Can you build muscle with resistance bands?

[TheArtofire]

It will benefit you. But you won't find it as easy to train progressively. So not as good as a 300lb barbell set you can get cheap secondhand. Get a lot of large rocks, and weigh them, if you are serious.



Bollocks. If they were presented with a barbell set with unknown weights, that magically changed weight by a large amount every time they changed temperature, or moved a different ROM like bands, that would be inferior to a real barbell set. I have a barrel in my back garden. I can weigh that, seriously. And I can add a pound a week if I want. And I can weigh dozens of rocks, if I bothered.



If you train progressively it is a good idea to be able to measure the progress.

Are you a geared powerlifter? If so, then you'll get a benefit from accomodating resistance, at least theoretically, because the gear will substitute for lack of strength at the bottom, and you need pop at the top, where the gear doesn't help as much. OP wasn't talking about that at all. Just using bands is nowhere near as good as just using a barbell set. If you are a raw lifter, you need to get strong at the bottom.



Bollocks. Even if you lost a pound, that would only be 2.2%. Hardly comparable to the inconsistency of bands, if they can change from 80lbs to 200lbs, depending.



Sadly a lot of people on BB.com are not progressing at all.

Steering them to a fad popularized by geared powerlifters(even if it might be beneficial for you, assuming you know what you are doing) is not a good idea, until they know a bit more. The OP doesn't need something as inconsistent as bands as a substitute for a barbell set.



You know what the chains weigh when the links are off the ground. They don't change with the seasons.

I have chains, and I don't use them at all, except maybe to throw over the neck for dips. Got them when I didn't know that any carryover is only really useful to geared lifters.

Looking back, I didn't really specify my intentions clear enough. I do not believe in a 100% band workout for strength and hypertrophy. I use bands in conjunction with weights, similar to many who use chains (i.e. loaded barbell + added bands) - both progressively add resistance as the lift is being performed, and regardless of whether or not you know the exact weight, if you come close to failure, or to failure, between 8 and 12 reps, is that not a significant range for building muscle?

Also, there are DROVES of scientific studies, and probably every elite athlete, that back the use of resistance bands for explosive power, not only for agility and jump height, but for strength in general. My example I like to use, and I'm sure you'll understand since you seem to be an informed lifter is this:

How much weight can you squat deeply? I go below parallel and can manage 315 5x5 alright, but if I were to do a half squat, I'd imagine I could lift in the ballpark of 405 with relative ease. However, I don't do half squats, so I'm limited to 315 pounds at the bottom, and 315 pounds at the top of each rep. In essence, I'm limiting my muscle fiber recruitment in the last half of the rep because my momentum and bone structure has taken over the lift by that point, whereas the addition of an external resistance would continue to overload my muscles throughout the motion. And while you may not know EXACTLY (which you could, if you weight yourself under a tense band [but most wont, just like you wouldn't remeasure weights or rocks]) the weight of the bands, you're still being progressively overloaded, and if you can muster 5-8-10-15 reps, you're still in the appropriate ranges for strength, hypertrophy, and/or endurance.

Lastly, I don't know what kind of bands you're thinking of, but mine are made of some serious surgical tubing, and while I can't deny scientifically that they DO fluctuate in weight - I can almost guarantee it's minimal. A. I workout in a gym of a steady temperature, B. I'm not throwing around 500 reps at once like a car tire to increase heat, C. surgical tubing is incredibly strong and not susceptible to wearing fast enough to make any noticeable changes within years....unless you're doing 500 rep sets at a high rate of speed in a sauna. I'm not denying the benefits of iron - it works, obviously, and has worked for a bajillion people - but science has progressed from simply lifting chunks of iron to adapting principles that aren't just "faddy" but proven by science as well.

[Floyddm]

I have a set of bodylastics
In my opinion they are better than free weights. Can do any exercise you can do at a gym. It's dependent on your routine I do a tabata and a 4 min muscle routine and I literally can't move after it.

[jgreystoke]

Looking back, I didn't really specify my intentions clear enough. I do not believe in a 100% band workout for strength and hypertrophy. I use bands in conjunction with weights, similar to many who use chains (i.e. loaded barbell + added bands) - both progressively add resistance as the lift is being performed, and regardless of whether or not you know the exact weight, if you come close to failure, or to failure, between 8 and 12 reps, is that not a significant range for building muscle?

Also, there are DROVES of scientific studies, and probably every elite athlete, that back the use of resistance bands for explosive power, not only for agility and jump height, but for strength in general. My example I like to use, and I'm sure you'll understand since you seem to be an informed lifter is this:

How much weight can you squat deeply? I go below parallel and can manage 315 5x5 alright, but if I were to do a half squat, I'd imagine I could lift in the ballpark of 405 with relative ease. However, I don't do half squats, so I'm limited to 315 pounds at the bottom, and 315 pounds at the top of each rep. In essence, I'm limiting my muscle fiber recruitment in the last half of the rep because my momentum and bone structure has taken over the lift by that point, whereas the addition of an external resistance would continue to overload my muscles throughout the motion. And while you may not know EXACTLY (which you could, if you weight yourself under a tense band [but most wont, just like you wouldn't remeasure weights or rocks]) the weight of the bands, you're still being progressively overloaded, and if you can muster 5-8-10-15 reps, you're still in the appropriate ranges for strength, hypertrophy, and/or endurance.

Lastly, I don't know what kind of bands you're thinking of, but mine are made of some serious surgical tubing, and while I can't deny scientifically that they DO fluctuate in weight - I can almost guarantee it's minimal. A. I workout in a gym of a steady temperature, B. I'm not throwing around 500 reps at once like a car tire to increase heat, C. surgical tubing is incredibly strong and not susceptible to wearing fast enough to make any noticeable changes within years....unless you're doing 500 rep sets at a high rate of speed in a sauna. I'm not denying the benefits of iron - it works, obviously, and has worked for a bajillion people - but science has progressed from simply lifting chunks of iron to adapting principles that aren't just "faddy" but proven by science as well.

My squat to parallel is three plates for a few reps. I often do bottom up squats, from a dead stop on the rack pins. Lots of knee issues. Usually box squat. Box squat is kinder to knees, and I pause on the box before powering up.

My quarter squat is five plates(have done six plates, going all out.....just a lockout of a few inches). I agree that my three plate squats(when I bother, mostly light work for reps, look at my age, lol) would not test the muscles at the top at all.

You can obviously benefit from bands. Or 5 3 1/Cube Method/Juggernaut training, or anything rational, because you obviously know what you are doing.

The OP needs to do something simple with barbells for now, and for the next year or few.

Lift well and prosper.

You seem to be doing that anyway.

[miamibodybuilder]

i'm sure at the beginning you can build some sort of muscle using the resistance bands, but i believe that it's gonna get old rather quickly. for one the resistance is going to wear out or even better, you'll get to strong for the bands big man. so if i was you, go ahead and use the bands if it's all you have right now, but start looking into getting some weights or joining a gym.

[ElasticMan]

This has been a very interesting discussion. I use bands along with free weights and find them to be the perfect combination. I use lifeline chest expanders and Elastitone bands for squats. I have seen a few youtube videos where people attempted the bicep curl orange challenge with the (orange) heaviest Elastitone band. I can curl heavier weight in Iron but could never complete that challenge (yet). The challenge has been around for years so may have only recently closed.

Their bands have a lifetime guarantee and have recently been improved. However, they were already the highest quality I had ever seen. I find them more useful for squats due to the forced good posture and smoothness of the motion.


From their elastitone site

We recently held a Competition named the "Orange Challenge" were users had a chance to win a 100% refund on their purchase if they could do more than 15 curls with the Orange band. Once the first person beat the 15 curls, the second person had to beat the first persons max curls, and so on.

Out of hundreds of purchasers only 5 people so far have beaten the challenge, and the max amount of curls achieved was just 27 curls, and all of the entrants were muscular guys as can be seen from the videos. There is now no way that anybody can claim resistance bands don't offer enough resistance or that they are just for girls or rehab, and if anyone ever says that to you, direct them to this site!

This competition is now closed but may re-open with a slightly different challenge in the future. It is unknown at this time.

[cosmicheretic]

This has been a very interesting discussion. I use bands along with free weights and find them to be the perfect combination. I use lifeline chest expanders and Elastitone bands for squats. I have seen a few youtube videos where people attempted the bicep curl orange challenge with the (orange) heaviest Elastitone band. I can curl heavier weight in Iron but could never complete that challenge (yet). The challenge has been around for years so may have only recently closed.

Their bands have a lifetime guarantee and have recently been improved. However, they were already the highest quality I had ever seen. I find them more useful for squats due to the forced good posture and smoothness of the motion.


From their elastitone site

There is much confusion over the capability of resistance bands. The 'lifeline chest expander' you mentioned for example isolates muscle groups no machine or free weight can. Put 3 R10 (black) cables on a Lifeline Triple Grip and do 3 sets of curls or raises and tell me if you think they do not build muscle.

[danialshreeder]

I went to the gym mon to friday..and on my free time on saturday and sunday, I usually do resistant band .. It helps my muscle to grow when sore..soo if u did gym on weekdays, its good to do resistant band on weekends .. It really helps alot if you knw what to do with resistant band

[asteroidbooty]

So.. I know this is an old thread, but it addresses my question of the moment. Seems like the first time around consensus was against the use of resistance bands. Maybe that was just old school think/habit and the attitudes (experience) have changed.

Anyone have success with body building using resistance bands at home? I really don't want to devote a room in my home to gym equipment. If I can get good results with the resistance bands, i'd rather do it. Especially since I am female and not looking to build massive bulk.

Input appreciated.

[89Trainer]

If your looking to purely build muscle the quickest, I would not use bands. Use free weight DB's or barbells. Bands are great to throw in the workout maybe once a week. I generally use bands to warm up some days. I also do speed bench with bands on each en of the barbell along with some weight (usually 55% of my max). I wrap the bands through a heavy DB on each side of the bench.

[NurseGray]

They definitely are not as effective as weights. however they can really help build the stabilizers when used properly in conjunction with weights. Also they are great for mobility work.

[asteroidbooty]

If your looking to purely build muscle the quickest, I would not use bands. Use free weight DB's or barbells. Bands are great to throw in the workout maybe once a week. I generally use bands to warm up some days. I also do speed bench with bands on each en of the barbell along with some weight (usually 55% of my max). I wrap the bands through a heavy DB on each side of the bench.

They definitely are not as effective as weights. however they can really help build the stabilizers when used properly in conjunction with weights. Also they are great for mobility work.

So using bands is simply inefficient? Is this because of the lighter resistance levels or will using heavier bands remedy problem.