You no longer need to have great equipment or go to the gym to be in shape. Rubber band exercises or bands are an ideal complement to strengthen the whole body.
The latest trend in training and fitness takes up little space and has a low cost. The bands or rubber band exercises are the perfect complements to get fit and strengthen all muscle groups. HIIT-type training works with elastic bands, kettlebells or rope, sports accessories that you can buy without investing large amounts of money and with which you can, in addition to strengthening, improving elasticity and recovering from sports injuries.
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Benefits of using elastic bands
Elastic bands are a good tool because the training is more personalized for each user depending on the elasticity of the rubbers, since the more you stretch the rubber band exercises, the more tension it will have and the more force you will have to do.
One of the strengths of elastic bands is their low cost and easy transport, which allows us to reinforce work at home or on the road, giving it an advantage over other sports materials, which are usually heavier and bulkier.
Elastic bands are used not only to improve muscle strength but have traditionally been used for injury prevention. We usually find this sports supplement in physiotherapists to improve the elasticity and movement of our joints.
Uses of elastic bands
With them, you can work both flexibility, strength, resistance or balance.
The use of elastic bands in physiotherapy is widespread and is used for rehabilitation exercises and correcting postural errors. Such has been its extension that it was implemented in gyms for free exercises, replacing dumbbells or bars with weights, even in the Pilates Method.
Performing training with elastic bands is less aggressive for our joints than training with weights. The movement carried out with this accessory does not produce an overload, so we can assure you that, in general, training with elastic bands is safer.
How to work with rubber bands
To make responsible use of this accessory, we need to evaluate the resistance and strength of each muscle group to choose the band that best fits, since a band that is too loose will involve minimal work and one that is too strong will mean that we cannot perform the exercise correctly and let’s force the posture of our spine. This point is very important in training with elastic bands. We must ensure that our spine remains straight, whether training standing, sitting or lying down. The movements to be carried out should not be abrupt but thoughtful, trying at all times to concentrate on the exercise we are doing, paying attention to the movement, which should not be too fast or too slow, without getting carried away by the traction of the elastic band. Controlling the movement.
As for the repetitions of the exercise, it will vary depending on the characteristic that we are working on. If our goal is to improve resistance, the repetitions will be between 15 and 20; if, on the contrary, we work on toning, the repetitions will vary between 12 and 15, and if we are looking for muscle hypertrophy, we will combine the weights and elastic bands. The number of repetitions will go between 6 and 12 repetitions.
Exercises to strengthen legs
Squats
We stand with our legs spread shoulder-width apart. We place the rubber bands under our feet to step on the rubber bands and hold the other end of the rubber bands with our hands. To perform the squat exercise by lowering and bending the knees, emphasizing not leaning the body forward to prevent our knees from exceeding the tips of our feet. We will go down until we are at 90 degrees, and we will start the ascent until we return to our original position.
Exercises with elastic bands for the core
Crunch
We tie the bands in some cylindrical support. Lie on our backs and put the rubber bands on our insteps. We shrink our legs keeping our feet up until our knees reach our chest. We return to the initial position maintaining resistance. To avoid slipping, we can hold our hands on a bench or the leg of a table.
Exercises to strengthen our torso and arms
Push-ups
We lie face down and put the band in the upper part of our back, and we will wrap the other end in our hands so that the band is taut on our back. We rest our hands on the ground, with our arms spread shoulder-width apart. To support the balls of the feet and do the movement of a classic push-up. The bands will exert force to increase the difficulty of the push-up exercise.
Rowing
We sit on the floor with our backs straight, and our legs stretched out. We place the bands under the feet and hold the other end with our hands. Without bending the back, we pull the bands towards our body with our hands until we reach our lats with our hands, keeping the arms at 90 degrees. We return to the starting position slowly and controlling the movement.
Biceps
We stand up and move one foot forward, on which we support the elastic band underneath. We hold the rubber with our hands and bend our arms until we touch the shoulders with our hands. It is important to keep your back straight and with your palms facing us.
Lateral shoulder raises
We stand up and step on one end of the band. Laterally we take the other end of the rubber with one hand and raise the arm until we reach the horizontal position. We return to the starting position controlling the movement. In this case, we work on each shoulder separately.
