Resistance Tubes vs. Dumbbells?

Sveid
Sveid Posts: 37 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I have a gym membership to my university gym, but I live about twenty minutes away... most of the time I can really only get there when I'm -at- school, but I don't really have time to go during my breaks.

I invested in some resistance tubes to help begin strength training at home. I have three tubes, each in increasing resistance. You can do one at a time or add them together to increase the difficulty.

BASICALLY, I had two questions.

One: Are these just as effective as dumbbells? Will I see similar results?

Two: Know any good exercise listings for resistance tubes? c:

Replies

  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    I have resistance bands, mine came with a DVD. They are great, and yes, you get a good workout from them. I prefer the gym, but they are really easy to pack if going away on holiday.

    There would be a lot of YouTube videos I imagine, on how to use them, try searching there for ideas.

    Good luck!
  • round10
    round10 Posts: 16 Member
    dumbells all the way. with just two dumbells you can work almost all muscles at home.
  • jimmie65
    jimmie65 Posts: 655 Member
    You can get a great conditioning workout from resistance bands.

    Youtube should have lots of videos, but some exercises: curls, overhead presses, push-ups with resistance, rows, flys, calf raises with resistance, lawnmowers, chest presses, etc. When I've done resistance band work, I try to everything as a circuit - moving between exercises as quickly as possible with little rest.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    dumbells all the way. with just two dumbells you can work almost all muscles at home.

    You can do the same thing with bands, a set of bands are:

    1. Easier to store.
    2. Easier to travel with.
    3. Cheaper.

    Which is perfect for someone on a budget and with limited space.

    I personally like free weights, but I also have a gym literally 1 mile from the house. But before I got that, I was using resistance bands. Oh...and with resistance bands you can do a lot more isolation exercises than you could do with weights, imo.
  • dennism2013
    dennism2013 Posts: 5
    One: I have no idea.
    Two: Yes! My favorite exercise with my band looks like a funky baseball swing. I bought the nylon strap that allows me to secure the band to a door frame(available at ****'s Sporting Goods). It looks like a piece of junk but it's the most useful thing ever. I use the band without handles for this exercise. Just loop the band through the holder and hold the ends like it's a baseball bat. I position my body so that as I rotate through my "swing" all of my core muscles (lower back, sides and abs) have to participate to get me through. I usually extend my arms at the end of the movement to blast my arms. My whole body burns after a set of these.

    EDIT: Dee Iee Cee Kay ' S Sporting Goods. MFP thinks that I'm trying to say a naughty word!
  • andycet
    andycet Posts: 55 Member
    I use them for P90X as I don't have a chinup bar but have also found them to be tougher in some exercises than dumbells.

    I use bodylastics bands that you combine together for different weights. The companies site has loads of videos: http://www.bodylastics.com/liveworkouts/

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