I'm sure you've seen them at your local gym or maybe you even have some collecting dust at home. Resistance bands are often misunderstood fitness tools. I used to think that they were just rehabilitation tools or an token piece of equipment used by the older generation trying to stay fit. Now, while it is true that they are often used for rehab after an injury and they can be utilised by older people, ultimately I was doing these bands a massive disservice.

Resistance bands are relatively inexpensive, extremely convenient, and the range of exercises you can do with them is basically limitless. Whether your fitness goals are to lose weight, gain strength, or tone, these simple pieces of equipment can help you reach those goals.

They even have some benefits over just using free weights or resistant machines. What is really cool with resistance bands, is that band training has something called linear variable resistance. Basically this means the greater the range of motion in the exercise, the tougher the exercise gets (the more I pull the band apart, the tougher it gets as it wants to return to its original length). The more I stretch the band, the more muscle fibres are needed to move the band therefore more muscle adaptations in strength can be achieved. This isn't the case with free weights as weight training relies on gravity to provide resistance. A good example to illustrate this point is to think of a standard bicep curl, now with a dumbbell or barbell once we reach the top of the curl there is basically no tension on the biceps as the dumbbell is no longer being lifted up against gravity by the biceps. Whereas if we now think of a bicep curl with a resistance band, there is constant tension throughout the movement and in that same top position of the curl; there is the maximum tension of the exercise!

If you are looking to make an investment to improve the effectiveness of your home workouts during lockdown then bands are the way to go. They won't break the bank like heavy weights do, and you can never run out of exercises to do with them! A no bander in my opinion! :) (My puns don't get much better)

I have included a full body band workout video in this post so if you do decide to invest, here's a workout to get you started! Stay safe and stay at home.