Do Resistance Bands Build Muscle? If you walk into most gyms, you’ll see fitness enthusiasts flocking to the free weights area, but you’ll likely see fewer people using resistance bands in their workouts. This can lead to the misconception that resistance bands are not as effective as weights at building muscle, although in some cases they can offer an edge over other approaches.
Before you embark on a quest for the best resistance bands (opens in new tab)read on and we’ll enlighten you with expert advice on why resistance bands can be the right tool to develop your fitness program.
Can Resistance Bands Build Muscle?
Can Resistance Bands Build Muscle? “Yes!” replies Gina Reinge, a sports therapist who has worked with professional athletes for years. Although the principle underlying the use of resistance bands is virtually identical to that of free weights, it should perhaps come as no surprise.
“Resistance bands can build muscle just like weights,” says Reige. “Studies like one in the Journal of Clinical Nursing (opens in new tab)have shown that when performing resistance exercises with bands, there is no statistical difference to the increases in weight seen with a band.”
Gina Reinge MSc, BSc is an experienced Sports Therapist who has worked with professional athletes for years including four years at the High Performance Center in Bath, UK with international Judo players at elite level. She runs a multidisciplinary clinic in Portishead, UK, with her husband.
In fact, if you’re an older adult, there’s a good reason to use them. “They’re particularly useful for older adults, where there’s good evidence of strength gains,” Reinge says.
Resistance training is especially important for older adults as it helps compensate for the natural loss in bone density (opens in new tab) and muscles that come with aging. Additionally, resistance bands offer advantages over free weights in that they cost less, are easier to store, and are more portable, making them particularly useful for training at home or outdoors.
How do they compare to free weights?
Resistance bands are a worthy alternative to free weights, but if you’re lucky enough to have a choice between the two, in what specific instances might you choose the bands?
Reinge points to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (opens in new tab) as just one who has “shown gains in upper body strength, speed, and power using resistance bands over free weights, with a consensus forming that is beginning to support the idea.”
As for the specifics, she says, “They’ve also proven particularly useful for some compound movements, like lateral rows and lat pulldowns and maybe even stiff-legged deadlifts.”
Exercises that are less effective with resistance bands tend to be those that make it more difficult to apply constant force, such as ”
Herein lies the main disadvantage of resistance bands compared to free weights – they offer variable resistance compared to constant resistance. Ultimately, the latter is a more challenging workout, but whether this is true depends on the specific movements within the exercise.
How To Efficiently Build Muscle With Resistance Bands
The key to building muscle is progressive overload (opens in new tab). As Reinge explains, “The most important thing is to make sure you’re ‘overloading’ the muscle. A muscle that performs a movement easily will not achieve mass improvements. You can overload a muscle by increasing resistance or slowing down a movement or both.”
With that in mind, resistance bands are great for building beginner-level strength and activating smaller muscles. However, if you’re looking to recruit larger muscle groups or train toward higher strength levels, you may want to consider free weights. Whichever option you choose, Reinge says, “The most important thing is that you train the muscle you want, good form is important, as is starting at a level that the muscle can tolerate. If you’re launching from a weak spot, you might need to use a light band first. Once it’s easy, increase the band resistance, do more reps, or slow down the movement.
Whether resistance bands are the right tool for you depends on your specific goals. However, they integrate well into almost any fitness program, whether as part of a warm-up routine, as an aid during the main workout, or as an additional accessory to support bodyweight exercises (opens in new tab), like pull-ups and pull-ups. Ultimately, it’s their range of uses that makes them a must-have in any gym and an essential piece of equipment for home workouts.
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