If you want one single piece of exercise equipment, choose a resistance band. This is a super-stretchy rubber cord, tube or elasticized band that you can use to build muscle strength and endurance. It can also help develop joint stability and is often used for injury prevention and rehabilitation. One truly helpful thing about a resistance band: you can tuck it into a pocket or bag and take it almost anywhere.
History
Resistance training dates back to ancient Greece and the Greek physician Galen, who described weighted-object strength exercises as early as the second century A.D., according to Bodylastics. Weights back then even included live animals. Dumbbells and barbells came onto the scene in the mid-nineteenth century, and during the 1930s Charles Atlas' bodybuilding efforts popularized weight machines. By the 1990s, elastic tubing had begun making regular appearances in fitness centers and gyms. Today, resistance bands' efficiency and portability make them ideal for exercise anytime, anywhere.
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Resistance bands' elasticity and ever-changing tension means you have to recruit even the tiniest muscles and ligaments to help stabilize a joint or larger muscle. This enhances neuromuscular coordination and balance, aspects critical to preventing injury and restoring full function to injured body parts. This is different from using weight machines, where gains are restricted to individual muscles and muscle groups rather than to full-body strength and coordination. Resistance band exercises develop skills required for everyday activities such as supporting and balancing your own body weight and performing regular aerobic exercise.
Strength Workouts
Resistance bands' adaptability is their primary asset. The tighter and shorter the band, the higher its resistive force, which builds muscle power. By using the band in different positions, you can mimic almost any free-weight exercise, as illustrated by Sport Fitness Advisor. Resistance band squats and lunges strengthen your thigh, butt and hip muscles, plus the smaller calf and foot muscles required for balance. Arm exercises include the biceps curl, triceps extension and chest presses. If you can, perform three sets of 8 to 10 repetitions for each exercise. Tighten or loop your band for higher resistance.
Workouts
Where strength training's goal is to work the muscle to fatigue, endurance training requires lighter resistance, with dozens if not hundreds of repetitions. The looser the band, the more aerobic exercise you can get before reaching muscle exhaustion. "Rowing" with resistance bands, for example, is excellent endurance training. To row, stand with your feet on the band and pull with rowing motions. Doing 20 to 60 minutes will enhance cardiovascular fitness, as will performing leg squats with a low-resistance band.
Selection
Purchase a resistance band or length of strong, rubber tubing. Make sure it is at least a yard in length so you can use it for endurance work; you can always loop it around itself to shorten and tighten it for muscle-building exercises. Always consult a trained fitness adviser or sports physician before embarking on new or strenuous exercise routines.
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