5 Reasons You Should Be Using Resistance Bands 

Resistance band training is a great tool for rehabilitation, injury prevention, joint friendly exercise, increased flexibility, core stability, posture improvement, and overall strength and health.

Here are 5 reasons you should be using resistance bands regularly:

​There are several reasons why training with bands offer a safer alternative to dumbbells, barbells, and machines. Band exercises are easy to learn and more adaptable to any strength or fitness level. The low impact exercises are easy on the joints and give a steady resistance, as opposed to having resistance from one direction as is the case with a dumbbell. This allows for continuous resistance throughout the exercises. This results in better overall stabilization to injured areas or underworked muscles.

​There are so many benefits of using resistance bands, but one that deserves special attention is their ability to increase mobility and strengthen stabilizer muscles.  Stabilizer muscles play a vital role in overall health. These are the smaller muscles that provide support for the body by surrounding the larger muscles and tendons, allowing them work more efficiently. In many exercise programs, stabilizers are often neglected, but resistance bands can be used to target and help strengthen these key muscles. Weak stabilizer muscles can lead to muscular imbalances, which can decrease a person’s mobility and increase their risk of injury. Also, a band’s elastic qualities function just like a muscle would. As the band lengthens, the muscle shortens, and as the band shortens, the muscle lengthens as long as tension remains. As a result, the band causes a muscle to functionally stretch with every rep.

​Resistance bands are compact and easy to use no matter what your skill level may be. Bands are easy to pack and take up little room. They can easily be used in a hotel room, at work, at home, or while on the road. Plus, there is no waiting for equipment at a gym. Less than 60% of those who pay for a gym membership actually use it. Issues like: crowds, broken equipment, machine hogs, dirty facility, and social interruptions, are just some of the reasons why so many people enjoy training with resistance bands more than having to rely on a gym to provide them with a workout option.

​Band resistance doesn’t over compress joints as compared to weights. Less compression means less joint trauma. As a result, muscles can still work hard while joints stay feeling great. Resistance bands allow you to simulate any machine or free weight exercise anywhere. They also allow you to modify the movement quickly, so you can go where your joints need you to go to avoid pain and overuse issues. As a result, you don’t have to keep beating up your joints by repeatedly forcing them to go through the same movements that hurt.

​When you look at the number of exercises possible and the resistance variability available, it becomes very obvious why resistance bands give you the biggest bang for your buck. Bands allow anyone to train anywhere, anytime, at any intensity. An entire kit of bands costs less than a monthly membership at a gym, less than one personal training session, and less than a costly surgery to fix a shoulder injury.