other sports related activities. They are great for rehabbing, stretching and warming up muscles.

7 Benefits of using resistance bands

• Great tool for doing hiit weight training at home or on the road
• They are easy to store and are very portable
• Bands are available in different colors, sizes and tension
• Cost is very reasonable when compared to other training equipment
• You don’t need a spotter as you would when using heavy weights
• They offer a variety of exercise routines that can be done at home or on the road
• Use them with other types of workout equipment

So the next time you are traveling — whether for business or pleasure — you can keep active by doing a complete resistance band exercise routine.

Examples of resistance band exercises

I like to use them for arm curls and chest pulls because of the continuous isolated tension I get on these muscles without causing undue harm. This means I get resistance through every part of the movement — the concentric as well as the eccentric.

But there are a multitude of other exercises that they can be use for.  For example if you want to blast your chest with a powerful chest press exercise then check out the following video from shapefit.com :

Or maybe you want to get you lower body primed for your next martial arts class. This video from Flex Active Sports shows one type of exercise for that.

If you find working with dumbbells and other free-standing weights not to your liking then invest in a set of bands. It’s cheap and doesn’t need much storage room. You can get a starter set at a very reasonable price. The package will come with some pre-set illustrated exercises that you can start doing right away.

Combine resistance bands with hiit weight training to burn excess calories

A great way to increase your body’s calorie burning capacity is to ramp-up the frequency and intensity of the activity.  You can do this with bands by increasing the tension and speed for short bursts followed by longer rest periods at normal speed.

An example of this would be to use hip bands. While leaning against a sturdy wall – do intervals of mock speed sprints. This is a perfect hiit workout that can be done at home or on the road.

Use common sense with exercise bands

When using resistance bands please do so with care. Always use a firm grip on the handles or the bands themselves to avoid them snapping back. If your bands are old then replace them with new ones to prevent breaking. With care they can last for years.

As with all workout or fitness routines – do a warm-up and cool down session for best results. And before starting any exercise please get clearance for your healthcare provider.

Bands make great gifts for friends and family to get them started on their exercise journey. They can be used in many different positions such as sitting, standing or lying on the floor. You can also use them with other types of resistance equipment.

After you have been using them for a while you will begin to develop your own set of exercises to target areas of your body that needs more work.

For more information on a variety of exercises that can be done using resistance bands go to How to Prevent Pre-diabetes.