resistance bands

Which resistance bands should you use and how?

Resistance bands are a staple when it comes to bodyweight training and calisthenics. Not only can they apply resistance to your exercises, but they can also provide support to make some exercises easier. Their use is so versatile and every home gym wouldn’t be complete without at least 2 or 3 of them. Fortunately, they are also very affordable and easy to store in a drawer or under your bed.

Which resistance bands should you get?

First of all, it’s important to remember that you will use your bands for resistance and support and this is why you should make sure you have at least 3 bands, a light one, a medium one, and a heavy one.

In the beginning stage of your fitness journey, the light and medium bands will help you build strength and muscle by applying resistance, while the heavy one will be of great help to support your weight if you have to do harder exercises.

Please watch the video examples below to see when a resistance band is used to provide resistance, and when it is used to provide support.

As you progress to higher levels of fitness, you may want to use the heavy band for resistance and the light band for support. A lighter band for support means you will have to rely more on your own strength than the strength of the band.

Light, medium, heavy, what does that mean?

You’ll find that brands usually offer between 6 and 8 different sizes only. We suggest you go with the lightest or second lightest one, the one in the middle, and the one that’s just one notch above the middle.

Example: A brand offers 7 different levels of resistance. You could get levels 2, 4 and 5. Brands often indicate the level of resistance in kg or lbs but please don’t be afraid if these sound heavy, they always feel much lighter.

Which one of your bands should you use for a particular exercise?

The answer is quite simple. It all depends on how many reps your program requires you to do. Whether it is 5, 10, or 15 reps, you should use a resistance that makes the exercise challenging enough while still allowing you to keep proper execution form.

This might require a trial set at first, but with time you will be able to know what band is right for a new exercise after trying just 1 or 2 reps.

There isn’t one resistance band which is right for you, it will vary depending on the exercise and this is why you’ll quickly realize that you need a set of 3 bands rather than only 1.

A set of 3 bands can be found for as little as US$15, so if you’re wondering which piece of equipment you should get first, we suggest starting with them!