Resistance bands are all you need if your goal is to do home workouts and not pay recurring expensive weekly gym memberships. Exercise bands can substitute any piece of gym equipment and still get a full-body workout from home or anywhere.
Benefits of Resistance Bands:
Resistance bands provide a different kind of workout. In addition to being and affordable way to exercise, resistance bands offer many other perks:
-Low Impact- easy on the joints.
-Versatile - Great for weight loss as well as tone and strengthening of muscles.
-Increase flexibility and coordination
-Compact not taking much space – can be taken when going away.
However, if you are a beginner, you might find yourself confused on what kind of resistance bands to choose as they come in a variety of lengths, materials, strengths, colours, and shapes.
Buying Tips
If you are a beginner, there are several things to consider when purchasing bands. To help you get started we listed the top-three must have bands:
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1. Hip Bands: No matter your exercise goal, everyone should have a set of hip bands at home. These are mostly recommended for lower body exercises as they are known as booty bands - they are amazing at targeting your glute muscles as well as whole legs. Using these types of bands will allow you to do simple exercises like squats, crab walk, glute bridges, hip abductors and many more. It is recommended to have at least three tensions—light, medium, and heavy—since different muscle groups as well as different exercises will demand different levels of resistance.
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2. Long Resistance Bands: Another band that is easy to use and versatile – allowing to target full body muscles is the Flex Band. These are much longer than the standard hip bands and highly recommended for upper body exercises as well as assisted stretching. They can also be wrapped around a sturdy pole or stair rail at home to perfume exercises like chest press, back rows etc.
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3. Resistance Cables: Lastly, if your goal is to turn your home into a personalised home gym, then you should also add the basic and popular resistance tubes aka cables. These are a great option to have and might also include different accessories like handles, to allow extra comfort on your hand grip, as well as ankle straps that will attach the band to your ankles and a door attachment to easily connect the bands and perform a larger range of exercises.
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What strength will be the most appropriate for me?
Just like weights, some exercises will require different levels of tension. For example, you should be able to use a heavier band for exercises like biceps curls, compared to a single arm shoulder raise which will require a lighter band. For that reason, having different strength levels of bands will allow you to have a more efficient workout. A favourite for many exercisers is the Armor Fit bands. Their Resistance Bands include different tension levels for each colour, including light, medium and heavy strengths as well as an exercise guide eBook to help you get started.
Beginners should start slowing and listen to their body. Doing 30 minutes home workouts three to four times per week seems like a perfect way to create a healthy and fun habit. Each exercise for 1-2 sets of about 12-16 reps. It is best to seek professional help so you can be sure to be using the correct form, as well as taking it easy as you are starting.
Check out this Full Body Resistance Band Training for beginners