Exercise Bands recommendation
October 31, 2013 8:50 AM   Subscribe

I know that not all exercise bands are made the same. I want to get some while traveling and snowed in to do curls, pushups, squats, etc along with body weight workouts. I am not expecting a super workout but do want some decent bang for my buck. Can anyone recommend any less than $50? I would be happy with a set or buying individual bands. Amazon gets good reviews for these, but am open to your suggestions. If the info is the same as this 2010 AskMefi post, feel free to let me know.
posted by snap_dragon to Health & Fitness (2 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
One of the things about stretch bands is that they do not offer linear resistance - they are harder to stretch as they get close to the end of their range. This, combined with short bands, can make it hard to finish a longer movement if there is enough resistance in the middle of same.

My solution? Go to a drugstore that does medical supply and buy. Some surgical tubing by the foot. A fair quantity, 12-15 feet. A little heavier than you might have purchased in a shorter band. You can tie your own handles if you want, loops have always been sufficient for me, tying some sort of anchor in the middle is not a bad idea and will lessen friction wear.

With a band this long you can attach the midpoint anchor to a stationary object and enjoy a much more intuitive resistance profile. If you end up with a few exercises that need more resistance, but not as much range, double it over.
posted by mce at 9:38 AM on October 31, 2013


Best answer: I had the predecessor to the set you link to. One of the bands snapped, and the company was very responsive and sent me a whole new, redesigned set. The new ones (shown in your link) were much better and sturdier. However, I found them uncomfortably short for many exercises I wanted to do, and I'm only 5'7". I believe they were 4' long.

I prefer B-lines, which are 6' long. I'm fine with just the 3 bands and I don't miss the increments offered by combining bands.

I've also heard good things about Bodylastics, which are more similar to the set you're looking at. They're supposed to be super high quality, and I think they are longer.
posted by Kriesa at 10:23 AM on October 31, 2013


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