Rubberbanditz Resistance Band Exercising

 Resistance bands are my absolute favorite exercise helpers, and for the last month, I've been using one of the light resistance bands from Rubberbanditz, an awesome online store that sells really useful exercise products, including resistance bands, but also other items.

Rubberbanditz are the most versatile, easy to use "exercise aid." This has been my experience,  anyways. I've been a sucker for all those little exercising aids that have aired on TV. Yes, a large chunk of my earnings over the years is stashed under my bed in a large, cat-hair-contrapment.

 I always found fault with them. That roller thing that's supposed to give you abs? It hurts like hell to be on your knees on hard flooring. Just use carpet? Ha! Those things won't roll on carpet, love. And the others  I fell for weren't much more exciting, but I have yet to toss my RubberBanditz to the cat-hair dungeon.

In fact, my Rubberbanditz stays faithfully in place on my bed post for accessing right when I'm ready for it. Plus, I tend to use it most wrapped around the bottom leg of the bed post for exercising my thighs, legs, behind and even abdominal area!

 In fact, just being on the one bed post/leg allows for almost all body parts to be exercised. I can slide it around the bottom post and use my hands to work out my arms and shoulders, my abs and abdominal area, my legs, thighs and more all right there. However, there are about a million and 5 different (and very fun, I might add!) ways to use the Rubberbanditz Resistance band, and boy have we had fun trying them all. 

Just keep in mind that it's for exercise... not getting overly excited and tying up your lover. Ha Ha. 

I can't help but make note of how useful it can be for other situations though. If ever you need your legs lifted to a mid-body position... I'm shutting up now.

 Equally as important as being versatile and effective, to be a boring-looking rubber band, Rubberbanditz actually delivers some pretty fun exercises, and I thoroughly enjoy the fun of using it with Bronson in all the different ways it can be used. Of course you don't need two people to use one of the RubberBanditz, but I have had fun using some of the exercises involved two people.

Moving on. While I do use the Rubberbanditz Resistance Band daily, I have yet to use it in every way you can possibly do so. 

I've had a lot of fun and been able to get a lot of exercise ideas by watching the manufacturer/seller's videos on their product, which is really useful because they have many videos showing you different ways the bands can be used. 

And they're all so inspiring! Some of the uses are incredible, and you'd be surprised at how great of a workout you can actually get with these things. 

One of the best parts is that the band is so small, yet it's like having a full body workout machine because it can literally be used to exercise almost every body part (except the face. 

Everything else, I'm pretty sure can be exercised using these). So with the width of the band being only 1/4" wide and the length 41", I can toss it in my purse and have it wherever I want it.

Rubberbanditz in the bag it arrives in. Note the sticker that says "Warning: This product contains Natural Rubber Latex. Product may cause severe injury. Use only as directed. Inspect before use every time, discard if cracked or nicked. Maximum safe stretch approximate[ly] 150% (100 inches!) Pretty nice stretch limit.

Rubberbanditz Can be Incorporated into the following routines:

Yoga, pilates, aerobics, CrossFit, pullups, powerlifting.

  

What Rubberbanditz Resistance  Bands can do, in a nutshell:

Enhance  strengthening stretching and toning muscles.

      

Before I go into some of the different   workouts I use with the Rubberbanditz, I'll share a little Rubberbanditz themselves:

• They're made  of latex and are "seamless."

 

• Rubberbanditz says they use a "continuous layering process" to make the bands, which is supposed to prevent breakage. 

• Due to the layering process, each band is able to stretch up t o2 1/2 times its original length (which is really fantastic, actually.)

 

 

My Rubberbanditz photo guy-slash-love who's going cross-eyed in the pic. Ha Ha

• Has a maximum "safe stretch limit" of 100 inches, which is great.

 

• Said to be safe on joints.

• The light resistance band is 41 inches long, which is perfect because it allows for a lot of workouts and allows for using things like furniture for more unique workouts (like the thighs.)

• The resistance says "5-15" on Rubberbanditz page, so I reckon the band can resist up to this many pounds, which is also wonderful because it's so fun being able to incorporate more unique exercises into your workout instead of the typical ones every single day.    

 Now the fun part! 

I'll share my basic everyday exercise routine, then I'll share some of the videos and information on the other ways Rubberbanditz can be used! 

My everyday, Basic Exercise Routine using Rubberbanditz Resistance Bands:

Thighs: With the band looped around the leg of my bed post, I put one ankle in the loop and lift my leg up, towards my mid-section. I do between 50-100 reps depending on how busy the day is.

Legs/thighs:   With the band looped around the bed post leg, I use the same technique with one ankle in the loop, and I take a step to the right, then move my foot back to starting position, then repeat with left ankle. This works my calves and thighs.

Another one that's great is simply putting the band around your ankles, and raising one leg to the side, then back down, back up off the floor, to your side again. Repeating that one several times really works the leg muscles, especially if you double wrap the band for extra resistance. 

And my favorite of all -- the love handle exercise or "obliques." I've been hard on my love handles since I was a kid, and I've desperately searched for ways to exercise them away, and it's tough! They're so awkwardly place, those love handles that I've really not been able to work them nearly as much as the rest of my body, until I tried a few different ways with the Rubberbanditz, and holy mother of pearl! I've never had such a workout on those babies in my life. The resistance bands are absolutely perfect for this.

Here's one way I do it: With the band still around the bed post, same position as the first exercises listed, only with the band doubled in half,  I hold the band in my right hand and bend to the side, squeezing my abdominal muscles as I go down and up. You'd be surprised at how after just a few reps, your muscles on your front and back "obliques" will start to be worked, and you'll automatically contract the muscles without having to put a lot of conscious effort into squeezin' em. 

I'm telling you, after the first day of doing these, my love-handle area (side and back love-handles) were sore the next day! I've never even had these babies sore after working on my fitness pole, and that sucker works you hard.

 

Rear:  With the band in the same position, but with my back to the bed post, I grasp the band in both hands, bringing it up between my knees. Then, let the band pull my hands back towards the post a little, and I bring it back up, to about midways, remaining in the squatting position the entire time. Simple, but it's a nice backside workout, and for legs too.

Using the band to do squats and lunges make the exercises even more intense, too.

To do lunges with the band, you can place it under one foot, hold the band at either side of the leg, in both hands, and do lunges like normally, only bringing up the band with your hands.

Biceps: Standing on the end of the band and holding the other end in your hand, simply "curl" up your arm and it's just like a bicep curl. For increased resistance, stand closer to the middle of the band, and for slack, stand near the end.

Arms:  Standing up, I loop the band under both feet, and while standing on that side of the band, I hold the other side in my hands and stretch them up from my sides over and over. This is a good arm exercise. You can also bend down, holding the band in your hands, and back up.

Arms/shoulders:  Folding the band in half --  creating a "loop" at each end that I hold in my palms -- I wrap the band behind my back making it possible to do arm exercises by stretching one arm out, then putting it back in starting position. This is one of the easiest exercises with the band, especially because you can do it while sitting and doing other things (chatting on the phone or something similar that doesn't require your hands).

P.S. You can also sit in a chair and wrap the band around the back of the chair. I like this one better because it keeps the band off your back, and that's more comfortable.  Heck, you could even wrap it around the seat of your car and do it!  Just don't try it and drive at the same time. This is actually a good idea to try while being a passenger. 

I'll have to try it myself next time I'm in the passenger side and Bronson's driving. Oooh! New, exciting use for the Rubberbanditz already!

Another simple arm exercise Bronson and I often do together is with each of us holding one end of the band and one standing still while the other, with both hands pulls the band towards our chest. Taking turns makes it a little fun. You can also find furniture to hold the band in place of a person, but it's just a lot more fun for me when me & him are having fun together with it.

And this is me when I'm done:

Ha! And you guys thought I was a human!

 

See, these are all pretty simple to follow exercises. They don't require you to contort into a million different strange positions for just one body part workout, there's no equipment really, and you can do it almost wherever you please. I love that. 

Also, I love that I can perform exercises on my favorite parts to work out (love handles, abs, thighs) without having to roll around like a fool on the floor. 

Almost all exercises for these areas that I've known of require you to be lying in the floor, and I have hardwood. It freakin' hurts to lay in the floor unless you're on a super squishy something, so being able to use Rubberbanditz to get such intense workouts for these favored work-out spots of mind makes me one happy girl.

Keep in mind this is only a drop in the bucket as far as all the many different ways you can exercise with a single resistance band. You could probably do a new one a day for at least a month. It's really a little exciting, especially compared to your typical, dreadful exercises. I definitely look forward to my daily routine more now.

Extra tips: A lot of times, when using the band for my legs and thighs, I tend to need to double it or half it when I loop it around the bed post. It increases the resistance, making the exercise require more from you. This is a nice way to adjust a band to your personal needs. 

And it's really handy for me because I tend to double it when I do the arm workout with the band behind my back because I'm narrow, but other exercises require the entire length of the band.

- By perusing the Rubberbanditz Exercise Library, you'll find loads of interesting, new ways to use a resistance band! 

This section has videos and photos to show you how to do the exercises, so that makes things super easy to follow, and some of them are really unique! Watching the other day, I thought wow, I'd have never thought of using it like that. I definitely encourage ya'll to check them out. 

I myself have been trying them, and have taken to stalking following their YouTube channel for new exercises.

Did you know that exercising is the best thing you can do for bone health? I didn't know it until I'd done some research. I'm only 23, so it came as a surprise when I found out that I could be at serious risk for bone density loss a few years ago. 

I have been getting an injection to help with endometriosis pain and growth since I was about 15, and the injection causes bone loss. So, it was "vital" that the doctor's office make sure I knew this. 

They didn't, and being 15 and stupidly trusting and just well, stupid, I didn't think to ask questions. When I became severely ill several years ago, though, is when I found out about this whole thing, and was told that I should've been taking triple the daily recommended calcium daily all these years! 

I panicked, of course and began researching how I could try and get my bone health in good standing, and also my entire health, which has been a journey I've shared here over the last few years. 

Along this journey, my newest doctor told me that I should be drinking milk extra, taking extra calcium and exercising if I wanted to build my bones and keep them in good shape. I did my own research, said screw the milk (after what I learned about milk and that it's really loaded with not-so-healthy stuff), got on a major calcium supplement and started looking into the best exercises I could do particularly for these bones of mine. 

That led me to resistance bands as I read that they were one great way to not only build your muscles, but bones, too! 

According to an article by  NIH (National Institutes on Health), "The best exercise for your bones is the weight-bearing kind, which forces you to work against gravity."

 Bone-building exercises aside, you also have to have some kind of muscle mass going on as the framework, and that means working your muscles.  

Exercises particularly for osteoporosis include resistance training.  Aerobics is another great form of exercising for your bone health.

A report published on John Hopkins website states that ..."regular exercise can help limit bone loss, improve your balance and coordination, and strengthen the leg and torso muscles that help you stand upright." 

 Read the following paragraphs, also from John Hopkins on the topic of Back Pain | Osteoporosis below for even more exciting information regarding bone health and using resistance exercises (or resistance bands) for building them (follow the above link for the full report, which is well worth a few minutes time).

 

"New findings from a landmark study on how strength training affects the bone mineral density (BMD) of healthy, postmenopausal women without osteoporosis confirm the value of weight-bearing exercise. 

Results from the University of Arizona’s BEST (Bone-Estrogen Strength Training) study show that those women who followed a regimen of weight-bearing and resistance exercises faithfully for four years, while taking calcium citrate supplements, had significant improvement in BMD at key skeletal sites, whether or not they were taking hormone replacement therapy.

Here’s why it works: When you put demands on bone, it responds by becoming stronger and denser. Any activity that works against gravity, including walking and climbing stairs, stimulates the growth of new bone tissue. Resistance training, or exercising with weights or resistance bands, can have an even more pronounced effect on bone."

Also included in that report (if you click the link, you'll see) is 6 exercises to target key fracture sites (wrist, hip and spine). Not all of the exercises include using resistance bands, but they're worth checking out, if you're interested. The exercise they recommend for bone health, and using resistance bands is the "Leg Press." 

 Here's how it's done:  "Lie on the floor, flat on your back, with your knees hugged into your chest. Place the center of a resistance band on the balls of your feet. 

Wrap each end of the band around your hands. Keep your elbows close to your sides and squeeze your inner thighs together as you press your legs up toward the ceiling. Pause, then draw your legs back down."

Disclaimer (I know, I hate them, too, but these days you kind of can't afford to note post them.):
I am not a specialist or any other kind of doctor or expert. Content on this blog is not intended to be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or advice of any sort. I'm simply sharing information about my own experiences and results from use of a product or activity in hopes of providing useful information/suggestions to readers, not to be taken as a patient/medical adviser relationship. I am not responsible for what readers choose to do after viewing the content here. Furthermore, I do not hold an "exceptional" or other special relationship with the company mentioned. I'm simply a consumer who worked with the company on a review that is in compliance with FTC's guidelines. That means, everything you read here is my own words, not anything of the company's unless otherwise stated, and put in quotations (such as product descriptions or claims).  I was not provided with monetary compensation for my review. All information posted has been done so with complete honesty. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication ( I'm not responsible.) Readers who rely on the information in this blog to replace the advise of an appropriate health care provider assume all risks of such behavior.  This is a sponsored post. I was provided with a product in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I receive no monetary compensation for writing this, and you can rest assured that my post (and all of them) is in compliance with the FTC's Guidelines.