Comparing the Benefits of Resistance Bands and Weights

July 17, 2009 by Kat Wendersen  
Filed under Home Fitness Equipment

When it comes to the physics of exercise, resistance bands and weights are more or less extremely similar. Both these exercise accessories provide an additional resistance for the muscles to work against, apart from the normal pull of gravity. However, the specific nuances of these accessories are what empowers them to achieve different goals.

Weights — stacked on a machine or as a free weight — provide the body the ability to exert a variety of levels of force, so that you are able to work out to a particular level of exercise.

Weight training has the ability to strengthen the muscles of the body, all the while also strengthening the cardiovascular system, further developing the growth of muscles as necessary. Coordination and stability of the joints and the circulatory system, which also result from weight-training, creates an impact of improving the overall wellness of the body.

Resistance bands provide the same range of benefits, with the addition of a couple of benefits specific to them.

For instance, as you stretch the resistance bands farther, the bands have the capacity to pull back with greater force. Much like a rubber band, the ease with which you are able to pull and stretch it reduces the farther you go about in the process.

Resistance bands have the ability to improve bone density because the body reacts to the increased strain with the release of calcium-releasing chemicals. It is an indirect reaction that gradually improves bone density in the long run. In addition, the pressure created by resistance bands also increases the rate of metabolism, as the body rushes to provide more oxygen to the tissues.

Apart from the added benefits of working out with exercise bands, these are also very easy to store. Bands can be folded up into any small drawer or closet shelf, in part because of they are lightweight, flexible, and much more portable than dumbbells.

Either way, resistance bands or free weights act to put a level of strain against the muscles. However, how this is done is vastly different, as this strain operates in different directions.

This difference in directions of force creates the possibility of different muscle groups being targeted in the process. While both strengthen the muscles, they also give you the opportunity to develop a huge range of muscles, thus giving more comprehensiveness to your workout.

Those who have been recently injured can find that the exercise band can be much easier to use. One handle of the resistance band can be placed under one or both feet, and another placed on the hand. Then, with the hands, the band is stretched to the extent that a person is able to. This gives an easy way to exercise and stretch, which would be very hard to duplicate with weights.

On the other hand, free weights allow people to do some curls and arm lifts even when they sit on a wheelchair. While it is possible to do the same with a resistance band, this procedure is much easier with free weights. Here are some resistance bands products for your consideration.

There’s a possibility to incorporate both resistance bands and weights in an ideal workout program in order to ensure that you are able to benefit from the comprehensiveness of both tools. While both have weaknesses, together, they can complement each other.

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