My first experience with workouts bands was in physical therapy. Let me tell you, it was horrible. The simple-looking resistance bands generated some burn in my muscles I never knew existed. Now, they are crucial to my personal quarantine workout.

 It is a common misconception by new beginners think that weights are more important than bands. However, what they don’t know is that cable machines at the gym are based have the same concept as resistance bands. Cable machines force the muscles to be under constant tension due to gravity pushing the weight stack down. The resistance applies this continuous tension to the muscles when the bands are stretched, and not released until the band is in its natural state. Because of these constant tension states, bands are versatile and can be used to build muscle, mobility, and even can be used for rehabilitation.

Strength:

Bands can come in a variety of sizes and resistance. For example, some bands need a constant force of 50lbs to stretch. Due to this wide array of resistance, there’s a band for everyone and for each exercise. Here are my favorite strength-building exercises to do with bands this Coronacation season.

The banded pushup. In push up form, wrap the band across the back, so there’s a side to the band in each hand. This targets the chest, upper delt, and triceps region of the body. It allows this portion to be constantly under pressure in the concentric (top motion) of the pushup.

Mobility:

As described in the various section, bands provide a constant force on the muscle. This can be exceptionally good for mobility and stretching. My personal favorite is the front pull apart.

I strongly encourage everyone to add this movement to the warm for every upper body workout day. The whole idea for this workout is to focus on pulling your shoulder blades together, loosening up the back and shoulders joints while stretching the chest. Do this for about 30 reps.

To start this stretch, hold the ends of the band in each one of your hands in front of your body. At the point, your arms should be straight out in front of you. From there, pull your shoulder blades together and pull with the rear delts until your arms are out to your side, and the band is going across the chest. Slowly go back to starting position and repeat.

At the bottom of the article I have provided links to two videos showing exactly how to do the exercises.