It’s a fresh start to a fresh new year and it’s that time again for us to start pondering life’s great mysteries. What’s the meaning of life? What are men really thinking about? What do they put in mystery meat? I’m here to answer the greatest of all the mysteries: Should I use free weights or resistance bands?
As a self-professed lover of the weight room I will go to my grave swearing by the awesome power of free weights. But it’s my job as a person of society to broaden my horizons, try new things, and give resistance bands a try. For the past 9 weeks I’ve been using resistance bands instead of the traditional free weights while continuing through the P90X Experience. There are many truly useful advantages to the resistance bands that cannot be offered by the free weights.
Resistance Bands
The obvious advantages of the resistance bands can be seen from afar. The bands are more portable, cheaper, and much easier to store then their counterparts. Resistance bands can be found in just about any fitness store you can imagine and are almost certainly in stock. First, there are two types of resistance bands that are typically used: Flat bands and tubes. The tubes come with handles and make the transition from free weights to the bands much smoother due to it’s ability to simulate the grip of a dumbbell. The inherent value of a band is based solely on how it is used. The bands provide a constant pull against the contraction of a muscle where free weights work solely with gravity. The use of the bands very much mimics the use of free weights, but is safer overall due to it’s semi-restricted movements and it’s ability to keep you from creating momentum. The overall workout feels different than that of the free weights in that you don’t truly know, in a quantifiable manner, how strenuous your workout was, you lack overall freedom of movement, and you don’t work the stabilizer muscles as well. This type of workout will give you an overall toning effect without packing on the bulk.
Free Weights
The free weights consist of the barbells and dumbbells found in the typical gym. The free weights are the chosen tools to use of the true weight lifters because they provide freedom of movement, quantifiable strenuous activity, and a true workout for the stabilizer muscle groups. Basically, everything the resistance bands lack. The downside to the free weights lies in the form of whomever happens to be using them. Along with the freedom of movement comes a myriad of ways you could possibly hurt yourself through a lack of good form and built up momentum. This can be negated, of course, by practicing good form and being safe. If you have a gym membership there truly is no downside to the free weights, however, if you like to work out at home, then dumbbells may not be your best option. The true Achilles heal of these handy muscle sculpting devices is that they hit your pocketbook pretty hard and aren’t the easiest things to store.
Verdict
Whether working out at home or in the gym, if money and space is not an issue then the free weights are the way to go. However, if you were hit hard by the downturn of the economy and don’t have a gym membership then I would highly recommend the resistance bands as an alternative. Hard to beat a cheap yet effective workout!
[photo : Tab Massage]
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