Resistance Bands, quick and dirty review

[Pat]

With everyone trying these, @ $8 I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon and give them a try.

Disclaimer: I am what I am. Physically, mentally. Thankfully were not all the same, so you're experience may, and probably will be different. I'm not a small guy, I've never worked a job that required me to sit at a desk or in front of a monitor. I drink beer. I've been known to eat cheap, national chain pizza and like it. I can hike/bike all day long, but my physique is defined by the previously mentioned cuisine. An electric vehicle will never work with the miles I drive, the places I go, or the stuff I tow.

Now, the bands.

Pros:
Price. At $8 they could be pure crap and no one would/should care.
Construction. The stitching is surprisingly clean. No frays, loose thread, etc. All the connecting hardware is metal, no plastic. The grips and door jamb are plastic tubes but seemed solid.
Convenience. Everything fits in the included storage bag and takes up less room than a decent size dumbbell. I have a weight machine and dumbbells in the garage, they may as well be in another state. Having these close by makes it much more likely to do some sort of exercise.
Easy changes in resistance with the multiple bands.

Cons:
Resistance. I have scrawny arms and it took all 3 of the highest bands to get something close to the feel of a 10-15lb dumbbell in a curl. In addition, you don't get resistance all the way down on some exercises as the bands become slack.
If you're tall, you're going to need to rethink some of the exercises with two bands for added length or put a lot of faith in a single band not snapping. This would require two sets or alternating sides with one band.
Handles. If you have big hands, the fit is tight and the strap drags along your hand. Using a cheap pair of gloves would help out.

Conclusion:
Perfect? Not by any means.
Useful? Definitely.
Beneficial? Without a doubt. Anything that makes it easier to exercise is worth it and there aren't many options at $8, $16 for two for us bigger guys.
Simply put, I spent more time on upper body screwing around with these today than I have in the past month in the garage. Hopefully them being close by will keep my interest and they won't sit like the weights.

[RAMd®d]

Bands are a far different animal than free weights or machines.

The biggest difference, as you allude, is the inconsistency of resistance of band.

On the extension portion of an exercise, they resist your efforts, and on the opposite portion the bands aid you and you have to fight to resist their efforts.

Still, for many people they're far better than doing nothing.

Nice review!


I have a weight machine and dumbbells in the garage, they may as well be in another state.

That really, really made me LLOL, for more than a bit.

[Don C]

I agree with what you say. I doubt that i will use the three smallest ones as they just don't provide as much resistance as I would like. I suppose they would be useful with lots of reps, but I will probably stick with the blue and black stronger ones.

You are also right that having them convenient makes for a higher probability that they will be used. Awful easy to watch the news while standing and doing some stretches.

[RAMd®d]

Like fixed weight dumbbell sets, not everybody would use every weight.

Where the lighter bands can come into play, assuming one 5yo isn't doing any training, is adding them to heavier band for more granularity.

Just as most people wouldn't increase heavy free weight by 10lb increments, someone might combine light and heavy bands for similar granularity.

I have no formal training with free weight, but I frequently trade heavier weight and fewer reps (3/10) for a little lighter weight and more reps (4/15-4/20).

The reps don't ever get much higher than that as at my age, I don't want to push my joints too hard.

Muscles build, joints wear.

[wurm]

I might as well add my .02, as I bought the same bands. When I opened the package and saw the bands, I had the same initial reaction that Pat did. I figured I'd never use the lighter bands. Then I started researching more and learned about the ability to combine them for more resistance. I also learned about choking up on them and/or foot placement for different resistance. While I'm still doubtful I'll use the lighter bands much, I also haven't explored all the options yet.

I tried them out yesterday for the first time. I found a reasonable 15 minute "get started" kind of workout on YouTube and did that yesterday morning. I did all the exercises with the one heaviest band on the handles. Biggest problem wasn't with the resistance, but rather the flexibility. I've had some issues with my shoulders in the past, so attempting the full extension above my head was tough. But it felt good doing something in the way of exercise, and I can see myself sticking with this for a while. As Pat and others have said, the convenience factor is a big part of it. They're there and easy to grab whenever.

I will say this. This morning I awoke feeling like I'd been run over by a truck. Okay, not that bad, but it felt the same way I do whenever I've done some yard work the previous day, or changed my tires, cleaned the gutters. etc., using muscles I haven't used in a while. It just goes to show how anything in the way of exercise when one has previously done pretty much nothing, will have you feeling it the next day.

I guess it doesn't help that I had my annual physical yesterday and got a shot in each arm while I was there (flu shot and 2nd pneumonia shot). So that may be contributing to the slight achy-ness.

All in all, I've spent $8 on less useful stuff in the past, so I've no regrets.

[decay]

Please share any helpful videos you've found, friends.

I got my box but haven't done anything with them yet.

I did shovel a lot of snow this morning, so there's that.

[PeterB]

decay wrote:
Please share any helpful videos you've found, friends.

I got my box but haven't done anything with them yet.

I did shovel a lot of snow this morning, so there's that.

I'll let you all know when I've started doing some -- I got the bands but haven't actually used them yet. (I was the one who tipped pRICE off on this deal.) I'm converting some of the exercise vids off YouTube into a format that I can play on my TCL Roku TV, so I'll be able to do them that way.

[wurm]

decay wrote:
Please share any helpful videos you've found, friends.

I got my box but haven't done anything with them yet.

I did shovel a lot of snow this morning, so there's that.

These recommendations are based on me starting out and not wanting to devote a lot of time to it.

• I like this one for the timer on screen and the relative simplicity of the exercises, but the audio is kind of crappy.

• I like this one for the explanation of everything up-front, and the audio and video quality. But I kind of wish he did the exercises in real time so you could do them along with him.

• And I bookmarked this one if i ever get to the point of wanting to do 30 minutes.

[RAMd®d]

I did all the exercises with the one heaviest band on the handles. Biggest problem wasn't with the resistance, but rather the flexibility. I've had some issues with my shoulders in the past, so attempting the full extension above my head was tough.


Lighter bands would have worked well in that situation.

I'm a huge proponent of starting light and building up.

It's too easy to strain muscles, some much easier than others.

Any exercise that one hasn't done specifically, should be approached with caution.

It only takes just a little too much resistance/weight and a slight wrong turn of a wrist, arm, or leg to pull a muscle or pinch a nerve.

I think neck and shoulder muscles, then lower back muscles are the easiest to tweak.

Then one begs off for a bit to let the pain subside and the injury heal and next thing you know, it's back on the couch watching Flintstones reruns or gym equipment sales on QVC.

I always start light when trying an exercise I haven't done in awhile or never before.

No pain, no gain is 99% BS.