“Joel, what’s better bands or free weights?” I get this question often, so I have decided to post this small piece of article to give my take of this subject.
First, I would like to lay out a general comparison of both tools so we can see the advantages and disadvantages of both respectively.
Resistance Bands:
Elastic rubber strips (tube or flat shape) that come in variety of colors, resistance and length to choose from. Resistance bands come in both latex and non-latex versions. They can be used with all kinds of handles, attachments and anchors which give them versatility to be used almost anywhere.
Advantages:
- Portability
- Easy on the joints
- Affordability
- Space savers
- Variety of styles and lengths
- Tension increases throughout the motion
- Great to teach explosive movements
- They are used to rehabilitate injuries
Disadvantages:
- Durability
- Limited amount of weight/resistance to choose from
Free Weights:
Anything that is not attached to a machine or pulley mechanism such as dumbbells, kettle-bells, barbells, plates, medicine balls, sand bags, tires, etc..
Advantages:
- Bigger amount of weight to choose from
- Durability
Disadvantages:
- Limited storage space
- Spotter/Partner needed for advanced movements
- Cost
- Resistance doesn’t change throughout the motion
Having looked at the advantages and disadvantages of both tools, I would like to touch a little bit on the training benefit of both.
Resistance bands are great to introduce strength training for youth and women. They serve as the ice-breaker tool for many people as they find free weights a little intimidating. They help strengthen the stabilizer muscles creating a solid foundation for more advanced training methods or techniques. Also, as people get older, resistance bands are great transitional tool from free weights. A lot of people see resistance bands as the tool that bring definition and tone. This concept or idea is right even though you can accomplish definition with free weight as well. In the other hand, free weights are seeing as the muscle mass building tool even though now a days you can find bands that provide a tremendous amount of resistance, like the loop power training bands, that are use to build muscular power and strength, which help build muscular mass as well. In my years of experience in training I have developed a passion for resistance bands because they brings variation to the training program, the muscle burning experience, in my opinion is better than with free weights. When I use resistance bands I like to be creative and I have created exercises and moves that I’ve never seen before.
Free weights take the training experience to a whole new level due to the wider variety of weight to choose from. As a person lift more weight the strength increases, hypertrophy takes place and the body shapes up. Working out with free weights help you develop the secondary muscles involved in the movement as well as the stabilizers and core muscles.
At the end of the day resistance bands and free weights are like men and women, they need each other and they benefit from each other. So, my take on this topic is that neither of them are better but they compliment each other perfectly maximizing the workout, bringing variety to it and producing amazing results. So, start combining them both into your workout program and you’ll like it and you’ll see the difference.
**If you don’t have a clue on how to workout or how to use bands or free weights, please give us a call because we would love to help you get started**
I know there are other advantages and disadvantages for both, free weights and resistance bands but those listed above were the one that I personally consider the most important of all.
I would love to hear what you have to say based on your experience and expertise on the topic. Shoot your comments and feedback this way.
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Free weights for me are a must and act more natural but bands like cables have their place. When I am working for increasing over all power I must use free weights, not so easy to do clean and jerk with bands. However when I want to work on a specific part of a muscle like the isolation that cable flys have on a the lower inner chest or when you need to have the resistance at a specific angle that gravity wont allow, I must use bands or cables. Either way I think mixing the two is the best way to confuse the body and get a complete workout.
I think that it all comes down to preference when one chooses to exercise with weights or with bands. Not everyone enjoys working out with free weights and most don’t know how to use the resistance bands. I do feel that many women see free weights as a “Man” thing that is why they shy away from free weights. I for one have only used the resistance bands a couple of times with my personal trainer and other than that I haven’t used them since. The article wasn’t as informative as I would have liked it to be, it just compares the pro’s and con’s of each: the weights or the bands. It seems to me that weights are more for building mass and the resistance bands for toning/ cutting.
Looking forward to the next newsletter.
Laura
I really enjoy having the feeling of complete burnout using free weights. When using a spotter, I can completely exhaust the muscle knowing I have a spotter to ensure my safety and to push me beyond my limits….it’s a mental thing as well… looking at these big plates knowing that your muscles are commanding them to go where you will them to go. I like the bands though for definition, stretching the muscles in different ways and working my muscles in ways I couldn’t with free weights. Using both produces the best results.
I want to thank you guys for your feedback. Keep it up!!
Another advantage to free weights I’ve found is really being able to accurately track your progress. I know exactly how much weight I can do and how many reps. With bands it’s all a bit fuzzy as to how much I’m doing or improving.
I use adjustable free weights instead of fixed weights because I like to have even more ability to make variations. Like when I do a fully sulu aged curl I can put just a tad more weight on one side to make for better resistance on the supinated part of the curl.
After 30 years of training-I’ve ditched both machine and free weights in favor of resistance bands. Bands give me a superior range of motion and momentum which free weights thrive on is taken out of the equation. BANDS ARE:
1. More effective: My functional strength gains are superior with the bands over the other protocols.
2. My body definition is more pronounced using bands over free weight.
3. I have much less joint problems using bands vs especially using free weights.
i prefer resistance bands over weights. after two years in a gym, and a total gym home gym, i was not getting the results i wanted to see. this because i was not putting in the time or effort. one must enjoy the traing to reap the benefits. i now after two months of owning resistance bands have seen the changes in weight loss and strength increase. my end result is that if you enjoy the product , machine or what ever it may be you will exercise more often. I have a great cardio and strength training in my resistance bands. am 52 and getting stronger and leaner everyday.