Effective At Home Stretch Band Workouts
Thus far in our “Most Effective At-Home Workouts” series, we’ve touched on the many benefits that strength training has to offer. From a faster metabolism to increased strength, lifting weights regularly can help us live a better quality of life.
Though extremely beneficial, strength training requires quite a bit of commitment and there is usually a big learning curve for those first starting out. When confronted with a big change like going from running to weightlifting, it can be easy to avoid the learning process and continue the same old thing we’re used to doing.
This is why stretch band workouts are so very important.
Bands allow you to give a small but effective signal to your muscles, create an opportunity to learn movements that will aid in weightlifting, and also lower risk of injury.
SMALL BUT EFFECTIVE
The main reason weightlifting is so beneficial is because a very loud muscle building signal is sent to your body. This signal promotes strength, lean muscle growth, as well as a faster metabolism. The louder the signal is, the more the body is likely to respond.
Although it may seem like lifting weights at your highest intensity may bring the greatest results, it actually m
ay decrease progress in the long run and inhibit your body from proper recovery. In the last article we touched on why it is important to manage your training frequency to get the most change with the least amount of effort, and scale that over time.
Having more frequency (training muscle groups frequently in the week), means the intensity of those workouts needs to go down. They are usually inversely related. When intensity goes down, we send a quiet yet effective signal to the body. This is where bands come in.
Resistance bands provide just enough tension to challenge the muscles. This signal isn’t loud enough to severely damage the muscles, requiring 3 or more days of recovery, but sends a quiet signal that tells the body to respond while still allowing the body to recover quickly. When I train my clients, stretch band workouts are almost always a part of their routine. If you don’t have your home gym set up for the ideal strength training workout, bands provide a great substitute to keep the results moving forward.
OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN
Although training with bands isn’t quite the same as weightlifting, a lot of the movements are similar. A squat with a barbell on your back requires the same form as a squat with bands resisting you on the way up.
Bands have a unique type of resistance, too. When we lift weights, we are usually weakest at the bottom of the movement, and strongest at the top. Think of a bench press. Are you stronger during the two inches from the bottom up, or two inches from the top down? I would venture to say you’re stronger from the top. When we use stretch bands, however, they provide the greatest amount of resistance when they are stretched the furthest (usually at the top of the movement).
Stretch band workouts can help you learn how to control and stabilize your body with increasing resistance, which can then translate to better control when you begin weightlifting.
LOW RISK OF INJURY
I also love that bands aren’t risky. Asking someone to do an overhead press with a band requires less skill and has less of a learning curve than an overhead press with a barbell or two dumbbells.
If an individual doesn’t know how to do a movement, I like to start them with a stretch band workout so they feel safe and comfortable. There is no risk of dropping weights on your head or your toe, or performing the movement incorrectly just enough to tweak your back. Small tweaks can still happen, but bands tend to be much more forgiving (unless it slips from under your feet and smacks you in the face, of course).
If you’re unfamiliar on how to perform a movement properly, master it with bands first.
Here is a sample stretch band workout you can easily do at-home:
Band Squat
4x8, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Push-Up
3x10, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Row
3x10, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Overhead Press
3x10, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Reverse Fly
2x15, 60 seconds rest in between sets
SUPERSET
Band Bicep Curl
3x12, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Tricep Extension
3x12, 60 seconds rest in between sets
Band Crunch
3x15, 60 seconds rest in between sets
To learn more about mastering your at-home stretch band workouts, reach out to your nearest Push Pedal Pull and speak to one of our experts!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.