How to shop for the best resistance bands
Depending on what type of workout you’re doing, certain resistance bands are better suited than others. For instance, if you’re doing yoga or stretches, it’s best to use a longer and wider band so you can wrap your hands around them and secure a grip. On the other hand, if you’re doing HIIT or any type of cross training, a looped band can increase the intensity of bodyweight moves.
Here, we rounded up the best resistance bands out there to help you choose the right ones for your health and fitness goals.
10: Resistance Band Set With Door Anchor
The ankle straps in this resistance band set makes them a great tool for doing multi-directional movements. Think: lateral leg raises, chest presses, and oblique mountain climbers. This set also includes a door anchor, exercise chart, a travel bag, and a starter guide.
9: Professional Resistance Bands
Made with eco-friendly rubber, these resistance bands are lightweight and durable enough for a variety of rehabilitation stretches and strength training exercises. At five feet long and six inches wide, you can loop these bands around your hands and arms to do mountain climbers, bicep curls, figure-four quad stretches, and much more. There are three levels of resistance, which are color coded: light (green), medium (blue), and heavy (purple).
8: Best Cloth Resistance Bands
If you don’t like the way rubber or latex resistance bands roll or slide off, these fabric-based bands are a great alternative. Packaged with light, medium, and heavy bands, reviewers like them because they’re durable and more gentle on the skin. They also come in different sizes. The green band is the smallest of the bunch and is best for exercises with partial range of motion, like squat pulses and kickbacks, while the pink and purple bands are good for moves with a full range of motion, such as glute bridges and leg lifts.
7: Best for Core Exercises
Pasterino says these Performance Better bands are another one of his top picks because they’re highly effective for working the core. “Using bands versus weights is the safest way to properly engage and activate your core, and strengthen it to ensure you have a strong spine,” Pasterino says.
6: Best Bands With Hand Wraps
Stephen Pasterino, celebrity trainer and P.volve founder, created these resistance bands. Designed with hand wraps, these bands help activate hard-to-target muscles and have the added benefit of making overhead exercises more seamless.
5: Loop Resistance Bands
Your inner thighs and glutes will get some extra love with these versatile resistance bands, which work great with a variety of lower-body exercises. Use them to do squats, lunges, donkey kicks, and much more. They come in five resistance levels and have a user guide for doing workouts at home, the gym, the beach—wherever you are.
4: Premium Resistance Bands Set
Best for targeting your arms, shoulders, and back, these resistance bands with handles help activate those muscles by securing a grip. Tie them around a sturdy poll or stand right on top of them to perform classic “pulling” movements, like back rows, shoulder raises, and bicep curls. Better yet, double the movements with compound exercises to work your lower body too.
3: Resistance Band Set TheraBand
TheraBand’s resistance bands are one of the most well-known in the market for rehabilitation. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, or are looking to reduce joint pain and increase your range of motion, these resistance bands are for you. These bands are five feet long and five inches wide, so you can easily use them to do ab, leg, and shoulder stretches.
2: Looped Resistance Bands Fit Simplify
Whether you want to put more power behind your squats or push-ups, these 100 percent latex resistance bands are a top pick for Blades. This pack of five bands comes in different levels of resistance, from very light to extra heavy. It also comes with a printed instruction guide and e-book on how to use the bands for a variety of exercises.
1: Heavy-Duty Pull Up Resistance Bands Draper’s Strength
Achieving the perfect pull-up is no easy feat, but using a resistance band, like this one, can give you a little lift while still stimulating the right muscle groups. These durable bands come in seven resistance levels and can be used for a variety of exercises. For instance, the red band is best for bicep and tricep exercises because they offer light-to-medium resistance, while the heavy-duty purple one is ideal for assisted pull ups and back exercises.
CONCLUSION
Tiffany Ayuda Tiffany Ayuda, a senior editor at Prevention and certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise, has specialized in fitness, health, and general wellness topics in her previously editorial roles at Life by Daily Burn, Everyday Health, and South Beach Diet.