Rubber exercise bands and rubber exercise tubing are great alternatives to dumbbells or other resistance exercise equipment. They’re portable and easy to transport, don’t damage the floor or cause injury if dropped, and can be used for all dumbbell exercises. Tubing and bands differ in that bands are made of flat, thin rubber sheets, typically six to eight inches in width, and can be purchased with or without handles. Tubing, on the other hand, is rounder and almost always comes with handles. I find exercise tubing easier to use than bands due to the handles. They also tend to last longer than band.

Are They Effective?

Although no one has compared tubing or bands to weight machines or dumbbells to determine which is more effective in building strength, most fitness professionals agree that tubing and bands can be used to build strength. Because any activity that causes muscles to contract against resistance will trigger a training response. This means that you will become stronger by pushing, pulling, lifting, and/or lifting water bottles, cinder blocks or dumbbells or your own weight. You can also use exercise tubing or bands to accomplish the same thing. It is not clear if they are better than dumbbells or weight-machines, so we will have to wait for scientists to answer that question. However, I believe you can get a training result if you use them.

Exercise Tubing & Bands

The color of the tube or band you choose will depend on your fitness goals. If strength is your goal, choose a band or tube that you can lift 8-12 times to fatigue. For endurance or tone, select a band or tube that can lift 12-15 times. You roofing business cards will gain strength if your strength is eight to twelve times, but you will tone up if you lift endurance and tone 12-15 times. To reap the benefits, you must fatigue on all sets.

Vendors

You can buy tubing and bands at many sporting goods shops and online. You can search online for the terms “exercise band”, “exercise tubing,” and “exercise band videos” to find competitive pricing. You should also keep in mind that different vendors might use different names for the exact same product. For example, you might see bands and tubes called “resistance cords,” or “xertubes,” but they all work the same.