May 4--The humble, oft-ignored resistance band lies on the health club floor, neglected in favor of fancy weight machines and cardio contraptions. The only action it might see is someone stepping on it while heading to the bench press.
In fact, it seems these exercise bands only get attention on those rare times they malfunction. Take the case of San Francisco Giants pitcher Keiichi Yabu, who last month missed a few days when the resistance band he uses for biceps and triceps curls snapped off his locker and scratched his corneas.
The reality is, used correctly, resistance bands provide a diverse and durable exercise for stability and core-muscle training for the novice and the hard-core gym rat. And they hardly ever blot out one's vision.
They are cost- and time-efficient as well. Resistance bands -- both the tube models with handles attached and the stretchy, rubberband type that can tie together -- range from $10 to $20. Fitness professionals say that, depending on the exercise, they can help you work out the whole body in 30 minutes.
Consumer Reports in February tested models of "total-body" exercisers (ranging from $200 to $300) seen on infomercials and concluded, "Most of the machines mimic movements you can do on your own or with far less-expensive equipment, such as weights and resistance bands."
That's not a surprise to Kelly Morgan-Sassman, a personal trainer and owner of the Purely Pilates studio in Sacramento.
"It's the most underrated tool in most workout places," Morgan-Sassman says. "I use them a lot in pilates. Like, in leg circles, which provides core stabilization and to stretch out the hamstrings. Not everybody can straighten their leg completely, so when you get a band at the base of the foot and complete circles, you get an incredible stretch for the hamstring along with keeping your core stable."
Unlike in weight training, where resistance comes from only one part of the movement, tension in the band is constant. That allows users to work the muscles through a total range of motion. Bands come in various shades, determined by levels of tautness (yellow is light; red, medium; green, heavy; blue, extremely heavy).
Plus, there's the flexibility that comes from using the band in different directions -- laterally, vertically and from below.
Morgan-Sassman says a basic biceps curl, for instance, is enhanced using a band. That's because it gives resistance curling up, the concentric phase, and going back down, eccentric. It does not, however, give users the sheer bulk of traditional weight lifting.
"Is there enough resistance there to hypertrophy (increase the size of) the muscle? No, but most people want to tone and develop the muscle, not make it huge," Morgan-Sassman says. "I can understand your hard-core body building gym guys are not using them. But they can utilize them for the stretching aspect. A lot of those guys are tighter than tight. They need it."
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