Resistance bands have been the great savior of home workouts this year. But if you are not using them correctly, you are better off sticking to bodyweight exercises rather than wasting your time with poor technique.
If you are taking time to train, it is important that you know how to use the equipment you have on hand, even if it is limited at the moment. Resistance bands are great for activation, endurance, balancing, and targeting smaller muscles, so it's worth the time to get to know them a little better before doing reps.
We show you four resistance band exercises that people often do incorrectly and how to fix your technique to get maximum benefit.
Resistance band exercises that you do wrong
Lat Pulldown with resistance band
- Begin on your knees and hold one end of the band in each hand.
- Raise your arms above your head, bringing your biceps close to your ear.
- Wiggle your elbow and band down and back, as if you were placing it in your back pocket.
- Let the band go back up to the center, but do it with control.
The traditional lat pulldown is a vertical pull that targets your upper back muscles and is usually performed on a machine at the gym. But when you are substituting a resistance band, you need to make some adjustments. First, you will need to leave one arm in the air while the other pulls or attach the center to an anchor point above your head to mimic the movement of the machine. Another common mistake is not stabilizing your shoulder blades. They must stay behind and go down the spine.
You should also make sure that you are pulling your elbows back and down and maintaining tension on the band as you release to the starting position.
Band worm
- Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart and the resistance band wrapped around your wrists.
- Tighten your lower abs as you bend over at the hips and place your hands on the floor.
- Extend your hands in front of you until you reach a high board.
- Do a pushup, bending your elbows at a 45-degree angle to your body and lowering your body toward the ground.
- Walk your hands towards your feet and stand up.
Adding a resistance band to the worm increases the recruitment of your shoulder muscles so you really feel the burn. But a common mistake people make is dipping their hips into the high board. Squeeze your glutes and contract your belly to stabilize your core and prevent your lower back from arching. Also make sure your wrists are stacked below your shoulders and your weight is pressing back on your heels.
Banded Monster Steps
- Wrap the band around your ankles.
- Begin in a semi-squat position with your hips back and your weight on your heels.
- Moving laterally (side to side), squeeze your glutes and push your foot out.
- Keep tension on the band while the other foot follows.
- Continue "walking" to the side for approximately 5 meters or as far as your training space allows.
- Once you get to the other side, repeat, going back to the side you started on.
For this exercise, the resistance bands target the smallest glute stabilizer muscles – the gluteus minimus and medius. These muscles are responsible for maintaining proper lower body function while walking and running to prevent hip, knee, and ankle injuries.
However, common mistakes people make with walking are not pushing their hips back far enough in a seated position (think sitting back in a chair), not engaging the glutes before going out (squeeze your butt! ) and not keeping tension on the band (make sure feet never touch).
Banded shell
- Lie on your side with the band wrapped around your knees. Put your feet together.
- Squeezing your glute / lateral hip, lift your knee a few inches. You should not feel anything in your lower back, hamstrings, or hips. But you will feel a slight burning sensation once the glute begins to activate.
- Lower your knee again and repeat.
Most people perform the shell incorrectly. To perform this movement correctly, keep your hips forward and the heels of your feet together. Stay away from your glutes and don't spread your knees. When you do this exercise correctly, you will feel an activation (burning) on the side of your glutes / hips.
