Whether you’re aiming to sculpt your physique, enhance athletic performance, or just get through each day challenges a bit bit easier, resistance training has been shown to be the important thing to a healthier life. (1) “Resistance training”, nevertheless, is a broad term for many various ways to strengthen your muscles.
Most individuals gravitate toward lifting free weights — barbells or dumbbells. Nonetheless, there are other types of resistance training that may elicit similar, sometimes much more useful, results. Some of the common alternatives, found each in business gyms and as a convenient addition to home workouts, is training with resistance bands.
In the massive picture, free weights (which incorporates barbells and dumbbells) offer an easy load — a 100-pound barbell offers 100 kilos of resistance. Resistance bands provide dynamic tension and present a more significant challenge because the band is stretched into an extended position.
Credit: DC Studio / Shutterstock
Understanding how and when to decide on the proper tool for the proper job is significant for creating an optimal workout that may get you closer to your goals. Free weights and resistance bands might sound to be worlds apart, but when you acknowledge their similarities and differences, you should have a greater idea about how one can implement them into your workout to take your fitness to the following level.
In this text, we are going to elaborate on the controversy of “free weights versus resistance bands,” explore their differences and similarities, and determine the perfect times to make use of these modes of resistance training for higher results.
Free Weights vs. Resistance Bands
Differences Between Free Weights and Resistance Bands
The differences between free weights and resistance bands seem noticeable at first glance. Nonetheless, there are some less obvious differences to concentrate on before incorporating free weights or resistance bands into your workout routine. Each modality has its unique benefits, and knowing how one can leverage them effectively can provide help to achieve a well-rounded fitness regimen.
Source of Resistance
Certainly one of the most important differences between free weights and resistance bands is the source of resistance. Free weights depend on moving against the force of gravity to challenge a lifter’s raw strength. The actual weight of the equipment itself is what’s used to supply resistance for every exercise.
This also means resistance stays consistent throughout the movement, and only your position of leverage and the direction of the load will significantly alter the texture of resistance. It’s one reason why squats feel harder in the underside and comparatively easier as you approach a standing position.
Credit: SOK Studio / Shutterstock
When using resistance bands, the source of resistance comes through using a pliable band, commonly constructed from latex or rubber. The elasticity of the band implies that, as you increase the band’s length, tension is increased which provides a tougher and “heavier” stimulus.
This varied resistance — with more challenge at the tip range of motion and comparatively less challenge in shorter positions — may be very useful for lifters who can have an injury or those need to train a particular aspect of the exercise. The resistance profile can let you recruit or emphasize muscles during certain ranges of motion inside a particular exercise.
Stabilization Requirement
Working with free weights requires the next degree of stabilization, because the weights will not be connected to a hard and fast point. This relative freedom of movement engages additional muscles to keep up balance and control throughout the exercise. This is able to be a bonus for many who wish to recruit more muscle groups and need to also improve their functional strength, such an athlete that requires total-body stability.
Resistance bands provide built-in stabilization as a consequence of their attachment points — bands are typically anchored to a hard and fast object which lets you pull or push the bands’ handles. This may be advantageous for people trying to isolate specific muscle groups without focusing as much on stability.
In certain situations, a high degree of stabilization just isn’t desired, as an athlete might need to perform a better exercise variation to concentrate on the goal muscle without worrying about other variables comparable to the muscular coordination needed to manage a barbell or dumbbell.
Joint Stress
Depending on the exercise, free weights can exert more stress on joints as a consequence of the constant pull of gravity on the levers of the body. Stress doesn’t should be bad, though. You would like to achieve a level of stress on the joints of the body to create fatigue for growing muscle. You’ll be able to perform variations of exercises, comparable to pressing on a flat, incline, or decline angle to regulate this stress.
In other instances, some populations may not give you the option to handle higher levels of stress during a specific movement. Resistance bands provide a smoother resistance curve that may reduce joint stress initially of the movement and step by step increase stress because the band stretches. This could potentially make an exercise more joint-friendly for certain individuals who is likely to be recovering from an injury or have limited mobility.
Portability and Convenience
When discussing portability, free weights (especially barbells) are known to be heavier and space-consuming pieces of kit. Free weights may be bulky and require dedicated space for storing. They’re less portable, making them more suitable for gym environments or home setups with designated workout areas.
Credit: SOK Studio / Shutterstock
Resistance bands are highly portable and take up minimal space, making them ideal for home workouts with limited space, travel, and on-the-go training. They provide a flexible training option that may be easily adapted to different environments. Bands are also great for trainers who work with larger groups or “boot camps.”
Similarities Between Free Weights and Resistance Bands
For all of their significant differences, there are many similarities between bands and free weights. Knowing where their advantages overlap can let you understand which type of resistance training could be compatible to your goals and wishes.
Principle of Overloading Strength
Whether you utilize free weights or resistance bands, each types of resistance training provide a possibility to overload your body for constructing each size and strength. Free weights and resistance bands create tension in alternative ways, nevertheless, they each still provide muscular tension. This tension is what challenges your various muscle groups to create movement through exercise.
The more resistance you add, the more size and strength will grow. You’ll be able to progressively increase this resistance with each methods, whether it’s adding a 10-pound plate onto all sides of a barbell or advancing from a “moderate” resistance band to a thicker, heavy-duty resistance band.
Muscle Engagement
Each free weights and resistance bands engage muscle groups to fulfill the demands of the exercise — performing a movement under tension. To offer context, consider a biceps curl. Whether you do a biceps curl with a band or with pair of dumbbells, each exercises construct tension inside your biceps muscle to construct size and strength.
Credit: BLACKDAY / Shutterstock
Although free weights and resistance bands might recruit and goal your biceps muscle barely in another way, your biceps is fully engaged and can profit from the training stimulus.
Versatility in Exercise Options
Each free weights and resistance bands offer the chance to mimic similar exercises through several types of resistance. As mentioned earlier, you may do a biceps curl with resistance bands or dumbbells. Each exercises are a variation of the biceps curl and can fully recruit your biceps muscles.
This concept proves that whether you’ve gotten a dumbbell, a barbell or a resistance band, it is best to give you the option to mimic a wide selection of exercise options that may goal various muscle groups. This versatility lets you design comprehensive workout routines that cater to your fitness goals without being necessarily limited by your equipment.
The Most Effective Times to Use Free Weights
Throughout this text, we’ve discussed the overall similarities and differences of using free weights and bands for resistance training. Now it’s time to debate when to decide on one training implement over the opposite.
Constructing Raw Strength
Free weights are particularly effective for constructing raw strength and muscle mass as a consequence of the constant force of gravity. They provide a greater potential for overloading the muscle, making them a great source of strength training.
Credit: Real Sports Photos / Shutterstock
This is very true as free weights allow the lifter to perform compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses that challenge multiple muscle groups concurrently. While similar exercise may be performed with resistance bands, the utmost potential overload is superior with free weights. Few, if any, resistance bands will safely provide several hundred kilos of resistance, while a barbell can tolerate that load with loads of room to spare.
Functional Stabilization
Free weight exercises require greater stabilization efforts from muscles and the core as a consequence of their lack of fixed attachment points. This makes them excellent for improving overall stability and coordination, which is important for activities that demand functional strength.
This concept of constructing total-body stability could possibly be useful to traditional athletes and for many who need to enhance their fitness for each day living, comparable to older individuals or those that are recovering from injury. (2)
Mimicking Real-World Activities
Free weights can let you closely mimic real-world movements where you lift, carry, and manipulate objects with various weights. For instance, dumbbells let you perform farmer’s walks and other loaded carries. In case your goal is to reinforce performance in sports or on a regular basis tasks, free weights may also help translate your strength gains more directly.
Maximizing Muscle Activation
Some exercises, just like the bench press and overhead press, allow for an extended range of motion and muscle activation when using free weights in comparison with bands. The power to manage the weights in all planes of movement can result in more complete muscle development in comparison with resistance bands, which is likely to be limited to certain ranges of motion as a consequence of relatively lower resistance present in certain parts of the movement.
The Most Effective Times to Use Resistance Bands
It’s true that many individuals who perform resistance training typically gravitate toward free weights. Nonetheless, using resistance bands can provide a singular approach that could possibly be very accommodating for specific populations. Bands are a flexible alternative for many who must train under unique conditions, which can require getting creative.
Joint-Friendly Workouts
Resistance bands provide a lower impact on joints in comparison with free weights. In the event you’re recovering from an injury, coping with joint discomfort, or specializing in joint mobility, resistance bands offer a comparatively gentler type of resistance that minimizes stress in your joints without compromising muscular stress.
Variable Tension Inside Range of Motion
Resistance bands offer variable resistance that changes based on the stretch of the band. Arguably, this matches the natural strength curve of muscles, providing greater tension where your muscles are strongest and fewer tension where they’re weakest. This could result in a safer approach on movement if that specific stimulus is provided.
Isolation for Rehabilitation
Resistance bands are excellent for isolating and activating specific muscle groups. That is as a consequence of the undeniable fact that the resistance bands start off lighter, and construct in tension with the stretch of the band.
When using a resistance band for rehab exercises, you may anchor and perform movement strategically to assist activate targeted muscle groups in specific positions that is likely to be more useful for somebody with an injury.
An example of this could possibly be doing internal and external shoulder rotations. The more you rotate the shoulder joint, the harder it becomes. This implies the band is light at the start of rotation, which could be the shoulder’s weakest position, and resistance increases because the shoulder moves through the range of motion.
Travel-Friendly and Versatile
In the event you’re often on the go or don’t have access to a full gym, resistance bands are an efficient option to keep on with a training routine. They’re highly portable and take up minimal space. Bands can provide a difficult workout anywhere, making them a convenient option for maintaining your fitness routine while traveling or in limited spaces.
Which Source of Resistance is for You?
Selecting between free weights and resistance bands is determined by your fitness goals and overall circumstances. Free weights are excellent for constructing sheer strength through heavy loading, making them ideal for compound movements like squats and bench presses.
Alternatively, resistance bands are joint-friendly and supply variable tension that matches natural strength curves, aiding in balanced muscle activation and isolation exercises for smaller stabilizing muscles. They’re great for rehabilitation, “prehabilitation,” and on-the-go workouts as a consequence of their portability and flexibility.
Learning the professionals and cons of every of those types of resistance training will provide help to integrate one, or each, into your routine. This could create a comprehensive approach that addresses your strength and flexibility by offering a well-rounded fitness regimen tailored to your needs.
References
- Westcott W. L. (2012). Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current sports medicine reports, 11(4), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8
- Mayer, F., Scharhag-Rosenberger, F., Carlsohn, A., Cassel, M., Müller, S., & Scharhag, J. (2011). The intensity and effects of strength training within the elderly. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 108(21), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2011.0359
Featured Image: InnerVisionPRO/ Shutterstock