Research has shown that resistance band exercise is comparable to weight lifting with dumbbells in terms of building lean muscle. Unlike dumbbells, resistance bands can be used to work not only arms, shoulders and back, but also legs, abs, and glutes. By creating resistance against your muscles using your own body weight, you’ll get the benefit of longer, leaner muscles. Dumbbells limit your range of motion and are not as flexible when working the lower body. With resistance bands, you can do a variety of standing exercises along with floor work to cover all muscle groups. The flexibility of standing/stepping on or attaching them to a part of your body allows you to maneuver in more ways than one.

Women are increasingly finding resistance band exercises beneficial and opting for this form of strength training. It eliminates the awkwardness of working out in a weight room full of men and the potential for feeling intimidated. Resistance bands are ideal for stay at home moms who have limited time and want to make the most of their workouts. They also offer Pilates lovers more resistance in their moves, mixing up a boring routine and boosting the number of calories burned.

Men looking for variety or to slim down a previously bulky build without losing muscle or having it turn to fat will also benefit from resistance band workouts. They are easy on the joints and work with your own body weight to get into shape, making them a favorite among those with injuries or who want to build strength slowly.

Unlike barbells, dumbbells and strength training machines, resistance bands don’t require an entire room or section of a room dedicated to bulky equipment. And they are much more affordable. Resistance bands easily store away under furniture, in a closet, or a drawer. They’re also easy to transport for those who travel frequently and want to maintain their daily exercise routine — just pack them in your suitcase and work out in your hotel room. Tired of working out at the gym or at home? Throw them in the car and drive down to the local park. By combining a brisk walk with stops along the way to do resistance training, you will significantly boost your metabolism and burn more calories.

Resistance bands are rapidly becoming one of the most popular alternative workout methods. Try incorporating them into traditional weight lifting routines for variety and challenge.

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Everything about this system is high quality and heavy-duty. It’s ideal for beginner to the most extreme workouts.

The package includes 4 foam-covered handles, 4 heavy-duty ankle straps, 2 door anchors and 12 continuous-dipped elastic bands to accommodate more than 120 resistance levels. Unlike cheaper systems, the Bodylastics Muscle & Fitness resistance bands allow you to attach multiple bands to a single handle, rather than hold multiple handles to increase resistance.

The bands start with two 5-pounders (yellow), with the resistance levels moving progressively upward to two 7-pounders (green), two 13-pounders (red), two 19-pounders (blue), two 23-pounders (black), and two 30-pounders (orange).

The door anchors allow you to perform more than 140 top gym exercises, or dozens of others while using the bands freestanding.

The Muscle & Fitness set also comes with one 76-page Bodylastics user book, a fat-burning circuit-training DVD, a heavy-duty storage/travel bag, and lifetime certificate for access to a members-only online learning center with video instruction and coaching for all exercises.

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• MUSCLE & FITNESS Strength Bands System by Bodylastics
• Compare to other Bodylastics Resistance Band Sets

While Flexcords may not compete with resistance band industry-leader Bodylastics, this is an impressive set of above-average quality bands and an inexpensive alternative to a home gym or set of adjustable dumbbells.

The Flexcords package includes six color-coded resistance bands, each with a different tension, suited to beginner or advanced users. The set offers resistance from 2-55 pounds, supporting over 100 exercises.

Again using Bodylastics as a benchmark comparison, the Flexcords grips are comfortable but not padded and contoured. Also, multiple bands cannot be hooked to a single handle — each of the six bands has it’s own permanently attached handle. This makes it not advisable or at best cumbersome to use more than one simultaneously. That said, the choice of six bands will provide ample resistance for most users.

Proper resistance band training strengthens the stabilizing muscles as well as the targeted muscle group, increasing core and joint strength and improving posture. The wide range of motion and constant tension also serve to stretch the muscle to better improve tone and endurance.

Resistance bands are also ideal for reducing the risk of injury and rehab to safely repair injured muscles.

Flexcords resistance bands provide a smooth, seamless workout and give you dynamic control of your routines without sacrificing quality.

Flexcords Resistance Bands Set Product Details

• White Lightning Flexcord: 40 – 55 lbs
• Blue Flexcord: 28 – 40 lbs
• Red FLexcord: 18 – 28 lbs
• Green Flexcord: 12 – 18 lbs
• Orange Flexcord: 7 – 12 lbs
• Yellow Flexcord: 3 – 6 lbs
• Door Attachment
• Exercise chart
• Light and portable
• 90 day money back guarantee

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Let’s move past the advertising hyperbole and see what the Tower 200 actually has to offer. It’s important to have realistic expectations with an over-hyped product like this.

Resistance band training is an excellent form of exercise for building long, lean and toned muscle (rather than bulk), general conditioning, working the core and injury rehab. This system is simply a new vehicle for providing an effective and convenient resistance band workout.

The concept was likely inspired by the explosive growth of doorway chinup bars that use a non-obtrusive  design that does not damage your door or require permanent installation.

The Body by Jake Tower 200 padded assembly slides onto any home or office door quickly and easily and uses multi-tension power cords that provide 200 pounds of resistance.

The three color-coded resistance bands on each side of the gym offer the following levels of resistance — Gray: 25 lbs, Black: 35 lbs, Red: 40 lbs. The two hand grips can be linked to any single band or multiple bands for progressive resistance.

The Tower 200 accommodates over 200 upper and lower body exercises, including specialized, muscle-isolating routines for the arms, chest, shoulders, back, abs, and legs. With so many options, you’re likely to find a few favorites and disregard the others.

Included is the Randy Couture’s MMA-inspired 11-minute body shredding routine, dubbed the “mother of all workouts,” which includes moves like the Warrior, the Demon, and the Freak.

The product comes fully assembled, includes an ingenious drop-down workout chart and instruction manual and carries a lifetime warranty.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This product costs more than fifteen bucks! Here’s the fine print. You pay $14.95 initially and after 30 days they bill you monthly, four payments of $39.95. So the final price is $174.75. Shipping and handling is free.

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• Body By Jake Tower 200 Full-Body Exercise Gym on Amazon
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This versatile home training set from Agile Fitness includes three color-coded bands of light, medium and heavy tension.

With weights, you know exactly how much you’re lifting. With bands, it’s an approximation. The light band offers 3-5 pounds of resistance, the medium band about 8 pounds of resistance and the heavy band about 12 pounds resistance.

Each band has 2 tapered foam grip handles with custom-designed web strapping.

Excellent for travel, the set comes with a black mesh bag with auto-lock drawstring.

This package is a good value for basic resistance band training. See all our resistance band reviews for more comprehensive, versatile sets that include door anchors, detachable handles etc.

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• 3pc Resistance Band Set Multi-colored: Light, Medium, Heavy Tensions in Mesh Travel Bag
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This set from Black Mountain Products includes five 48 inch resistance bands — 1 Yellow band (2-4 Lbs), 1 Green band (4-6 Lbs), 1 Blue Band (10-12 Lbs), 1 Black Band (15-20 Lbs) and 1 Red Band (25-30 Lbs).

The bands are inexplicably not labeled or numbered, but it’s easy to know which band offers the most resistance based on thickness. The package also comes with a door anchor.

A set of bands of varied strength lets you to combine two or more together to increase resistance. Unlike more expensive sets, each band in this package has a permanently attached handle. This avoids the need to add and remove bands from a single handle but makes it more difficult to hold multiple handles during an exercise. It also adds extra bulk to the package. See our Bodylastics reviews for a higher quality option that allows multiple bands to be clipped to a single handle.

The Black Mountain Products Resistance Bands include a manufacturer’s lifetime breakage guarantee.

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• Get the NEW Set of 5 Resistance Bands for P90X & INSANITY
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This set of bands from Spree is similar to others from Bodylastics (top rated), Ripcords and GoFit. They all serve the same purpose but differ in the quality of materials, quantity and strength of bands, and design of the attachment devices. Each offers the benefits of toning, building muscle mass and burning fat without the need for a full set of dumbbells. Resistance band training is an excellent choice for those with limited space and budget.

The SPRI Advanced Traveling Trainer includes three Xertubes (light, medium, and heavy resistance) one hand strap, an exercise video, training workout program, diner’s guide and durable, lightweight black nylon travel bag.

Unlike many resistance band sets this low-priced package does NOT include a door attachment.

This is one of several resistance band packages being used for the P90X Workout and EA Sports Active for the Nintendo Wii.

For a step up in quality and number of components see the Bodylastics Basic Tension Set and Ripcords Black Sniper Edition Six Pack.

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• Find the SPRI Advanced Traveling Trainer on Amazon
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The Altus Athletic Home Gym is a compact workout system that uses adjustable bungee cord tubing with an attachment that fits most doors. It accommodates a wide range of exercises for the chest, arms, legs, back, shoulders and abs.

This is a relatively basic system that does not include as many interchangeable options and variations as the more expensive, celebrity endorsed brands. But this is a durable set of bands that’s easy to use and suited to those who are new to resistance training.

This list of available exercises demonstrates just how versatile resistance bands can be: Ab Crunches, Standing Flys, Squats, Rear Lateral Raises, Tricep Push Down, Seated Row, Leg Abductor, Front Lateral Raises, Triceps Pull Down, Upright Rows, Leg Raises, Shoulder Press, Bicep Curls, Straight Arm Pull Downs and Reverse Leg Extensions

The system comes with an instructional DVD.

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• Find the Altus Athletic Home Gym with DVD on Amazon
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The package includes three Xertubes, a door attachment and an exercise mat to create a complete program of Pilates reformer-based resistance.

The workout focuses on the abdominals, lower back, hips and buttocks but also works the chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders and lats.

The video is easy to follow but unfortunately comes on a VHS tape rather than DVD. SPRI is a pioneer in rubberized resistance training and on the “cutting edge of today’s exercise trends.” Upgrading the video in this package to DVD format would help add credibility to that claim.

SPRI Pilates Portable Kit Product Details

• Lightweight, versatile and comprehensive Pilates package
• 3 SPRI Xertubes (yellow, red, green)
• Secure Door Attachment
• Exercise Mat
• Pilates Instructional Video (VHS)
• Develop strong, stable core and tone upper body
• Improve flexibility, posture, balance and strength

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• Find the SPRI Pilates Anywhere Anytime Portable Kit on Amazon
  
• See all SPRI Pilates, Yoga and Resistance Training Products

This set from Aylio uses unique metal clips for quick and easy difficulty adjustment. By attaching up to four bands to the removable handles, resistance can be adjusted from 5 to over 50 pounds. Aylio uses high quality rubber latex tubing for strength and durability.

These bands can be used with the P90X system, although the tension level may be too light for some of the more advanced and rigorous workouts.

This is a complete set — you won’t need to buy additional pieces to take full advantage of this system. With the included door attachment you can perform over 100 exercises with varied routines for individual body parts.

This Resistance Band Training Set includes:
1 Low Strength Blue Tube
1 Medium Strength Red Tube
1 High Strength Yellow Tube
1 Ultra Strength Black Tube
1 Pair of Handles
1 Pair of Ankle Straps
1 Door Attachment
1 Carrying Pouch

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• Click here for the Aylio Resistance Bands Exercise Training Set
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Video Demonstration