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RESISTANCE BANDS

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Routines:

Upper body resistance band routine 1

Upper body resistance band routine 2

Resources:

Information Sheet

Station Cards

What are Resistance Bands?

Resistance bands are used to improve an individual’s muscular strength and endurance. They are light weight, portable, and easy to store. Tubes are different than free weights in that the tension is constant through the exercise. When using a resistance band, you want to move through the full range of motion to engage both eccentric and concentric contractions. Your balance and coordination will also improve because you have to stabilize your body when using the bands.

How to select the right band?

Tubes range from extra light to ultra heavy with the colors of the tubes designating the resistance level. The colors of the tubes start light and get darker as the resistance increases. (For example: yellow has a lighter resistance than blue which has a heavier resistance.) Common colors for the bands include yellow, green, red, blue, and black.

Safety

Before beginning a resistance band routine, engage in a warm-up (i.e. jump rope, light jog/walk) for 3-5 minutes. The warm-up period will prepare your muscles for exercise. Three rules or safety are listed below:

  1. Use slow, controlled, and non jerky movements.
  2. If you feel too much resistance, move to a lighter band color.
  3. When anchoring the band, place the band in the arch of your foot to reduce the band slippage.

How long should the exercise routine last?

For all levels make sure there is a day of rest between workouts. If an exercise feels too challenging, reduce the bands resistance by changing to a lighter color band. In addition: rest around 30-60 seconds between each set.


Fitness Level

Number of Exercises

Number of Sets and Reps

Days per week

Beginner

5-6

1 set, 6-12

2

Intermediate

6-8

2 sets, 15-20

2-3

Advanced

8-12

3 + sets, 15-20

2-3

How do I create a resistance band routine?

Familiarize yourself with the exercises before engaging in a routine. Completing the exercise in isolation will help you to perform the exercise correctly thereby reducing your chance of injury.  

To begin, select five to six exercises. Arrange the exercises from 1 to 6. As your strength and endurance improves, you can increase the duration or repetitions. For example, if you are performing the bicep curl start with 6 repetitions or 6 seconds and increase to 10 repetitions or 10 seconds.

Here are two routines to try: