Exercises with Bodybuilding Elastics!

Hi there, and welcome to another article dedicated to the best exercises you can do with elastic bands! 💪

After having written an article on exercises to do with gymnastic rings, today we're going to look at elastic bands for bodybuilding.

This equipment allows you to do so many things and thanks to which you'll be able to :

• Warm up
• Recovering gradually from an injury
• Correct your posture
• Doing strengthening exercises
• Weighing yourself down on bodyweight exercises
• Work on your mobility and flexibility

As you can see, there are a multitude of possibilities with these elastic bands 🔥

In this article, I'm going to give you as complete a guide as I can on how they work and how to use them, and you'll find a workout program at the end of the article!

Usage & Dynamics: 

An elastic band is easy to carry, not fragile, and weighs next to nothing. Especially considering the levels of resistance and weight that can be achieved with them, which vary according to the type and thickness of the band.

Resistance depends on the level of tension exerted. The tighter the band, the greater the resistance and the more difficult the exercises. As a result, this level of tension will vary within each repetition, explaining the weight range indicated on some bands.

This dynamic is very important to take into account, depending on the exercise you wish to use them for. Whether it's to assist or weigh yourself down: 

As a general rule, it's best to maximize elastic tension in the most difficult position of a movement. For example, for a push-up, it's most difficult at the very bottom. So it's useful to have maximum band assistance at this point to strengthen you more quickly.

Elastic bands are effective for many bodyweight exercises, whether assisted or weighted. They force sheathing and help control every part of the movement, also improving proprioception.

For bodyweight exercises, adjusting the weight is the best way to vary the difficulty, but chains and elastic bands can also be used. This is especially true for advanced athletes with specific objectives, notably in powerlifting, where they are effective for improving explosiveness 💥

Vary the resistance of the elastic bands: 

There are several ways to vary the level of resistance when using weight training elastics: 

• Stretch it out more, moving further away from the band attachment point before starting the exercise: 

• By shortening the part of the strip that will actually be stretched: 

•  Work with unilateral exercises one leg or arm after the other:
  
  
• Double the bands. However, this will reduce the range of motion, so it's not for every exercise, but it's always good to keep in mind: 
  

• Switching to a thicker band is an obvious possibility to increase resistance: 

• Using several bands at the same time, which will quickly allow you to reach even wider resistance ranges without really needing to buy 14 different bands:

I've decided to offer just 3 well-chosen bands with around 100 kilos of cumulative resistance, which should be enough for most! 💪

If you need equipment, you can get it from my store. You'll find quality equipment, designed by someone who knows how to use it.

Now we come to the exercises, which will be separated into different categories:

Elastic exercises for the upper body

Chest : 

Shoulder strengthening : 

Strengthening the triceps : 

Back strengthening : 

Elastic exercises for the lower body

Before I give you a little routine you can do at home with the elastic bands, I'll answer a very common question: 

Can you really gain muscle just by pulling on elastic bands?

Pulling on elastic bands is much better than doing nothing at all. It's very practical for beginners without access to a gym or who want to start slowly. However, it's advisable to integrate bodyweight exercises early on to benefit from polyarticular exercises and more challenging variations to progress.

Elastic bands are especially useful for beginners who aren't used to loading heavy at the gym. A program combining bodyweight and elastic bands is sufficient to maintain muscle mass and progress by strengthening joints and muscle functionality.

Routine and exercises with elastics :

Here's a strengthening routine that mixes bodyweight and elastic bands, with alternatives to adjust the difficulty according to your level:

Feel free to modify this program to suit your preferences. You'll also find more elaborate Street Workout programs on my website.

I hope this article has been of use to you, so don't hesitate to comment if it has. 

Take care of yourself! 😄

Eric Flag