Building Muscle With Resistance Bands – 3 Things I Have Learned

Back when we first left Hawaii, I had been basically living at Gold’s. I was there at least 5 days a week, snacking on dumbbells and iron wheels. As we made plans to leave, I was not sure where we would end up. To make a long story short, I bought a couple of resistance bands to use while we traveled and figured out where to live on the mainland.

I hated the bands. I used it about 3 times before throwing it away. The bands reaffirmed to me that it could not give a “he-man” like me a true workout. Oh boy.

Fast forward to today, I am now a convert to resistance band training and Bodylastics home gym was the missionary that converted the unwashed that was me.

Couple of things I like about Bodylastics right off the bat; the bands are labeled by pounds. The middle set I bought comes with 23lb, 19lb, 13lb, 7lb, and 5lb bands for an equivalent pull equal to 134lb. Now, forget the pounds because it’s irrelevant. What is relevant is that you can measure your progress.

Part of the appeal to using dead weights, I think, is being able to increase the next set or workout by XX lbs. The old resistance band that I first tried many years ago lacked that, Bodylastics does not. It is a small and important point.

By the way, pulling or pushing on 5 bands might be equivalent to 134lbs but it feels like pulling on steel bands, nothing wimpy here.

Each band comes with clips on both ends. With the clips you can use 1 band or up to as many bands as you can hook on a handle grip or ankle strap. Again, with this I know exactly what I am using and what I have used; to know I am stronger, or not. And the key to your success is your ability to measure your progress.

But what I truly understand now is that the work outs are real. During my research, one writer stated that it was no substitute for real weights and it was, at best, good for use when travelling. With all due respects to that person, I am guessing he never actually used Bodylastics.

The pull on these bands will never replicate dead weights. In fact, nothing can replace the feel of cold steel in your grip. Nevertheless, the contraction against the resistance band is hard. The pull begins easily but by mid point, you feel the resistance and by peak contraction, the pull is strong. Through it all, the bands stretch smoothly. The movement is natural.

As a side note, read this article that further explores the topic of elastic resistance versus free weights.  You will need an open mind, but the discussion points are interesting.

This is the most versatile system I have used. As an example, my current chest work out is incline presses, “cable” crossovers, and one arm flyes. Were I in a gym, I would need an incline bench, a cable system, and more than a few dumbbells. With Bodylastics, I need the bands and door anchor.

For my legs, I do squats, lunges, leg curls, stiff-legged dead lifts, and calf raises. There really is no exercise that you could not replicate with Bodylastics and that is sweet.

The third thing I have learned is that Bodylastics works your whole body holistically. When I set myself to do a set of “inclines” with Bodylastics, I have to brace and flex my legs and my core muscles. There is no bench to stabilize myself, it’s all me. When I do standing, one arm chest flyes; I can feel the stress on my obliques and my legs as I immobilize my body to do the flyes.

I am convinced that a major benefit to Bodylastics is this secondary, static flexing and bracing of the body. I’m doing my inclines, but I am also pushing with my legs and flexing my abs, etc. The feeling is wonderful.

So, in the past several months, I have learned that resistance band training is real, versatile, and has a whole body tonic effect. Best decison I’ve made in pursuing my fitness goals was investing in resistance band training.