By Michael J. Rudolph, Ph.D.
Elastic bands present a novel type of resistance that places appreciable stress on muscle tissue, inflicting appreciable positive factors in muscle mass and power that’s corresponding to free weights.
I’m all the time searching for distinctive methods to reinforce my coaching and alter it up just a little bit. Properly, surprisingly I got here throughout a couple of nice articles that spotlight the distinctive muscle-building qualities supplied by resistance coaching with elastic bands. These research clearly show that elastic resistance coaching produces a essentially completely different coaching stimulus when in comparison with free weights or machines, making it a superb various for lean muscle development and power.
Extra Muscle Is Activated
Free weights and elastic resistance essentially differ as a result of free weights present fixed resistance all through your entire vary of movement, whereas elastic bands present better resistance all over the motion. This happens as a result of the band is stretched all through the motion, inflicting elevated pressure inside the band that generates better resistance because the vary of movement will increase. This type of dynamic resistance from elastic bands gives advantages over free weights that may be clearly demonstrated in workouts such because the bench press. Since better muscular power happens within the preliminary part of the bench press, better momentum is generated all through the remainder of the motion when utilizing free weights. As soon as the load has constructed up momentum within the preliminary part, the muscle fibers don’t must be maximally activated to proceed shifting the load all through the remainder of the motion, thus diminishing the coaching impact. Nevertheless, the rise in resistance generated from elastic bands negates the manufacturing of momentum – disallowing the momentum-driven propulsion of the bar by the remainder of the motion and creating a requirement for better muscle exercise that finally stimulates better muscle development. This impact from elastic resistance was clearly demonstrated in a research by Jalal et al.1 that confirmed a 15% enhance in muscle exercise throughout elastic resistance coaching when in comparison with free-weight coaching. Furthermore, the comparability between elastic coaching and free-weight coaching additionally confirmed a significantly increased stage of muscle activation within the later phases of the motion – supporting the concept the ascending power from elastic bands diminished momentum, inflicting muscle activation all through your entire concentric part of the motion.
Larger Muscle Pressure
Elastic resistance naturally produces a better quantity of pressure on the muscle in comparison with free weights as a result of, as beforehand acknowledged, it has the capability to reduce momentum – inflicting better muscle exercise all through your entire motion, which successfully will increase the period of time the muscle is below pressure. As well as, elastic bands additionally produce resistance impartial of gravity, which fails to provide pressure on the muscle throughout particular phases of sure lifts. For instance, free-weight biceps curls produce little or no muscle pressure on the high of the concentric part as a result of distinguished horizontal motion of the load that not creates gravitational resistance. Then again, the exactly positioned use of elastic bands – that causes the elastic materials to be stretched for your entire motion – locations resistance on the biceps all through your entire vary of movement. The continual pressure from elastic resistance coaching ought to stimulate better muscle development, because it has been nicely documented2 that better time below pressure potently will increase mechanical pressure on the muscle cell. Elevated mechanical pressure on the muscle cell produces extra muscle cell injury and/or elevated metabolic stress, which powerfully enhances lean muscle mass. Clearly demonstrating the flexibility of elastic bands to construct lean mass, a research by Colado et al.3 discovered that elastic resistance is as efficient if not higher than free weights or resistance machines at rising each lean physique mass and power.
Muscle Injury Promotes Lean Muscle Development
Train-induced muscle injury stimulates many various mobile and molecular mechanisms that trigger the muscle cell to develop and develop into extra highly effective.4 For instance, muscle injury prompts the inflammatory response – inflicting completely different immunological cells, such because the macrophage, emigrate to the broken muscle tissue, consequently facilitating muscle cell restore and development.5 Moreover, exercise-induced muscle injury stimulates IGF-1 activation of the enzyme mTOR, which triggers muscle cell protein synthesis6, enhancing the hypertrophic response to resistance coaching.
Whereas muscle injury following eccentric contractions and bouts of unaccustomed train has been nicely established7,8,9, solely not too long ago has a research appeared on the affect that elastic resistance coaching has on muscle injury. This research by Aboodarda et al.10 confirmed that elastic resistance coaching induced an identical quantity of muscle injury when in comparison with Nautilus machine resistance. Whereas the underlying mechanism of those findings is unknown, a possible clarification for this outcome could have been uncovered in one other research by Cronin et al.11, which demonstrated a substantial enhance in muscle exercise inside the quadriceps muscle through the eccentric part of leg extensions whereas utilizing elastic resistance. As a result of the pressured lengthening of the muscle cell that happens through the eccentric part creates probably the most in depth muscle injury12,13, this better stage of muscular contraction through the eccentric part whereas utilizing elastic bands almost definitely encourages appreciable muscle injury. Apparently, this better stage of muscle exercise through the eccentric part of the leg extension could also be as a result of huge recoil power generated from the absolutely stretched elastic band that happens proper at the start of the eccentric part. Taken collectively, these outcomes show related potential between elastic bands and free weight/machine coaching to create enough muscle pressure that induces muscle injury and finally muscle development.
Elastic bands present a novel type of resistance that places appreciable stress on muscle tissue, inflicting appreciable positive factors in muscle mass and power that’s corresponding to free weights. As well as, as a result of the elastic resistance power is so essentially completely different from free-weight resistance, each approaches will be concurrently used throughout your exercise to create a mixture of forces that place better preliminary pressure on the muscle whereas sustaining maximal pressure on the musculature all through your entire motion – producing exceptional positive factors in power and measurement.14
References:
1. Jalal FY, et al. Resultant muscle torque and electromyographic exercise throughout excessive depth elastic resistance and free weight workouts. EJSS 2013;13(2): p. 155-163.
2. Pinto RS, et al. Impact of vary of movement on muscle power and thickness. J Power Cond Res 2012;26(8): p. 2140-5.
3. Colado JC and Triplett NT. Results of a short-term resistance program utilizing elastic bands versus weight machines for sedentary middle-aged girls. J Power Cond Res 2008;22(5): p. 1441-8.
4. Schoenfeld, B.J. Does exercise-induced muscle injury play a job in skeletal muscle hypertrophy? J Power Cond Res 2012;26(5): p. 1441-53.
5. McGinley C, Shafat A, and Donnelly AE. Does antioxidant vitamin supplementation defend towards muscle injury? Sports activities Med 2009;39(12): p. 1011-32.
6. Guillet C, et al. Impaired anabolic response of muscle protein synthesis is related to S6K1 dysregulation in aged people. Faseb J 2004;18(13): p. 1586-7.
7. Clarkson PM and Hubal MJ. Train-induced muscle injury in people. Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2002;81(11 Suppl): p. S52-69.
8. Linnamo V, et al. Neuromuscular responses to explosive and heavy resistance loading. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2000;10(6): p. 417-24.
9. Newham DJ, et al. Ultrastructural adjustments after concentric and eccentric contractions of human muscle. J Neurol Sci 1983;61(1): p. 109-22.
10. Aboodarda SJ, et al. Muscle power and injury following two modes of variable resistance coaching. J Sports activities Sci Med, 2011;10: p. 635-642.
11. Cronin J, McNair PJ and Marshall RN. The results of bungy weight coaching on muscle perform and useful efficiency. J Sports activities Sci 2003;21(1): p. 59-71.
12. Clarkson PM, et al. Muscle soreness and serum creatine kinase exercise following isometric, eccentric, and concentric train. Int J Sports activities Med 1986;7(3): p. 152-5.
13. Gibala MJ, et al. Myofibrillar disruption following acute concentric and eccentric resistance train in strength-trained males. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 2000;78(8): p. 656-61.
14. Anderson CE, Sforzo GA and Sigg. The results of mixing elastic and free weight resistance on power and energy in JA athletes. J Power Cond Res 2008;22(2): p. 567-74.