If you can’t go to the gym, you can also do muscle training at home. In addition to freehand fitness and dumbbell training, you can also use elastic bands (resistance bands), and you can do a variety of muscle training at home even without leaving home.

Head muscles, back muscles and even core muscles can all be exercised well.

The benefits of using elastic bands to train muscles.

There are many advantages to using elastic bands over dumbbells. First, when you're struggling with how to store a pair of 60-pound dumbbells, an elastic band is about the size of a book for easy storage.

And it can be carried with you, so you can do sports when you travel abroad or on business, keep your body in shape, and make you no longer make excuses for your laziness!

Finally, in order to maintain a stable posture during training, it is easier to stimulate the deep muscles and improve the training effect.

However, this does not completely negate the existence of dumbbells. Since the position of holding the elastic band will affect the resistance, the position of each grip is different, and the resistance of each training will be different.

In addition, the elastic band relies on elasticity to provide resistance, but the resistance is very small at the beginning of the stretching, and when the elastic band is loosened, there is no need to exert force at all.

Therefore, the elastic band needs to be stretched to a certain length. After pulling, other muscle groups need to cooperate to exert force, but the target muscle group has not exerted force, and the synergistic muscle group will exert greater force.

In some ways, dumbbells may work better. So in general, it is still necessary to consider the requirements for the training effect before deciding which tool to use. The two tools cannot replace each other, they can only complement each other.

1. The number of pounds of the elastic band is selected: it must be based on the size of the muscle group

The weight of the elastic band is like dumbbells in the gym, you must decide and use according to the size of the muscle group.

Smaller pounds: small muscle groups, single-joint movements

Larger pounds: large muscle groups, multi-joint movements

The above is to provide you with a reference value. If you are very confident in your physical fitness, of course you can also use high pounds to do small muscle groups

2. High-pound elastic bands are not necessarily better

This is because usually the higher the poundage, the thicker the elastic band will be; otherwise, the thinner the elastic band will be.

And many elastic band training movements will require you to put it on your body, step on it with your feet, not to mention pull the elastic band with your hands.

At this time, the thicker the elastic band, the more uncomfortable it will make you! Your body and hands may be stretched tightly by the band, causing redness and swelling.

Tip: Instead of buying a high-pound band, buy a few more low-pound bands, and you can do drop sets at any time.

3. Before choosing an elastic band, consider the purpose first

The elastic band is generally divided into: elastic band, elastic rope, and hip ring.

Although they are all things that can be stretched, there are still different functions in use, and it is not recommended to mix all movements.

Example: You're doing standing bicep curls, but you bought the wrong type of band, so you can't stand up straight. It is recommended that you ask yourself "what exactly am I going to do to train?" before deciding what to buy.