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Resistance bands for home and for travel.
(Pull Up Bars also shown here)
I was going to say, ideally suited for those who travel-- since that's when I tend to use mine the most. Some of my clients love them, some don't. Although I do use them, I'm not really a very big fan of resistance bands because they have a completely different biomechanical resistance profile. During resistance band exercises, most of the muscular effort occurs at the end range of motion when the elastic is fully stretched. Sometimes, there's simply not enough resistance till you get one third or about half way through the movement. They are fun to use however, and they're especially practical when traveling. You can easily pack them into a suitcase. They won't take up much space and unlike dumbbells, they're very light to carry! You can get a fairly effective total body workout from your hotel room when very little else is available. Exercise bands are typically colour-coded and offer different levels of resistance. If you're accustomed to lifting heavy weights, you probably won't be happy with the amount of resistance traditional bands provide. However, this doesn't mean you should rule them out entirely. Going heavy is not always the only objective in a well designed training program. Elastic tubing allows you to perform an exercise from many different angles that you simply cannot reproduce with dumbbells or barbells. The colour codes are not standardized and differ from manufacturer to manufacturer but generally, as the colours go from light to dark, the resistance increases. Most manufacturers offer light, medium, heavy, and ultra heavy bands or something similar along those lines. Many people try to figure out the band they need by the amount of resistance it represents in terms of pounds. If you like resistance band exercises, I advise getting a range of bands from light to heavy. After all, you don't normally perform all of your exercises with just one weight. You probably use a heavier load for a Chest Press than you would for a Chest Fly, for example. So why would you only want a light band or just a heavy band? Get a variety to meet the resistance needs of different exercises. Bands differ in quality. Normally, the thicker the tube the greater the resistance. However, all exercise bands wear down over time. Exposure to heat and cold also make them susceptible to wear and tear, so do examine them for damage before every use and replace them when necessary. I currently use SPRI Xertubes. SPRI has been making resistance tubing for a while and the quality is usually very good. With a minimum of care and maintenance, a fairly small investment, and literally very little space requirement-- you can add variety to your home workout by training with resistance bands. And don't forget to pack them along with you the next time you travel!
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