Past Tense

There are plenty of benefits to working out at home. The convenience of being able to out on your terms and turf goes a long way — wear what you want (or wear nothing at all), listing or watch whatever you want without having to worry about someone complaining to the manager. But the largest set back to working out at home is the amount of money you will have to put to properly equip your home facility. Of course, there are ways around this, but you will still want to make sure you have the right tools.

For home-gym beginners and veterans alike, one of the necessary weapons in your home-gym arsenal must include core-strength training equipment. Most people immediately think of the balance/exercise/Swiss ball. While this piece of equipment certainly has its merits, core is by no means all-inclusive. With core training becoming more and more vital to proper weight loss and fitness workouts, home-gym afficionados would be wise to invest in body bands which enhances strength in other areas.

Almost all bands on the market (bands are also known as tubing) allow different resistance levels. With the most common types of bands, however, several sets are recommended so that different resistance types can be had. Usually, resistance levels are dictated by different colors depending on the brand, but the true reasons resistance levels exist is that the bands’ tubing come in varying degrees of thickness. Sill, it would be wise to invest in several sets so that you have more than one resistance level around, otherwise the bands will join the dusty exercise ball.

The superior-quality brands come with clips so that you add different resistance bands (or even multiple bands) without having to change the handles. While this benefit by itself does not reduce overall cost to a significant degree, it means you can enjoy the consistency of your own handles, which may be nothing more than a personal preference.

When weighing resistance bands against free weights, consideration should be given to the joint pain that free weights cause. Since momentum doesn’t exist with bands they way it does with free weights (it is this momentum that leads to injuries), the bands provide a safer alternative. In fact, as the elastic tubing stretches, the resistance increases and this also helps to reduce injury.

When evaluating bands to bow machines like the Bowflex, consider that elastic resistance is more direct than bow resistance. Should this influence a decision? Probably not, but for the same reasons a bodybuilder might prefer free weights over Nautilus-style machines, most prefer elastic over bow. This may be nothing more than superstition or personal opinion, but the one thing the bow machines share with conventional exercise machines is that they both rely on fly wheels and pulley systems. Purists believe that this prevents a direct workout. So, as some would prefer free weights over machines, some would prefer bands over bow machines.

Lastly, when comparing bands to gravity systems and workouts, look at the consistency of the resistance. With pull-ups, sit-ups, et cetera, the weight is consistent (usually your body weight). Since your body weight does not increase with your range of motion, you lose out on building strength where you most need it — where you muscles are weakest. With the bands, the elastic tubing increases resistancy the more it is stretch. In other words, as you extend your muscle, the resistance increases and this is where you want it most. This results in strength improvement and muscle gain in areas that gravity, free weights and some bow systems can’t even touch.

FitChimp.com recommends the Bodylastics system. Even at $45.95, Bodylastics provides a comprehensive system of four bands and up to 44 lbs of resistance per side. The costliest system costs $99.81 and comes with an additional four bands and up to 127 lbs of resistance. Regardless of the system you choose, you will certainly enjoy a more comprehensive strength workout at home.