Yahoo Lifestyle Sculpt Your Upper Body In 20 Minutes With This Resistance Band Routine
Are your dumbbell exercises getting stale? Good news: you can totally strengthen and sculpt your arms without them. All you really need is a resistance band or two. Oh, and the top exercises to create an effective resistance band arm workout, of course!
It’s true. Resistance bands can get your muscles firing just about as well as dumbbells (particularly in upper-body moves), according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Human Kinetics. They’re pretty much guaranteed to light up every muscle in your arms—biceps, triceps, and shoulders, says Rachel Nicks, CPT, a personal trainer who teaches yoga, barre, Pilates, and more.
There’s a lot to these stretchy strength training tools. “Resistance bands are a great workout for all levels of experience because they create constant tension when contracting your muscles through any range of motion,” adds Rachel Pieroni, CPT, a certified personal trainer and Pure Barre training evaluation specialist. “This makes resistance bands incredibly effective because you’re moving equally though the concentric (muscles shortening) and eccentric (muscles lengthening) parts of a muscle contraction."
And, whether you’re a beginner or advanced athlete, resistance bands should have a place in your routine because they are incredibly versatile and can be used to target *any* area of the body, not just your upper bod. “For beginners, they are convenient and easy to use because they can help achieve major gains while also preventing injury,” says Pieroni. “For advanced athletes, they can be used alone as accessory-style exercises or in combination with more traditional weightlifting exercises, in an effort to overload certain muscles.”
Meet the experts: Rachel Nicks, CPT, is a certified personal trainer certified in Hatha yoga, barre, TRX, kettlebell, Pilates, and a prenatal and postpartum fitness instructor. Rachel Pieroni, CPT, is a certified personal trainer and Pure Barre training evaluation specialist.
As for how to get started? Read on for a customizable, 25-minute resistance band routine, created by trainers.
Time: 25 minutes | Equipment: resistance band | Good for: arms and upper body
Instructions: Choose 10 exercises from the list below, making sure to pick a mix that work different muscle groups. Complete the indicated reps for each and then continue to the next move. Once you’ve performed all 10, rest for two minutes. Repeat twice more for a total of three rounds.
Can you get an effective arm workout with resistance bands?
Yes, indeed! Here's why: “There are many types of resistance bands available, including looped bands, longer looped bands, or bands with hooks, and this allows for a ton of variety when programming a workout for the upper body,” says Pieroni. All those options give you room to adjust and progressively overload while keeping constant muscle tension for each exercise you perform, she says. As a result, the moves you do with them are oh so effective. Plus, the more you stretch the band, the more challenging an exercise becomes. That creates increased tension on the active muscles, Pieroni says. Resistance bands offer a killer arm workout thanks to time under tension, which is a smart strategy for maximizing strength and building muscle.
Benefits Of Resistance Bands
With resistance bands, you can...
Build muscle. Resistance bands test your muscles throughout the full range of motion of an exercise, so they create a deeper concentration and strengthen your muscles by increasing the time they spend under tension, says Pieroni. “With resistance bands, there is always tension as long as you keep the band lengthened enough for the concentric and eccentric part of the muscle contraction, which has been proven to lead to muscle gains in strength and size,” she says. In other words, your upper body has to put in extra work to maintain the tension throughout the *entire* movement.
Work on functional training. Functional training helps you perform everyday activities more easily, and resistance bands are a gold-standard for reaching this goal. “With typical gym-equipment you may be limited to only moving in one plane of motion," says Pieroni. Resistance bands allow for greater range of motion, in addition to allowing work to happen in more than one plane of motion. Plus, "the notable flexibility of any resistance band helps develop a stronger sense of motor control and coordination," says Pieroni. So, using resistance bands to increase strength in the upper and lower back may make it easier to pick up a child or heavy groceries.
Improve form. “Because resistance bands work in both directions, it's almost impossible to 'cheat' an exercise,” says Pieroni. For example, think about a chest press. With enough force, you might be able to complete a chest press with a heavy set of dumbbells, but you may compromise your form in the process, she says. With resistance bands, though, there is an emphasis on the eccentric part of the contraction (the lowering of the dumbbells in a chest press or lengthening the muscles), and it’s almost impossible to force the resistance bands to full extension (the top of the chest press) if the band is too heavy or you’re reaching a point of fatigue, adds Pieroni. Resistance bands force you to maintain form the *entire* time and use the proper muscles.
Increase overall athletic performance. Whether you’re a fitness newbie or elite athlete, resistance bands can be used to increase athletic performance, says Pieroni. “The beauty about resistance bands is they can be used in stand-alone training or in addition to various training methods,” she says. In addition to upper body muscle gains, which are important for your overall fitness, you can also use a resistant bungee band to work on acceleration and speed training by doing quick sprints. Looking for agility training? Pieroni suggests using a resistance band to perform banded jumps or lateral shuffles.
Maintain mobility. Mobility training is non-negotiable, and resistance bands are an awesome way to maintain and extend your range of motion. “Resistance bands can aid in mobility and flexibility because they allow for a greater range of motion, which helps lengthen the targeted muscles, thus deepening the stretch,” says Pieroni. And, there are a bunch of benefits to mobility, like preventing injuries, increasing the flexibility of joints and muscles, and improved stability and balance.
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