5 Things You Must NEVER Do With Your Resistance Loop Bands (and 3 You Should)

Resistance loop band training is an affordable and effective way to exercise. When it comes to convenience, portability, and ease of set up, it’s hard to beat.

But what about durability?

Resistance Band Maintenance

Resistance loop bands are made from commercial grade latex tubing and are designed for years of use. However, like anything, misuse will cause them to deteriorate. Here are the top 5 things you need to avoid in order to maintain the life of your resistance loop bands.

Train in Bare Feet

A lot of the exercises with the loop band require you to position one end over your feet. To avoid pain through your mid foot, always wear a quality pair of shoes. This will also prevent the band from slipping under your feet.

Make sure that your shoes are non-abrasive in order to prevent wear and tear on the band. You should also avoid exercising on an abrasive surface, such as rough concrete for the same reason.

Wrapping Around an Unprotected Solid Object

When you wrap your loop band around a pole or other solid upright object, you should put something soft between the band the and upright. Your loop band is made from soft latex. When force is created between it and the upright (a hard object), the soft object will come off worse for the experience. So, be kind to your loop band and place a piece of soft cloth between it and the upright.

Threading Through Rings or Wire

You may be tempted to thread your loop band through a metal ring, or even the wire of a fence. This is not a good idea. The metal or wire is likely to cut through the latex, especially when you stretch the band out to its full length.

Overstretching

By far the most common reason that people have problems with their resistance loop bands is that they overstretch them. Stretching the band is how you increase the tension. Yet, there becomes a point when you can overstretch. If you go beyond this point, you are likely to cause micro tears in the latex. Over time these will turn into macro tears and your band will snap.

Improper Storage

The best latex bands are manufactured from natural latex, which comes from a plant. Moisture within the band maintains its stretchability. However, when a band is exposed to heat for a prolonged period it loses moisture. This causes it to become hard and brittle. A hard, brittle band is far more likely to snap than one that is well lubricated.

You should store your band in a cool dry area. If you take your band to the beach for a workout on the sand, make sure that you don’t leave it directly exposed to sunlight.

You can prolong the life of your band by regularly lubricating it. The best lubricants will contain silicone.

3 Things to Do Before Using Your Resistance Loop Band

Examine it for Wear and Tear

Always inspect your resistance band for wear, rips or holes. Do not use a band that is impaired in this way. If you are placing the band around a tree limb, pole or any other fixed structure, always check the object to make sure that there are no nails, sharp edges or shards of glass that could rip the band.

Warm Up Thoroughly

Warming up is a too often overlooked aspect of working out. Often people are so busy that they are tempted to skip the warm-up and throw themselves directly into the workout proper. This is not a safe thing to do. Warming up gets the body ready for the intense work to come. it also minimizes the risk of injury.

Warm up for your resistance loop band workout with two minutes of skipping or jogging on the spot. Then perform dynamic stretching for your major muscle groups (back, chest, thighs).

Position Your Body Correctly

It is important to have your body firmly set when performing your resistance band workout. When performing standing movements your feet should be shoulder width apart, with toes pointing slightly outward.

You should always have a slightly arched back and tight core. Do not give in to the tendency to round your back when the resistance becomes challenging.

A key principle of resistance training is the isolation of the working muscle group. When you are training your biceps, you want it to be doing the bulk of the work. If you use your back by swinging the hips or otherwise utilizing momentum to get the resistance up, you will be vastly diminishing the effect of the exercise.

If an exercise calls for you to place the loop band over your feet, make sure that they are securely inserted beyond the forefoot so that they are your mid-foot level.