Resistance Bands

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MisterZ33
MisterZ33 Posts: 567 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i am doing the P90 program (the first one before P90X) and it has been going well.


just want to get some feedback on those of you who use resistance bands: how do you know how much "weight" you are lifting?

the resistance bands are great because i can switch from one exercise to the next without changing dumbells.

it isnt really that important to me at this stage because i find the tension on the bands challenging, however, i am curious to know how much i am lifting.

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  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    I think the box that the band came in should tell you the weight it is simulating. If you got it from Beachbody, I would google it.
  • MisterZ33
    MisterZ33 Posts: 567 Member
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    the resistance, however, changes depending on where you place your foot on the band.

    i dont really think there is any way of knowing but i am hoping i am wrong.
  • woofer00
    woofer00 Posts: 123 Member
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    Do you have a luggage scale? Those should have enough range to give you an idea. Or in the opposite, put an even heavier mass on a bathroom scale and pull off (this is risky and could end up in flying weights).
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    the resistance, however, changes depending on where you place your foot on the band.

    i dont really think there is any way of knowing but i am hoping i am wrong.

    Yes, but the box will give you a range of what the weight it. You will never know exactly unless you change to dumbbells.
  • jasonctyler
    jasonctyler Posts: 40
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    There really isn't much of a way that will be 100% accurate, as you said, the resistance changes depending on how you use the bands. The more tension, the more weight. Here's a graph from one company anyway that tells how you gauge based on rate of deflection... (e.g. how many inches you stretch them from any given anchor point, you can tell when the band is being stretched and when it's slack.)

    8fc6ff5d-9738-4c85-93f3-eb671ff9922e.png?t=1405612088

    So with their product the first 6" they are stretched from an anchor point is what you see on the box, and how you modify that (e.g. your height, standing with a wide stance on them so they are already stretched X amount of inches when you're holding them at a neutral stance for your given exercise, or how far back you stretch them from a fixed anchor position before trying to exercise with them - like seated rows or flys) could drastically increase the deflection of the bands but basically every 6" gives you 5lb~8lb more resistance.

    It should be noted if you stand or anchor in the middle of the band, then you're halving the requirement to reach that peak weight, from the middle the band will only stretch 1/2 of it's given maximum - don't try to stretch it beyond that or the band could snap or break. Hopefully that makes sense.

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