Resistance Bands: The Ultimate On-The-Road Training Tool

For most people, machines, barbells and dumbbells make up the majority of their training program. You might get the odd, slightly more hardcore person who plays around with a weighted vest, perhaps throws a couple of chains on the bar when bench pressing, or uses tools like medicine balls and weight sleds, but on the whole, machines, free-weights and body-weight make up the majority of the average Joe or Jane’s workout routine.

So why then, would anyone need to worry about giant elastic bands?

On the face of it, that’s all resistance bands are, but there’s a little more to them than that.

Usually, the bands with handles are more geared toward the general fitness enthusiast or beginner trainee, while the looped bands are thicker, and designed for more advanced athletes and powerlifters.

Whatever your level, I would strongly recommend the looped bands. For one, they’re actually lighter and more portable due to not having handles, and secondly, you can get them in a variety of tensions, from a #1 which only provides a few pounds of tension, up to  #5 (or #6 in some brands) which provide over 100 pounds of tension.

In the gym, bands serve three purposes –

1. As a standalone exercise tool.

They can be used for exercises such as curls, pull-aparts, front and lateral raises, pushdowns, pulldowns and the like, without the need for any other equipment.

2. As a way to assist you on certain exercises.

Body-weight moves such as chin-ups, dips and pushups can be extremely tough, but bands can help. By looping a band over the bar in chin-ups and dips, or over the top of a power rack above you on pushups, you can use the band for assistance so that in effect, you’re only lifting a percentage of your body-weight.

These deload the movements in the bottom position (generally the “sticking point” for most lifters, which allows them to use heavier weights and increase overload in the top portion of the movement.)

In both these scenarios, the thicker or heavier the band you use, the easier the exercise will be, as it’s giving you more of a boost.

3. To Make Exercises Harder

Just as you can use bands to decrease difficulty, they can also increase difficulty too.

Instead of looping the bar under your feet/knees in pull-ups and dips, you’d secure it to the floor, loop it around your shoulders, giving you a resistance to pull against. This works the same way for pushups (with the band secured under your hands) too.

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For squats you’d loop a band over either end of the bar, then loop the loose ends under a power rack, and do the same for deadlifts. (You can also stand on the bands when deadlifting if you don’t have a rack.) Bench presses require you to loop a band over either end of the bar, then use a dumbbell to hold them in place, but the principle’s the same.

By now you can see how bands have their place in any routine. Where they come into their own, however, is when equipment is sparse, and you need to think on your feet, like when you’re on holiday, for example.

Using Bands on the Road

If you’re serious about training, you’ll know that hotel gyms can be a nightmare. Light dumbbells, a plethora of cardio machines but no squat rack, and a distinct lack of weight plates makes them a dedicated trainee’s worst nightmare.

Try these two circuits on for size –

1.

-       Band hip extensions

-       Jump Lunges (No band required)

-       Band-Resisted Push-up

-       Band Pull-down

-       Band Curls

2.

- Banded squats

- X-band walks

- Band upright rows

- Band assisted or resisted chin-ups

- Band pushdowns

The Exercises

-       Band hip extensions are performed by kneeling on all fours, the band around the sole of one foot, with the other end secured by your hands. You then kick back, squeezing your glutes and hamstrings on each rep.

-       Jump lunges are like normal lunges, but jumping between positions.

-       Band resisted pushups were described earlier.

-       Band pull-downs are much like regular lat pull-downs, but you’ll need to loop the band over a rack, or machine and sit or kneel on the floor.

-       Band curls are no different to barbell or dumbbell curls. Stand on the band for resistance and adjust your foot position as needed.

-       Banded squats are like normal body-weight squats, but performed while standing on the band, with it also looped over your shoulders.

-       For x-band walks, stand on the band with the loop in your hands, cross the end so it forms an X-shape, then take steps out to one side, before returning to the middle.

-       Band upright rows – think regular upright rows.

-       Assisted and resisted chin-ups were described above.

-       Pushdowns = regular cable pushdowns, but with the band looped over a high structure, as you did for pull-downs.

Setting Up The Circuits

A nice, simple way to program your circuits is to just perform a set number of reps on each exercise. You could start with 12 to 15 of each, perform the circuit straight through, rest 60 to 90 seconds, then go twice more before moving on to the next one.

Something a little more interesting, however, would be to set yourself a time – say 30 to 45 seconds to perform as many reps as you can before switching immediately to the next.

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The key with using bands is to think of them in the same way you would “regular weights.” Don’t see them as an easy option – go hard, program effectively, and you’ll see great gains.