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Resistance Band Exercises |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 18 April 2009 )
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Introduction to Resistance Bands Resistance Band Exercises have become exceptionally popular in today’s world because of the advantages inherent to using them. Resistance bands have the same effect in your exercises as weight resistance, but without the potential of hurting yourself by utilizing too heavy a weight. For this reason, the utilization of resistance bands in exercise allows for a low impact workout that can have some excellent results for your entire body if you utilize some proper exercise technique. In order to illustrate that point, some of the more popular resistance band exercises are mentioned below.
Bicep Curls Bicep curls are exercises that most people know a lot about when it comes to resistance bands and that is because they are the classic dumbbell exercise carried out by people that would like to be able to flex their inner arm muscles and see the bulges that result. A novice working with dumbbells might cause self-injury if the exercises are done improperly however, which is why using a resistance band is a much better way to go.
In order to do a bicep curl with a resistance band, you need to stand with your feet shoulder width apart and on the band such that enough of the band comes out of both sides of your feet so that you can hold each end of the band with your hands. Hold your hands with the fists facing forward and grasping the ends of the band just as you would do with a dumbbell for this particular exercise and then utilize the same bicep curl motions of rotating your forearms at the elbow and bringing those fists up to your shoulders, before moving them back to the original position.
As your fists come closer to your shoulders, the resistance in the band increases and therefore gives you maximum resistance at the point where you flex your biceps the most, concentrating the majority of the improvement directly on the stretched muscles for maximum results.
Lateral RowsBicep curls are an example of an exercise with resistance bands that help your arms, but you can use resistance band exercises to help other parts of your body as well. A good example of this is the lateral rows exercise, which has a positive effect on your back as well as a secondary effect on some of the muscles that line the back of your upper arms and your shoulders too.
In order to do a lateral row, you should have the same starting position, as with bicep curls, except instead of facing your fisted fingers forward, you should face them sideways into your body. Then, the extension movement is to bring your arms up sideways so that when you reach maximum extension your arms are parallel with the floor and a view of the front of your body would show it forming a cross between your arms and the rest of your frame.
People experienced with weight resistance exercises will recognize the movement as being the same movement executed during dumbbell rows, a classic weight resistance exercise. This is indeed the same movement, except it is conducted with a band of varying resistance and therefore as with the case of bicep curls it has the effect of concentrating the most benefit on the muscle when it is completely stretched out. That in turn will allow you to build the muscles up quicker and in a much safer way.
Chest Presses from a Lying PositionChest presses are phenomenal and are perhaps the shining examples of how amazing resistance band exercises can be. They work your chest muscles and arm muscles in the exact same groups that push-ups do, but they are a lot easier to perform than push-ups and in the end are far more effective because of the principle of benefit focus that resistance bands bring to every exercise they are used in.
In order to execute a chest press, you need to lie down on your back with the center of the resistance band underneath you, clutching the two sides of the band in each of your hands. Then, starting with your hands at a resting position on your chest, thrust one of them up towards the ceiling to maximum extension and then bring that one back to rest before repeating the procedure with the other hand. You can alternate in this way between the two hands, simultaneously working your shoulders, arms and chest muscles just as if you were doing the much harder push-up exercise.
Squats and LungesSo far, we’ve discussed exercises that can help your chest, your back, your arms and your shoulders, but leg exercises have yet to be discussed. Two of the great general leg exercises are squats and thrusts and the good news is that it is quite easy to convert both of these exercise motions to accommodate the use of the resistance band.
Squats involve squatting down on both legs simultaneously and all you need to do in order to incorporate a resistance band into that motion is to step on it, hold the ends in your hands and then keep your hands steady while you use your legs and upper body to stretch out the band at the extension end of each squat exercise. Similarly, lunges involve playing one leg in front of the other and then lunging on that leg before switching legs to give the other leg an equal workout. Simply place the band under the leg you are working on and hold the ends steady in your hands to get a similar effect.
Squats and lunges are easy and high-effective exercises for working your leg muscles. Since the unofficial mantra of the resistance band is indeed the idea of making resistance exercises easier to do and more effective, this is a logical combination for the ideal resistance band leg exercises.
Some Final Words on Resistance BandsResistance bands are excellent devices, but like so many other exercise aids in the end they are only devices. Make sure that the base of your fitness regimen is solid exercise technique and you will be far more successful than you would otherwise, with or without the use of the resistance band.
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Saturday, 18 April 2009 |
