Improve Strength, Speed and Agility with Resitance Bands Workouts

Using Resistance Bands

When it comes to strength training, most people go to the gym to use weight machines or free weights. But have you ever considered training without weights or machines? Do you want to develop a stronger core, more lean muscle mass and get rid of fat faster? Have you ever tried resistance bands or tubing? If you haven’t and you would like to improve your strength and power then you definitely should give resistance bands a go. This is not to say that you should not lift weights but there are alternative ways to improving your physique without going into the gym 5 days a week.

Resistance bands are being used by elite level trainers and professional athletes around the world to help develop functional strength and power. The great thing with resistance bands is anyone can use them. They are relatively cheap, easy to store, light and portable so you can travel with them. This gives you the flexibility do your workouts wherever you like (i.e. at home, outdoor training).

Versatility of Resistance Bands

Resistance bands can be used by anyone no matter what your fitness goal. Whether it is toning, strength training, speed and agility training or training for a particular sport there are resistance band workouts and exercises that will get you results fast. If increasing your metabolism to get leaner is your fitness goal then doing total body circuit workouts will help. Resistance bands are very versatile and make performing these kinds of workouts easy.

They are also an awesome stretching aid which if used correctly will improve flexibility and mobility of joints and muscles.  Muscle recovery is made easier by using bands which is  important for any sport or exercise program . The  bands used for stretching are most commonly known as Therabands.

How Resistance Bands Work

Resistance bands are different to weights in that they are not dependant on gravity. Weights like dumbbells, kettle bells and medicine balls are good for certain things but they only provide resistance vertically (i.e. one plane).  Resistance bands differ in that they can effectively provide resistance in all different directions. Our muscles have fibres that go in various directions so it is important to train our muscles in different planes. Training our muscles in multiple planes of motion will impact the entire muscle and create leaner, longer and functionally stronger muscles.

Finally, as mentioned previously they are great for improving functional strength and specific movement for sport and are being used by the world’s top athletes today because of the results they get with resistance band training. The reasons behind this are that they simply improve your ability to decelerate more efficiently.

Why is deceleration important?

Most injuries happen because of the inability to decelerate and change direction effectively. Functional exercises which involve a combination of acceleration, deceleration and change of  direction, forces the muscles to constantly react and adapt. This leads to muscle  strength in all planes of movement improving stabilisation, balance and control during movement.

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Filed under: Fitness Workouts • Speed and Agility • Strength and Conditioning • Stretching and Flexibility

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