Anyone who has already trained in a gym has certainly tried training with free weights , such as a barbell or simple dumbbells. However, it is likely that you have also come across elastic bands, more or less thick, with more or less tensile strength, which are mainly used by those who have suffered joint damage and need to carry out rehabilitation work. However, can the latter also be useful to other fitness enthusiasts? And if so, how do they differ from other gym equipment? We will see it below, analyzing both one and the other training tool .
Free weights
It is undeniable that for those who want to develop muscle mass, the weights solution is obviously the most appropriate one. Furthermore, it always gives a certain sense of satisfaction to have increasingly heavier loads to lift.
Among the major tools used for this type of training we certainly find dumbbells , which allow a personalized weight selection based on one’s abilities and a progressive increase , and barbells, of various shapes and weights, which are also ideal for selecting workloads. in a subjective way, favoring both beginners and more experts.
Let’s see what the main advantages of using free weights compared to elastic bands are:
- Fixed resistance. The elastic band increases its tensile strength the more it is pulled. Weight does not, therefore having constant resistance allows you to manage effort better and understand the phases of maximum muscular effort more quickly.
- Adaptation time. Work with weights is very instinctive and natural, therefore it does not require much time to understand which elastic bands are best to work with or which positions are best to train a particular muscle.
- Practicality. With free weights you can plan an entire workout, without the use of alternative or support equipment.
- Durability. If someone likes to build their own personal gym at home, once you buy the weights you don’t have to buy them anymore. They may need maintenance from time to time, but they are very unlikely to break.
Elastic bands
Training with elastic bands is completely different from that with weights, both for the intensity of the stimulus applied to the body segment you choose to train, and for the increasing resistance that the elastic band imposes, also determining a training phase eccentric, which is expressed by a contraction of the muscle even during the return phase.
The intensity of the training can also be adjusted with the bands, albeit with fewer possible variables compared to normal weights. Smaller ones can typically be used wrapped around the limbs and used to add resistance to the body’s natural movements, while larger bands can be used in place of weights or anchored to perform pull-ups, pushes and isometric movements.
Preparing with Flexible Bands:
- Portability: Flexible groups are lightweight and compact, making them simple to carry around, which is extraordinary for domestic workouts or travel.
- Versatility: Flexible groups can be utilized for a wide run of works out focusing on different muscle bunches. They can give resistance in numerous bearings, permitting for useful developments that mirror real-life activities.
- Joint-Friendly: Flexible groups offer a lower hazard of joint strain compared to weights since they give pleasing resistance. This implies the resistance increments as the band is extended, which can decrease push on your joints.
- Variable Resistance: You can effortlessly alter the resistance level of flexible groups by changing the length or thickness of the band, permitting for dynamic over-burden as you get stronger.
- Rehabilitation: Flexible groups are regularly utilized in physical treatment and recovery programs due to their delicate resistance, which can help in muscle fortifying and damage prevention.
Training with Weights
- Strength Picks up: Weight preparing with dumbbells, barbells, or machines is exceedingly compelling for building muscle quality and estimate, particularly when lifting heavier weights.
- Progressive Over-burden: With weights, you can effortlessly increment the resistance by including more weight to the bar or dumbbells, encouraging dynamic over-burden and persistent quality gains.
- Muscle Confinement: Weights permit for exact focusing on of particular muscle bunches, making them perfect for bodybuilding-style workouts centered on muscle separation and hypertrophy.
- Bone Thickness: Weight-bearing works out with heavier weights can offer assistance make strides bone thickness, which is advantageous for generally bone wellbeing and decreasing the hazard of osteoporosis.
- Metabolic Benefits: Weight preparing can increment metabolic rate and advance fat misfortune, as building and keeping up muscle mass requires more vitality, indeed at rest.
Conclusions
The choice between weights and elastic bands, as seen, must be well focused on everyone’s needs and above all on the objectives you want to achieve from training in the short and medium term. The benefits of both methods are numerous and both are highly effective if contextualized to their potential. Furthermore, the interesting thing is that they can be combined for example in a phase of muscle mass development but also, at the same time, in the search for maximum definition. In fact, in this case elastic bands express one of their best effects.
see also: Overtraining: 5 Rules to Prevent It and Keep Yourself Safe
