Looking for bands recommendations

Retroguy2000

I'll be traveling for a couple of weeks in summer so I thought let's finally get some bands. And probably a pair of handles and door stop too. I already have barbell and db's so any use they get at home will probably be minimal.

While traveling and doing full body workouts I want to be confident they won't suddenly snap. As I search on Amazon, all three sets of bands I've looked at so far have generally good reviews, 4.7, but the negative reviews talk about bands breaking, and in one case a review talked about that brand not stretching enough and not having a constant tension feel. Maybe this is just the risk with all bands? I don't know. Never used them.

I don't need assistance for pullups. I assume I'll want a set that goes as high as 2" sized for about 160 pounds, since that's about my range for sets of 12 barbell rows and db bench press. I realize the band numbers won't match free weights numbers for various reasons, so I'm just guessing there.

Any recs?

@nossmf

nossmf

I know I mentioned bands in a different thread, but that was based off of a quick online search after remembering my wife used the gym's bands as part of her physical therapy after her car accident, not through any personal experience using them. Sorry, but I'll be curious to know what you ultimately select and your opinion of them after use.

Retroguy2000

That's a shame, noss. I saw a garagegymreviews page mentioning a few. Rogue is extremely expensive and only has three in their bundle anyway, which isn't ideal. Others they praise are double the price of the $25-$30 ones Amazon is full of, and from brands I've heard of and used, like Gymreaper, and that price would be fine. However, literally every brand I've looked at including those has a small % of reviews talking about them breaking, often after minor use. I may just have to randomly try one and hope I get lucky.

Corina1143

My Fila 3-pack of light weight bands cost about $5 at either Marshall's or Ross dress for less. They are about 5 years old and going strong.
If you're willing to pay the prices you were looking at, you might look at Theraband--often used by physical therapists. Should last a while. I don't know.

COGypsy

I used bands to workout at home through most of the pandemic. I was big into powerlifting at the time (few months out from potentially competing), so I was definitely using them to their max, and at tensions that would have been very much not good if they'd snapped. I've never had one break. I use the long ones with the handles and the wide rubber bands similar to the ones from the physical therapist. I'm guessing bands are like anything else....if you deep dive into the reviews there will always be a few bad ones. It's more a matter of whether those reviews come up consistently for a product or are just sprinkled through.

zebasschick

i like bodylastics. i've never broken one, they come in a wide variety of resistances and various sets, i'm happy with their customer service, i love the attachments at both ends make them versatile and work with all my cable machine attachments, and they keep their stretchiness longer than some other brands i've owned. they also have a cord down the middle so if one does break one, they won't whip back and whack you somewhere. i'm sure there are other good brands out there, but i've used bodylastics for over a decade.

btw, bands never have constant tension - the resistance gets higher the further you stretch them. and if a band is too hard to stretch, one just works back to a lighter band.

Retroguy2000

Thanks for the tips. I ordered the Bodylastics tube 156 pound tube set. Amazon says it may be a few weeks to arrive.

I was having decision paralysis with bands. All the cheaper ones seemed to be fairly identical and I was worried how long they'd last me, and the better reviewed more expensive bands could end up costing quite a bit more than the Bodylastics set which also reviewed well, once you add in extras like door anchor or hand grips.

Btw @zebasschick yes you're right, I misquoted the review I read, which I think was something like as they were pulling it, the band would get a little easier or harder than expected at a specific stretch level, something like that. And if that's still not right, blame the review or my memory :-)

zebasschick

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips. I ordered the Bodylastics tube 156 pound tube set. Amazon says it may be a few weeks to arrive.

I was having decision paralysis with bands. All the cheaper ones seemed to be fairly identical and I was worried how long they'd last me, and the better reviewed more expensive bands could end up costing quite a bit more than the Bodylastics set which also reviewed well, once you add in extras like door anchor or hand grips.

Btw @zebasschick yes you're right, I misquoted the review I read, which I think was something like as they were pulling it, the band would get a little easier or harder than expected at a specific stretch level, something like that. And if that's still not right, blame the review or my memory :-)

a few weeks? are they out of stock or is it a marketplace seller? either way, hopefully it'll be to you sooner.

i know about decision paralysis, particularly with fitness equipment. i find all the similar items, read the reviews, look at youtube reviews, then compare everything. the funny thing is, a couple quicker purchases worked out better than some i agonized over for weeks. go figure LOL

when your set gets to you, hope you like it!

btw, i found bodylastics support to be very helpful.

NVR2OLD1961

I see you already made your band selection. I would have recommended Undersun bands. Having been a band user for many years now I found tube bands to hold up less over time (seem to lose resistance) and under very hot conditions (break apart). I’ve never tried bodylastics so I’d be curious to know how they stand up to the test of time and regular use you.

Retroguy2000

Undersun or Rubberbandits were probably going to be my first choice for bands.

I like that the Bodylastics set includes an anywhere anchor plus door anchor.

My main will continue to be free weights so time and climate should be bigger wear and tear issues than usage. We'll see.

nossmf

I'll be curious to hear how your workout goes from the perspective of "heavy" use. When my wife used bands, she was both rehabbing injury as well as not very strong to begin with, so the bands were very low resistance. But you're much closer to my level of strength, so I'd be interested to know how much you feel you got an effective strength workout through the bands.

Retroguy2000

I'll update after I get them. I expect they'll be fine for arms and shoulders, and at least some chest and back options. I'm less optimistic about quads.

I'm curious how it'll feel with the resistance being the wrong way around for some things, e.g. squats, curls, etc. you want the highest resistance in the stretched position, whereas it's the opposite with bands/tubes.

Retroguy2000

@nossmf

Update time. Finally got them a week or two ago, and I've given them a try at the end of my normal db/barbell workouts. I'm impressed.

I got these, the Bodylastics set, $53 and it includes six tube bands, a door anchor, an anywhere anchor (handy for using on a rack), two handles and two ankle loops. Good value. The biggest band is listed as 30-120 pounds. With an anchor halfway up a door frame, just that band by itself inside my arms and doing a chest press feels like hard work, likewise doing a row. For comparison, I'll do about 13 reps with two 67.5 pound db's for chest press and same reps on a T-bar row with 130 pounds (not incl barbell). Of course you could easily add all the other bands if you wanted.

Upper body work looks to be covered for my two week trip in the summer. The hams can get a little work with a lying leg curl. For quads they appear to be useless, likewise with loop bands too. Even if you can get into a suitable position like a goblet squat, there's the issue with all bands that the least resistance is when the muscle is lengthened, and that's where the most hypertrophy happens.

I like doing chest adduction with both ends of a band connected to one handle, and anchored around my pull-up tower. I think I'll keep that in general rotation instead of doing db fly's.

One issue is that the thinnest two bands have uneven stretch, so if they are looped around an anchor with the same length on either side, then stretched out, one side hits max stretch far before the other side. I spoke to someone I know yesterday and they have Bodylastics too, and they said theirs are the same. I wouldn't ever use those with two handles myself so it shouldn't be an issue for me, but it might be for some.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012ZWS9DA

claireychn074

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

@nossmf

Update time. Finally got them a week or two ago, and I've given them a try at the end of my normal db/barbell workouts. I'm impressed.

I got these, the Bodylastics set, $53 and it includes six tube bands, a door anchor, an anywhere anchor (handy for using on a rack), two handles and two ankle loops. Good value. The biggest band is listed as 30-120 pounds. With an anchor halfway up a door frame, just that band by itself inside my arms and doing a chest press feels like hard work, likewise doing a row. For comparison, I'll do about 13 reps with two 67.5 pound db's for chest press and same reps on a T-bar row with 130 pounds (not incl barbell). Of course you could easily add all the other bands if you wanted.

Upper body work looks to be covered for my two week trip in the summer. The hams can get a little work with a lying leg curl. For quads they appear to be useless, likewise with loop bands too. Even if you can get into a suitable position like a goblet squat, there's the issue with all bands that the least resistance is when the muscle is lengthened, and that's where the most hypertrophy happens.

I like doing chest adduction with both ends of a band connected to one handle, and anchored around my pull-up tower. I think I'll keep that in general rotation instead of doing db fly's.

One issue is that the thinnest two bands have uneven stretch, so if they are looped around an anchor with the same length on either side, then stretched out, one side hits max stretch far before the other side. I spoke to someone I know yesterday and they have Bodylastics too, and they said theirs are the same. I wouldn't ever use those with two handles myself so it shouldn't be an issue for me, but it might be for some.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012ZWS9DA

For quads, try sitting on the end of a bench, get the bands wrapped around the feet for the bench and do sloooowwww leg raises. No idea how you’d make that work when away from home (use a chair in front a door?) but I had to do those for rehab. They blooming killed and made my quads shake. Also v good for glute thrusts if you can anchor each end down and sit under a heavy band. I do banded good mornings to warm the hammies and banded front squats to warm the quads and core too.

nossmf

Thanks for the update! I may look into those for home use, just in case another pandemic shuts down the gyms again.

You can also try pistol squats, one-legged bodyweight squats with the non-working leg straight in front of you.

Retroguy2000

claireychn074 wrote: »

For quads, try sitting on the end of a bench, get the bands wrapped around the feet for the bench and do sloooowwww leg raises. No idea how you’d make that work when away from home (use a chair in front a door?) but I had to do those for rehab. They blooming killed and made my quads shake. Also v good for glute thrusts if you can anchor each end down and sit under a heavy band. I do banded good mornings to warm the hammies and banded front squats to warm the quads and core too.

Thanks for the ideas. I didn't have time to try it earlier during leg day, but that leg extension sounds like it should work. In general, the leg extension wouldn't be near my first choice due to the resistance being at the wrong end of the stretch, but it'll be better than nothing while traveling.

How do you do the good mornings? I'm skeptical of the way I've seen people do it with full bands, around their feet and upper back. Maybe with the anchor at the top of a door and then the band looped around upper chest, or held goblet style in front of the neck with a grip handle, while facing away from the door?

nossmf wrote: »

You can also try pistol squats, one-legged bodyweight squats with the non-working leg straight in front of you.

I never tried those before until earlier when you mentioned it, though I had seen them. Damn, they're hard. I'm fine with the Bulgarian with db's in both hands, but this was hard lol. I'll need more practice.

claireychn074

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

claireychn074 wrote: »

For quads, try sitting on the end of a bench, get the bands wrapped around the feet for the bench and do sloooowwww leg raises. No idea how you’d make that work when away from home (use a chair in front a door?) but I had to do those for rehab. They blooming killed and made my quads shake. Also v good for glute thrusts if you can anchor each end down and sit under a heavy band. I do banded good mornings to warm the hammies and banded front squats to warm the quads and core too.

Thanks for the ideas. I didn't have time to try it earlier during leg day, but that leg extension sounds like it should work. In general, the leg extension wouldn't be near my first choice due to the resistance being at the wrong end of the stretch, but it'll be better than nothing while traveling.

How do you do the good mornings? I'm skeptical of the way I've seen people do it with full bands, around their feet and upper back. Maybe with the anchor at the top of a door and then the band looped around upper chest, or held goblet style in front of the neck with a grip handle, while facing away from the door?

nossmf wrote: »

You can also try pistol squats, one-legged bodyweight squats with the non-working leg straight in front of you.

I never tried those before until earlier when you mentioned it, though I had seen them. Damn, they're hard. I'm fine with the Bulgarian with db's in both hands, but this was hard lol. I'll need more practice.

I do actually do good mornings with the band looped around my neck, so stand on the band, feet shoulder width apart, loop around neck BUT hold the tension tight in your hands up by your shoulders so it doesn’t pull on your neck. You can either do them tempo or go for speed volume - either way gives me a burn. I don’t know what your mobility is like, but overhead squats with the band are another quad exercise, now I come to think of it. Stand on the band, get your hands above your head and slowly squat. As it’s OH it’s more quad dominant than glute. If you have something you can put your heels on (a book?) then you get a HUGE quad workout.

I2k4

I still get leg challenge from suitcase squats with a big 3" loop (Amstaff brand from a Canadian supplier) using J-hook grips, which also manage multiple bands better than hands alone. That said, I'd suggest the best leg work for bands is single legged - split squats, lunges or RDLs - no need for the monster bands or handles. Body tilt determines if a single leg pull is mainly quad or glute recruiting. (Never wanted to fumble around with tubes and carabiners.)

zebasschick

you could get a lightweight, collapsible bar that weighs almost nothing and use it with resistance bands on each side for things like squats or barbell curls.