NEW ARTICLE - Building Muscle & Size with Resistance Bands

[Joe Black]

Chances are you've heard of people using bands in the gym, but may not know what the benefits are or how to use them.

Popularized by Westside Barbell legend Louie Simmons, bands have been helping powerlifters get bigger and stronger for years, but until recently, very few bodybuilders have experienced what bands can do for them.

Get ready to learn a new method that will help you hit your muscles in ways that simply aren’t possible with barbells, dumbbells, or cables!

READ HERE - Building Muscle & Size with Resistance Bands

[chris mason]

The original title of this articles was "Bands for Bodybuilding". It specifically addresses how and why bodybuilders should use resistance bands in their training to optimize their results.

[chris mason]

No thoughts on this? Has anyone read the article? I promise you that if you are a bodybuilder you will benefit from reading this article.

[Tom Mutaffis]

I have not had much experience with using bands for isolation or bodybuilding purposes other than some band pushdowns, but I can see how they could be a great tool. Band work does require you to be very focused and the progressive tension is a great way to mix things up.

[ThomasG]

Other than the Regular bench squat and dead band lifts I also use bands for tricep extensions, ab crunches, hammer curls, face pulls, pullups. Bands are the shiz for hypertrophy not only strength. I am a little confused by the article though a lot of it seemed to be geared towards powerlifting such as the videos of west side and the speed squat video.

[chris mason]

Other than the Regular bench squat and dead band lifts I also use bands for tricep extensions, ab crunches, hammer curls, face pulls, pullups. Bands are the shiz for hypertrophy not only strength. I am a little confused by the article though a lot of it seemed to be geared towards powerlifting such as the videos of west side and the speed squat video.

That was Daniel . I think the videos, pictures, and title have confused people. The article is most definitely written for the bodybuilder.

[Sean S]

It certainly makes sense that bands could help for bodybuilding purposes. You typically have to push harder through a longer portion of the ROM with bands so that would yield more time under higher tensions. I haven't used them for bodybuilding purposes, but the premise certainly seems logical.

[Joe Black]

My fault on the pics

I think some of the reason for the lack of discussion and actually the lack of bodybuilders using bands is purely because they are a bit intimidating as you started out by saying in your article.

First of all to most people in a commercial gym it's going to look a little odd. I mean I get funny looks doing floor presses, imagine whats going to happen when I bust out some bands and attach them to the bench lol

Secondly, where do you start? Upon reflection, we should have included some type of details on what types of bands to start with and what type of weight you should start with.

Chris, lets say someone benches 200lbs for 10 reps. how would they go about adding in bands to this? Should they reduce the weight and use a band and what type of band?

I'm definitely going to give them a go at some point, but must admit still feel a little lost in terms of what bands to use and how that will affect my reps.

[chris mason]

If the goal is a 10 rep set then the bar weight will most certainly have to lightened vs. what they can do without bands.

Bands are simply a form of resistance. The lifter incorporates them beginning during warm-ups and works their way up to a load that will permit roughly the targeted number of reps. Does that make sense?

Bands can even be used with machines if one chooses.

I guarantee any bodybuilder who incorporated them into their training would experience an increase in size and strength (assuming they do not overtrain and are consuming sufficient calories).

[GreggNJ]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I just read this article....I've been looking to get some bands for a while now, and this article really kickstarted my interest again. My problem is just as Daniel said above, I have no idea what bands to start with.....can someone give some guidance? I want to start using them for my squat and deadlift training

[ThomasG]

Shelby Starnes(a bodybuilder) using bands, oh snap!

[The Cold]

I know that this thread has been dead for a while, but I think it deserves a little more attention. Bands will make you strong and muscular, due to the fact that they train the entire strength curve and provide a massive amount of eccentric overload. I have used the bands with great success not only for compound movements, but also isolation exercises. I LOVE bands for biceps, nothing comes close to perfectly matching the strength curve as well as bands. I get mine from EFS, they have charts providing the resistance ratings for each band. Get to it.