Thera-Band is a company that manufactures lightweight exercise equipment for fitness, sport-specific training, injury prevention and physical therapy. The company began as producers of elastic resistance exercise bands and now produces a variety of products. The company developed the Thera-Band Academy, an organization that promotes exercise-related research and a YouTube channel, which features Thera-Band workout videos.
History
Elastic resistance workouts originated in physical therapy clinics in the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, two physical therapists approached the Hygenic Corporation in Akron, Ohio, and asked them to create an exercise band. The company created a subdivision called Thera-Band. While Thera-band products are now used in mainstream fitness centers, they are also still an essential product at physical therapy clinics. A February 2010 article in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" details the efficiency of Thera-Band workouts for ankle rehabilitation. Patients performing heel raises with resistance bands on their feet strengthened the peroneus longus muscle, an important ankle stabilizer.
Types
Thera-Band began with products that include wide, flat bands; circular, continuous bands; and elastic tubes with handles. Place the circular, continuous bands around your ankles for leg workouts, and use the tubing for upper body training. The wider, flat bands support and enhance Pilates workouts. Some of the tubes come with a special head attachment, which is used for therapeutic neck exercises. Secure one end of the band to a stable object, attach the other end to the head strap, and perform neck flexion, extension and rotation exercises. The Thera-Band company also makes exercise balls and balance boards for core workouts. The Thera-Band Flex Bar is a flexible, ridged-surface device used for hand and wrist exercises.
Function
While each Thera-Band product was developed for a specific purpose, the workouts need not be mutually exclusive. For a sport-specific workout, warm up your hands and wrists with the Flex Bar, and then use the bands to perform rotary movements that simulate tennis, golf or any other throwing sport. Simulate a Pilates equipment workout by sitting on a Thera-Band ball and wrapping a band around your feet. Hold each end with each hand. Begin with your knees bent, and perform a rowing movement as you extend your legs.
Expert Insight
Thera-Band workouts may lack the bells and whistles of high-tech weight machines, but they offer effective strength training, reports J.C. Colado of the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain. A September 2008 study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" details Colado's study. The research team put two groups of women on an eight-week strength-training program. One group used weights and the other used elastic resistance bands. Both groups showed a 29 percent increase in upper and lower body strength, and there was no significant difference in improvements between the two groups.
Considerations
Thera-Band strength workouts should be performed three times weekly. Do three sets of 15 repetitions of each exercise. The bands are color coded according to their level of resistance. Tan and yellow bands are the easiest. Red and green are for intermediates. The most challenging bands are, respectively, blue, black, silver and gold.
References
- Scientific and Clinical Evaluation of Elastic Resistance;Phillip Page, Todd S. Ellenbecker: Human Kinetics 2003
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Facilitating Activation of the Peroneus Longus: Electromyographic Analysis of Exercises Consistent with Biomechanical Function
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Effects of a Short-term Resistance Program using Elastic Bands versus Weight Machines for Sedentary Middle-aged Women
- Thera-Band Academy: Neck Protocol
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