Flex Bands are essentially giant rubber bands. Originally conceived by Dick Hartzell, a.k.a. “Rubberband Man,” as a stretching tool, Flex Bands can also be adapted for use in almost any elastic resistance exercise. Flex Bands offer varying resistance, from as low as 5 lbs. for the thinnest bands to as much as 200 lbs. for the widest “Monster Band.”
Push-ups
Push-ups work your chest muscles and triceps. To do push-ups with a Flex Band, assume the normal push-up position on your hands and toes, body in a straight line. Bend your elbows as you lower your chest toward the floor. Place one hand in the Flex Band, then run both sides of the band loop up and across your shoulder blades and down to the other hand. Place your other hand in the Flex Band, too. Push your chest up away from the floor against the band’s resistance. Lower and repeat.
Lat Pulldowns
Lat pulldowns work your latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids and lower trapezius muscles. To do lat pulldowns with a Flex Band, place both wrists through the band and straighten your arms directly overhead, palms facing forward. Spread your wrists apart against the band’s resistance, bending your elbows as you bring your parted wrists down to shoulder height. The band should come down in front of your face and may even touch the top of your chest. Release back to the starting position and repeat.
Squats
Squats are one of the most complete lower-body exercises available. They work every major muscle group in your lower body, particularly the squads, glutes and hamstrings. To do squats with a Flex Band stand on one side of the Flex Band loop with both feet. Grasp the other side in both hands, shoulder width apart. Bring this side of the band up to shoulder level, elbows pointing down, palms facing up. The band should pass across the back of your neck, through each of your hands, down to and the underneath your feet.
Squat down, letting your hips thrust out behind you as if you were going to sit down in a chair. Then stand up against the band’s resistance. Repeat.
Hip Abduction
The Flex Band is ideal for isolating your hip abductors--the gluteal muscles--something that is notoriously hard to do without a weight or cable machine. To work your hip abductors, loop one end of the Flex Band around your left ankle. Attach the other end to a sturdy anchor at ankle height. Stand with your right shoulder toward the anchor--the Flex Band should run in front of your right foot--and step away until you feel tension on the Flex Band. Shift all your weight onto your right foot, then extend your left leg to the side, away from your body. Let the Flex Band’s resistance pull your left ankle slowly back in, across in front of your right foot, before you extend it out to the side again.
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