Exercise bands facilitate effective and efficient exercise for exercise. These cost-effective and lightweight products supplement your regular gym exercise program, and maintain your fitness level when you can't get to your local workout center. Exercise band training is relatively, but not completely safe. When used without handles, they may cause or exacerbate hand problems.
Benefits
While some hand exercises require wrist flexion and extension, safety guidelines suggest that the neutral wrist, which is neither bent nor hyper-extended, is optimal for basic strength training. Deviation from neutral wrist, according to an article on the EHS Today website, minimizes grip strength. This is a crucial issue when using exercise bands. Maintaining a neutral wrist is relatively easy if you are using lightweight resistance bands, but progressing to heavier bands may cause you to distort your wrist position. Some people tie the bands around their hands, but this eventually destroys the band's integrity. Handles offer a viable solution.
Tubes
The jump rope-shaped bands, also called tubes, come with handles attached to each end. These bands, which are usually longer and narrower than the wide, flat bands, work best for standing leg and upper body exercises, but the wrap position shortens the band and facilitates supine, prone and side-lying exercises. Sit in an upright position with your legs extended. Place the band around your feet, and grasp each handle with each hand. Check to see if both sides are even, and then hold both parts of the band with your left hand, directly under the handles. Reach forward with your right hand, and stabilize the center of the band. Then, tuck the handles under the band's center, and grasp each handle with each hand, creating a loop around each foot.
Detachable Handles
The flat, wide bands used for physical therapy Pilates and yoga usually do not come with handles. In fact, the handles may get in the way while performing certain exercises. Detachable and adjustable handles make these bands more versatile. Attaching the handles closer to the end makes the band longer, whereas sliding it toward the middle shortens the band. Some handles let you attach multiple bands to add extra resistance.
Choosing Handles
Exercise bands with stiff handles are sturdier, but soft foam handles are easier on hands prone to carpal tunnel syndrome and other hand problems. Bands with larger handles may also facilitate lower body exercises. For exercises on your hands and knees, for example, slip the toes of one foot through the handle and hold the other end under the palm of your opposite hand. Squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your leg a few inches from the floor.
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