Human rubber bands are more commonly known as resistance bands. They are made from rubber band-like material. The harder you pull on them, the more resistance you get. These rubber bands count as free weights in the weightlifting world but they offer resistance for your muscles without any support like you'd get on a weight machine.
Function
Human rubber bands have more than one purpose. They are useful for rehabilitation and for strength training, according to Sport Fitness Advisor. Strength training can focus on muscular endurance or muscular strength goals.
Benefits
Unlike dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells and the like, rubber bands are lightweight. You may find using a heavy resistance band as challenging as lifting heavy weights during exercise, but when not in use you can carry the rubber band around with one finger. You'll get muscle strengthening results from workouts without having to work hard to store your bands or transport them like you would with dumbbells.
Identification
Not all bands are created equal. Bands range in weight and you can usually spot the difference by the color of the band. Colors often correlate in this order: yellow for thin, red for medium, green for heavy, blue for extra heavy, black for special heavy and silver for super heavy, according to Sport Fitness Advisor. You can increase the difficulty of exercises further by using more than one band at a time or twisting and crisscrossing the bands.
Sample Exercises
Human rubber bands are practically interchangeable with dumbbells for most strength training exercises. For example, instead of doing dumbbell squats while holding dumbbells with your arms straight at your sides, you can step onto the band and hold the ends in front of your chest, thereby giving you resistance when you stand up against gravity, just like dumbbells. Another sample exercise, this one for the upper body, is the upright row. You can use a barbell and lift the weight from your knees to your upper chest while standing up tall, or you can stand on the center of the band and pull the handles up toward your chin.
Exercise Frequency
Whether strength training with bands, dumbbells or weight machines, there is no shortcut to results. Strength training is recommended two to three days a week, regardless of the tools you use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Do strength training with bands or other equipment along with aerobic exercise for a complete workout program.
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