Resistance Bands 101: Your New Home Gym

You’ve seen them on TV, at the park or at your gym. People augmenting their workouts with some kind of mysterious high tech band. This, my friends, is the resistance band, and there’s a whole lot more to it than meets the eye. Resistance bands are a real all-in-one device, the generalist of the fitness world. 

Why do you go to the gym? If it’s to build muscle, lose weight, or just to improve your general well-being, resistance bands are very effective at helping. And if your goal is to look good while posing in front of the mirror, it can help with that too. Kind of.

How do resistance bands work?

Well, in simple terms, a resistance band is a flat elastic band. The elasticity is carefully calibrated by physiotherapists and sports science experts to provide just the right amount of pressure to activate muscle groups and to help you tone and trim your body. 

Building Muscle

Appearance-wise, a resistance band doesn't exactly look like a dumbell or scream ‘oiled-up bodybuilder’. But when it comes to strength training, this magic little device can change up your whole fitness game. The trick is to use the right resistance band, to target specific body areas with specific exercises, and to choose the correct resistance level. 

Anyone who follows a strict pull-up, crunch and press-up regime can tell you that you don’t need to bench press 300 pounds to get incredibly fit and strong. 

Losing weight

Who amongst us hasn't thought that this year, yes this year, I'm going full keto and climbing K2. Ok, well maybe not that extreme, but losing a little quarantine weight is no bad thing, right? With our local gyms locked down and a sedentary homelife on the cards, it can be easy to gain weight. Fear not! Resistance band exercises can burn through the fat. 

If you’ve ever done Pilates and taken a look at your instructor, you’ll know that core conditioning exercises can be surprisingly brutal and supremely effective at getting the weight off, especially when combined with a healthy diet and plenty of hydration. Resistance band exercises build on these principles and are mixed with movements from many different sports and disciplines to keep it fresh.

General wellbeing

Yes, resistance bands can impact on your wellbeing. It’s a real thing. It’s like a combination of yoga, pilates and general gym work. The best part is that you can easily configure this depending on your mood and your general fitness goals.

 

The Pass Through exercise in action 

Here’s an example for you to visualize, or to try out if you have a band handy: 

Hold the band in each hand, stretched in front of your body. Taking deep, slow breaths, visualize all of your tension leaving your body with each exhale. Then, bring the resistance band behind your body and then swing it again towards the front. And, repeat. Congratulations, you have just completed an exercise called the 'Pass Through'

There’s no time like the present

It’s no secret that since the start of the Corona-era, we’ve been stuck at home. Can't meet friends, can't go to restaurants, can’t dominate at laser-tag, and can't go to the gym now. None of this is good news for your sporting physique. But wait, what if we told you that we could bring the gym to you? 

Resistance bands are made for now! Small, inexpensive, versatile and packed with hundreds of different workouts. Honestly, you might not even need to go back to the gym at all after lockdown ends. 

The plusses don’t end there. Whether you’re short on time, or traveling, or lacking space – resistance bands can make life so much easier and simpler. No matter where you are, you’ll always have your compact, portable gym right with you.

Meet your new Personal Trainer 

Here’s the twist: STRAFFR is a next level resistance band. Designed with love in Germany, the hardware is first rate, natürlich. The neat trick is that we’ve also included your very own personal trainer to guide you through your resistance band exercises. Unlike the real thing, our trainers are kind, patient and won’t judge you. 

STRAFFR has been teamed up with cutting edge app technology. It pairs with your iPhone or Android device, and delivers bespoke workouts at all skill levels. Real-time feedback and deep customization allows you to transform your fitness and your body shape with ease. 

Taking in information according to your fitness level, and providing you a truly personalized experience, with real-time feedback.

Easy to use and configured just for you: the STRAFFR app 

Once you feel you’ve built enough strength and your fitness ability has improved, STRAFFR’s adaptive training plan will provide you with a personalized plan. It’s like you have an infinite number of free weights right in your pocket. Your challenge starts here.

Thanks for reading! To find out more about STRAFFR, head over to the website and pick up your STRAFFR resistance band today!