Looking for a new challenge to your boring fitness routine? Tired of the same old same old? You may want to think about re-tooling your exercise equipment. Getting out of a workout rut can be as simple as discovering for yourself the next great piece of fitness equipment. Well a resistance band is that piece of equipment. It may look small in statue but it's as powerful as free weights, easy to use and just plain fun.
Maybe its because resistance bands are so economical to own. They make a superb strength training tool that you can comfortably do right in your own home. Bands come flat and long and come in various resistance so even if you are a beginner there is a band for you. Then once you seek a more challenging workout then you can go up in resistance.
Bands were first created for physical therapists to work their patients in rehab assignments. Now resistive bands are more mainstream showing up in fitness facilities, spas, and Pilates studios across America. They have integrated into the fabric of exercise equipment right along side of standard gym equipment.
Your exercise program most likely consists of strength training done with machines or free-weights. The same training can be done with resistance bands. Arms, legs, even abdominals can be worked with a band and it's 100% portable, so you can take it on the road, on vacation, or keep one tucked away in your desk at work.
Leg lifts are easily performed using a fitness band. A Pilates exercise for the leg using the band is simply holding the band with one leg extended in the middle while holding both ends of the band with your hands. Pull the band close in on your chest and begin to slowly raise the leg up and down keeping at a moderate pace. Watch your tension. Now circle the leg from the top in one direction. Repeat ten times then reverse direction. Always try to keep the circles small and controlled.
An alternative to bands are exercise tubing. Tubing is ideal for the arms. Depending on your choice of product, some tubing come with comfortable handles which can assist when performing bicep curls. Here is a sample exercise: While standing hold the ends of the tubing. Step with both feet on the middle of the tube. When you start your bicep curl do it slow and steady. You can control the tension by simply shortening the tube. For more of a challenge, do the same exercise but this time balance on one foot. Same bicep curl workout with a balance challenge thrown in.
Unlike heavy weights or machines, bands increase in tension as you pull through the motion, because machines that set a specific weight usually keep it the same through the exercise. Bands assist in warming up the muscles prior to work on the machines. If your exercising the shoulders, lat pull downs or presses, one can try doing these types of exercises first with the tubing as a warm up.
Bands and tubes are starting to show up in Senior centers. As seniors are finding out, this type of fitness equipment is easier on the arthritic joints. Even teenagers with developing bodies are getting benefits of the bands knowing that frequent use is allowing for safer workouts on their joints as well. Even pregnant women who see their body change are experiencing health benefits of the bands too.
So the next time you find yourself bored of your workout routine and want to get your battery recharged, try buying an exercise band or exercise tube. You'll still get a strength training workout but at a fraction of a gym membership cost. Re-tooling your home home gym won't be expensive and the same old same old will begin a new chapter in reviving your fitness workouts. After all, that's not a bad thing thing, is it?
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