Resitence training at home without weights.

September 24, 2006 4:28 PM

I am interested in using resitance bands for strength training. I'd like to be able to put on mass rather than just tone. Any advice or product recomendations?

I've taken a job that has me working hours such that I can no longer make it to the gym on a regular basis. I'd like to be able to do some strength training at home, but I move around too much to want to invest in more traditional weights. My fitness priorities center more around putting on mass than toning existing muscle. When I had time to go to the gym I had great results focusing on exercises that targeted large muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, rows, and a little benching) Is it possible to replicate this sort of work out at home with resistence tubing or bands? If so, what would be the best way of doing that?

posted by I Foody to health & fitness (10 comments total)

You might look into the 'Fabled Cables' made by IronMind; they make really good stuff, and those cables look pretty burly. I have no experience with these myself, but the stuff I've ordered from Ironmind (the grippers) I've liked, and they have a pretty great reputation in the fitness/strength community.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 5:28 PM on September 24, 2006

I don't use bands myself so I can't really help on which exercises to do, but Jump Stretch and Iron Woody are considered the standard for resistance bands.
posted by Durin's Bane at 5:45 PM on September 24, 2006

Maybe some exercises from here.
And here are a few books:

Therapeutic Exercises Using Resistive Bands

Strength Band Training

Training with Cables for Strength
posted by bigmusic at 5:57 PM on September 24, 2006

If you are interested in a cheap and easily movable form of weight training, you might want to look at sandbag training.

How to make them.
posted by bigmusic at 6:02 PM on September 24, 2006

I usually use the bands to stretch before heavy lifting. I don't know if there are very accredited regimes that involve the bands, but they are very multifaceted and quite useful when doing non-traditional excersizes.
posted by stratastar at 6:20 PM on September 24, 2006

Well, it occurs to me that military training regimens can't revolve around weights. Would you want to be the guy in charge of carrying them to the next trench? And a quick search for "military workout" -- while it didn't get me that Royal Canadian Air Force workout my dad used to do -- gave me as the first link The U. S. Military Workout.
posted by ilsa at 9:18 PM on September 24, 2006

I should really have added that these programs require almost no equipment beyond stuff you almost certainly have lying around.
posted by ilsa at 9:19 PM on September 24, 2006

Yes, but military men don't really train for size, do they? It's much more important that they be strong, with good cardiovascular fitness which doesn't necessarily equate to "being big and buff".

*Duh*, just read the US Military Workout link, and here's what it says:

The program must include cardiovascular exercise, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility

So yeah, not *precisely* aimed at bulking up.
posted by antifuse at 1:14 AM on September 25, 2006

The problem with bands vs free weights is bands offer the most resistence at the wrong part of the motion. Take the bench press: the range of motion that gives your muscles the most resistence and exercise is from touching your chest with the bar to ~4 inches above. This is why it's important not to bounce the bar off your chest and keep your back and feet flat. With bands the most resistence is generally at the top of the motion when your arms are straight above you.

I don't know that you could bulk up that much, but you certainly could do some great strength training learning to use your body weight as resistence. There's nothing to buy (except maybe a book) or pack up and take with you.
posted by mealy-mouthed at 5:03 AM on September 25, 2006

A pair of 10, 20, and 40# dumbbells would get you a long way and wouldn't be much bother to move around with.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 2:54 PM on September 25, 2006