Last month as I was packing for my vacation, I dug out some resistance bands. Lighter and more compact than free weights, they are a great bit of home fitness equipment you can pack in your luggage.
I was so surprised by how good they were for working out on holiday that I swapped them for my usual weights when I got home. Here’s why they're my new go-to training tool.
My core got stronger
One of the best things about resistance bands is how good they are for core strength and stabilization. Your core has to hold steady against the instability of the band, which provides a continuous challenge. The result? A more challenging and dynamic workout that hits multiple muscle groups at once, particularly the muscles in your trunk.
Training this area is essential for posture, balance, functional movement and—most critically for me—to be strong enough to carry my young children to bed when they have fallen asleep and are a dead weight!
I improved my range of motion and mobility
As well as being excellent strength training companions, resistance bands are also useful for stretching. They offer controlled tension, which helps muscles lengthen gradually. This means you can ease into poses, supporting your muscles throughout a move.
After a month of using resistance bands, my range of motion improved and I found it much easier to stretch into different positions. In particular, practicing leg extensions with a band anchored to a chair helped gradually improve my hip mobility.
The workouts were gentler on my joints
Now that I'm in my mid-forties I’m more at risk of developing osteoporosis during perimenopause, so I always try to do joint-friendly and bone-boosting workouts. That is where bands come into their own. They are gentle on the joints and research by Harvard Medical School has shown they can fire bone-forming cells into action, improving strength and density.
I also found that any post-workout DOMS I had were often milder than I got with a weights workout, too.
