Imagne lightweight, portable fitness tool costing less than a month’s membership at most gyms. Intteresting? Best resistance bands for legs are able to significantly enhance strength training workouts.
It is the most crucial fitness kit ever invented:
Best resistance bands 2020
To indicate the level of resistance they are manufactured in different colors.
As a rule, red and yellow are light, medium ones are green, and black and blue are heavy. It’s essential to use the band properly for your stage to raise the efficiency of exercising and avoid the injury.
There are different types depending on the activity to be performed.
Here is a review of types and the variety of exercises and workouts they are used. It helps you quickly understand what the best bend is for you and the target you have.
The list based on the fitness experts’ recommendations and experience
| Type | Better suitable for |
|---|---|
| Recovery & Rehabilitation elastic bands They are plane and without handles | good for rehab |
| Fit loop bands are in the form of the flat loop | To train the lower body: legs, hips, and glutes (large muscles of the butt) |
| Clip-tube resistance bands are tubular and have a clip so you can attach and remove them from handles | Full-body resistance training |
| Handle Tube Resistance Bands Compactor fit tube resistance bands have built-in plastic handles connected to the groups. | Upper body, arms, and lower body exercises |
| Figure-eight bands are short and have two handles in the shape of an eight. | Upper body and arm exercises |
| Ring resistance bands have two soft handles integrated with the tube. | Lower body, legs, hips, and glutes (large muscles of the butt) |
If you only start training, choose the light resistance device, then step by step increase the tension. Sometimes different resistance levels are required during one workout.
Sometimes color and resistance range don’t coincide; it means that you obviously should check the levels for the brand you have.
1. The lightest
Mostly yellow ones are of the lightest resistance, but some brands use tan or green for this resistance kind. Providing light tension they are best suitable for physical therapy, rehabilitation purposes or to train small muscles and joints like shoulder and elbow.
2. Light to Medium
Green or red generally offer light to medium resistance. As usual, people use them for 15 or even more reps. These are suitable for individual exercising of smaller muscle groups like the triceps, biceps or the shoulder muscles.
3. Heavy
Dark blue or green. Can be used by the beginner and experts as well. They help to work out bigger muscles, like hamstrings, quadriceps or chest muscles.
4. Extra heavy
They are usually purple, black and silver. These colors define the highest tension. This level I better to be used by advanced athletes. They are good enough to force, create muscle weight. Useful for essential exercise that works for more than one muscle group with not many reps.
Use with lunges to burn calories with tips from a certified fitness instructor Amy Neumann. Amy is a fitness expert and a creator of the perfect ten workouts.
She offers how we can lose weight with such training:
- Hook one foot on to the titular piece of elastic and get a good grip on it.
- Then lunge forward bending both knees
- Then step back and jump back
- Again step forward, lurch forward, step back the same leg.
- (Do reps up to you feel a tension in your muscles)
- Try to keep your heel right underneath your knee.
- It’s a little hard because you’re balancing.
- The lunge forward then lunge step back, lunge again and lift the leg
- Then again jump, step forward, lunge, step back lunge again
- and lift the leg. Do several reps up to 10-15
Always keep the knees soft and bent. Do not do a big plunge, try with a very tiny lunge breathing into every move you make and keeping it flowing getting your heart rate up. It will help to burn the fat.
How to train to lose weight fast?
You will see the first results after two weeks!
- This is an ideal tool for muscle tone, getting rid of problem areas and flabbiness, creating a tight and elastic body. Exercises help to work qualitatively over the muscles of the hips, buttocks, arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen and back.
- This is a very compact and light inventory. You can take it with you on a trip, to a gym or to the street.
- The advantage of all the expanders is a uniform load along the entire extension path without “dead zones”. In addition, you can easily control the load by simply adjusting the level of tension: stronger or weaker.
- Fitness gum is ideal for low-impact workouts without stress on the joints and connective tissues.
- Training with this equipment will suit those who are not allowed to load with additional weight due to the load on the spine.
- They have several levels of resistance, so you can adjust the load based on your capabilities. Also, you can put on two tapes simultaneously and increase the load on the target muscles.
- You can perform almost any classical exercises with the expander-ring, at the same time due to the resistance of rubber, the load will increase at times.
- Rubber expanders are becoming more and more demanding in-home fitness programs. For example, in the new 80 Day Obsession training complex, OtumnKalabres actively uses them in exercises for the whole body.
- Very effective for the development of gluteal muscles. And you will tone and round the buttocks, not swinging the quadriceps.
- This is an affordable fitness equipment, a whole set of tapes of several resistance levels can be bought within 20 dollars.
A resistance band is a strip or pipe of elastic stuff, usually made of rubber or latex, natural or synthetic material. These stretchable devices can be flat, straight equipped with handles or be in a loop form.
- Boost the strength and powder muscles
- Develop the circulation
- Lessen the risk of the diseases
- Improve the posture
- Reduce the chance of injury
- Make your coordination better
- Strengthen your bones
- Raise your mood and health by doing more activities
- Give the opportunities to live longer
Exercises for beginners
There are four main categories of light, medium, heavy and extra-heavy. The first level of tension is the best for the beginners. You can come to the next levels after some time when your muscles tone and the body strength improves by regular workouts.
Make sure that while doing squats, your knees must never pass your toes, because it can cause knee pain.
- It works the primary muscles of the chest and triceps
- Do three sets with 12-15 reps in each set
- Take 30 seconds rest between the exercises
Start the workout by securing the bend behind you and grab the handles with your hand near your shoulders. Then push the handle straight forward until your arms are extended, and they are parallel to the floor.
Next, slowly return after a short pause. Be sure that you keep your feet solidly in place during the whole exercise.
- It targets almost all the muscles of the back.
- Do three sets with 18-20 reps in each set
- Take 30 seconds rest between the exercises
- Start by securing the bend. Then sit down with the legs extended.
Take both the handles. The arms should be extended with the palms are facing each other. Pull the handles back towards your abdomen and allow them slowly return after a short pause. Keep your back straight and still within the exercise.
- It works on the deltoids and triceps
- Do three sets with 12-16 reps in each set
Take 30 seconds to rest between the exercises first of all secure the bend underneath your feet. Take the handles with the hands over the shoulders. Pull the handle straight up until the arms are close to being fully extended. Then after a short pause allow the arms slowly return.
- It works on biceps and forearms, tone the muscles of the arms
- Do three sets with 15-18 reps in each set
- Take 30 seconds rest between the exercises
Secure the bend underneath your feet. Grab the handles with the hands in front of the thighs. The arms are to be extended; the palms are facing up. Pull the handles towards the shoulders by curling the elbows.
After a short pause slowly return the handles. Keep the upper arms immobile during the exercise.
- Develops the core muscles especially the abs and lower back
- Do three sets
- Take 30 seconds rest between the exercises
- Plank is one of the best exercises to get rock-hard abs.
Start with a push-up position on the floor. Bend the elbows 90 degrees and rest the weight on the forearms. The elbows should be directly beneath the shoulders, and the body should form a straight line from the head to the feet.
Hold the position for as long as you can. The beginners can start to keep the plank within some second and step by step increasing the time up to two and more minutes.
- It works on quads, calves, hams, glute
- Do five sets with 15-20 reps in each set
- Take 30 seconds rest between the exercises
Start by securing the band underneath the feet, squat down and hold the handles in the hands on each side of the shoulders with the palms facing forward. Push up by extending the legs. After a short pause slowly back down. Make sure to keep the feet firm in place during the exercise.
Doing a short workout will add some extra stretching and muscle toning to the whole body, perfect for weight decrease.
4 exercises for upper and lower body
Body weight exercises can be practiced without any special weight equipment. You’ll get functional weight training.
- Take the band, put your hands apart and keep them a little bit looser.
- It helps not to have much tension in this position.
- Then open your hands up squeezing it. It will work your back, squeezing back muscles
- The closer you put your hands, the harder you attack back fat.
- Always remember breathing.
- If you’ve got the one with the handles, you can step on it.
- If you’ve got just the tubing put one foot down on it and hold it.
- Grab the other side in your hand and just push it forward and take it up working shoulder.
- You can do one at a time or you can always lift two at a time or alternate. But doing one with all that resistance makes it a little bit more challenging bring it out feeling it all in that shoulder cap.
- Tie your band around the legs down by the calves.
- Make it somewhat tight to create resistance.
- Squat down slightly and step open. Tap little steps
- It works your glutes. The lower you squat the harder it works the glutes.
- Lay down, take across your thighs with the band securing your hands
- Hold tightly creating the resistance. Then make a glute bridge
- Take the glute up squeezing the thing. The tighter you hold – the harder is the resistance.
- Always remember about the breathing.
How to use for dance?
It’s Ideal for the dancers to improve their box splits, side splits. It helps to increase flexibility, strength, and range of motion, strengthen key muscles, and warm up the arms, legs, and feet before dancing or competition.
Inexpensive and highly effective, this is something every dancer should use regularly.
- Sit comfortably on the floor in the butterfly position.
- Wrap it around your waist making the loop.
- Place the loop ends around each foot.
- Then stretch the legs straight out and together in front of you.
- Carefully separate your legs and move them out to your sides.
- The band will pull the legs apart towards the splits position.
- Make sure not to overstretch full splits if you are not flexible enough.
You may roll forward on the stomach for a more intense stretch. It’s also possible to roll on your back for a similar stretch.
Lying on the back, you can pull your legs up together and then return them slowly back down. This will strengthen the core, stomach and growing muscles.
- If you take care of them, it can prolong the life of your equipment.
- Keep these things away from direct sunlight
- Be careful to use in water pools. Chlorine can destroy the rubber
- Avoid cleaning the cord with aggressive chemicals
- Keep them stored in a dry room at a temperature not higher 25ºC
- Attract your friends or family members. You’ll really enjoy training together by motivating each other
- Trace your achievements. It’s useful to make the records of the level of used tension, quantity of sets and reps
- Do not forget about water during and after the training.
Q: Are they good for weight loss and toning the total body?
A: Is your target to lose the weight? It means that you need to burn your calories while doing different exercises. Any cardio training gives the possibility to burn the fat rather fast. Meantime we should remember about the other type of exercising directed to strengths your muscles. Increased muscles substitute the fat in your body and initially improve the metabolism. It means that calories will disappear faster.
Helps in weight loss and prevents flabby skin. This fitness equipment is reasonable by price, universal, convenient, and lightweight you can train isolate muscles, any suitable for your place and time. It’s great for you to vary cardio and stretching workouts. It’s helpful to practice strengthening your muscle system minimum twice a week and perform at least 150 minutes of cardio per week.
Focus on different muscles training by turning to change the muscles challenged. Make your fitness “ mix up” with the exercises that you do in your workouts to keep your muscles challenged. Concentrate on the chest by pulling the ends away or straight in front of you. Push-ups across the back will increase resistance as well. These are only some samples to use the resistance kits for quick weight loss.
Work with different tensions depending on your physical level lighter tension ones are better to use for squats and lunges. Burning fat is guaranteed. More massive tension provides muscle rise and accordingly burns the fat! Doing resistance training your body is toned. There is a wide variety of exercises to decrease the kgs.
Q: Who has invented them?
A: Gustav Gossweiler is considered to be the first who patented the resistance band as the equipment for doing athletics exercises. He did it in 1896. World training experience is more than 120 years!
That time Gustav Gossweiler lived in Zurich, Switzerland. He applied to patent the “universal gymnastic apparatus”. That was the first name that it received. He described his invention as compact and simple to use the device that could be realized in different exercises, which can be quickly taken anywhere. In the beginning, people used this equipment fitted to the wall practicing training of upper body mostly.
Since its invention, it has not changed fundamentally. Of course, due to advanced technologies, the up to date materials like rubber, latex, and others made these devices more elastic and durable. The variety of flexible cords is impressive nowadays as well.
The “assortment” of exercises the athletes can do is also much more extended. However, the benefits of this universal but straightforward and useful gymnastics tool are approved by many generations of pro and non-pro loving sports people.
Q: How they are made?
A: The primary material is rubber and latex. Latex can be natural and synthetic. Natural latex, which is preferable as ecology friendly material is sourced from the individual trees. They are called “rubber” trees. Their essential location in Southeast Asia. Artificial latex is a byproduct of the oil industry.
Latex processing plants deal with the manufacturing of numerous products for medical, health, food, etc. application. The resistance strips and tubes are produced by an extrusion method. Individual machines (extruders) with the help of high temperature and pressure process liquid latex rubber into flat pieces or tubes with deferent tension and colors.
Both natural and synthetic are equally perfect to help you to be in shape and healthy.
Q: What kind of exercise do these elastic things provide?
A: Exercises are somewhat similar to lifting weights. The difference is that you do not fight with gravity but try to overcome the pressure and tension created by the resistance of flexible cords. It’s not that easy to stretch during training. Tension can be more comfortable and somewhat cumbersome to move in a required direction. It means that your muscles work, tone and improving.
Training is universal and suitable for many goals. It means that running ones can help the beginners to be in shape. The bodybuilders will increase their muscles mass. The athletes, fitness master can improve their skills by doing proper exercises with the resistance equipment. Workouts are helpful if you are involved in swimming, skiing, boxing, any combat sports, etc. Ballet dancers are fond of such training as well.
If you are injured, sprained the muscles or ligaments or you have problems with the spine, and you want to recover fast, quickly and efficiently please pay attention to the work out with physical therapy resistance bands for rehabilitation. Using them correctly will tone your muscles and help you burn more fat.
Q: Who should do exercises? Are they safe?
A: If you carefully read the manuals and follow your fitness instructor’s advice your workout is no risky and safe. There is no chance to be traumatized by heavyweight machine, dumbbells or barbells. The joins do not suffer during exercising with elastic stretching tools.
Working with them your movements are always natural. The right level of tension helps you to avoid your joints injury or damage. Make sure to prevent them snapping parts of your body, head, face and especially eyes.
- Check before you start training. It has to be without any cracks, break, tears or weak parts.
- In case of any suspicious-looking or damages immediately change the device. Never try to repair it by yourself by gluing or taping
- Always inspect and control handles connections. They should be firm to avoid disconnection
- Be careful with the surface you are exercising on. Remove all sharp and abrasive elements.
- Be sure it is secured by the feet or strongly anchored before you begin a workout
- Unique footwear helps to prevent damages as well
