I’ve mentioned that I have a couple of close friends who train with stretch bands. One is 65 years old and uses bands almost exclusively…
He’s more about staying strong for an old guy, being in shape, and fending off muscle atrophy as he ages. Muscle size isn’t really on his radar, so despite my bearish band attitude, I give his training thumbs-up for his goals…
My other friend I’ve known since junior high. He was my first training partner, and together we blitzed and blasted on my patio all through high school trying to become musclemen to inspire lust in the girls and fear in the guys…
Here’s a meme I created that pretty much sums up our early years of high school training and gaining…
Today, we both still work out, but he uses resistance training to improve the outdoor sports he loves, like skiing, rock climbing, and mountain biking…
His workouts help prevent injury during those activities—or when he twists to grab the remote (old guy, like me)…
The band moves he uses produce the results he’s after. Remember, with bands the resistance curve is backward, but that can boost strength right where the muscle is weakest…
That’s because you get less resistance when the muscle is stretched, where the muscle is strongest; you get the MOST resistance in the contracted position. That’s exactly where the muscle is weakest…
Challenging the muscle the most where it is weakest is a good way to build some strength to prevent injury and improve performance, so I also give his workouts a thumbs up; however…
Building maximum muscle is a different story…
The weak contracted position is where the muscle fibers are so bunched together that force is diminished. That’s why it’s the weak spot—fewer fibers can fire when a muscle is flexed…
So with bands you’re working the muscle hardest where the fewest fibers can fire—inefficient for growth…
The stretch range, on the other hand, is where the muscle is strongest and can activate the most fibers—but that’s where bands are retracted and produce the least resistance…
That’s why, for optimal muscle growth, bands aren’t so great—at least not as the lead harbinger of mass.
I’ve mentioned how X-Reps, partial repetitions in the stretch range at the end of a set, can improve the muscle-building potential of many exercises, especially band work…
If you do those stretch-zone quarter reps after full reps, you may have to adjust your positioning to get enough resistance in that part of the stroke…
For example, when you hit full-range failure on pushdowns, you can squat down or sit on a bench so that the band is more elongated through the stretch range, making the X-Rep partials more challenging and mass-centric.
The bottom line: The band-wagon can help you roll to more strength, but emphasize the ideal exercises with dumbbells and cables to put the pedal to the metal of your mass machine.
New: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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