TUBING BASICS

There are many ways to incorporate movement, strength and toning exercises into the

energy of flow in your life. Whether it is to feel more alive in your body or to enhance

muscle tone and definition, to gain strength and power, to improve cardiovascular

endurance or engage in new ways of cultivating energy and creating more health and

vitality.

BENEFITS

One very effective and versatile way to begin or enhance your workout regime is by

using resistance tubing exercise techniques to achieve your health and fitness goals.

Resistance band exercises are simply another form of weight (resistance) training which

can build strength, muscular endurance and help tone your body.

To top it off, resistance tubing is affordable, transportable (great for traveling) and can

train the whole body efficiently and effectively. Tubing has the capacity to meet the

needs of a beginner as well as challenge the hard core pursuitist. It also is a fantastic way

to assist athletes in enhancing strength and efficiency in sport patterns that best mimic

their specific movements while being able to vary the degree of resistance from the

tubing. Tubing is very popular in rehab exercises because of the ability to create the

amount of resistance needed in a natural movement pattern that best rehabilitates the joint

or muscle imbalance or injury. This is difficult to accomplish with free weights because

they require the direction of force to be vertical, due to the reliance on gravity for

resistance. All manufacturers of band-tubing exercise equipment color-code their

products according to the levels of resistance. Depending on the manufacturer, there may

be some variation.

In essence tubing is a very durable elastic band with handles that can provide a huge

variety of exercises that adapt to motion patterns that most mimic natural and dynamic

movement. When using weight machines your body has to adapt to the path of motion

that is given by the machine. With machines, the movement is generally limited to one

plane of motion with little to zero need of stabilizer and core muscles to assist resulting in

a less functional and effective result. Resistance tubing follows the way the body moves

and adapts to your personal body structure and range of motion.

GUIDELINES FOR PROPER USE OF RESISTANCE TUBING

•Before starting each exercise make sure that the band/tube is under slight tension

throughout its length. There should not be any slack in the tube throughout the range of

motion.

•Retain smooth form (not jerky) when working with band/tube products and to keep the

band/tube under your control at all times.

The return phase (eccentric phase) of the muscle movement is equally important as the

outgoing phase (concentric phase) – be as mindful on the return phase and stay in form

and muscle isolation.

•Always check equipment for rips or tears prior to use and discard any damaged ones.

•A good quality band/tube will increase in length during exercise by about 3 times. Once

a band/tube exceeds 3 times its length it will start to stretch less smoothly and will risk

breakage.

•Elongate and engage the spine throughout the entire workout. Always be mindful of

your posture.

•Do not over grip the tubing but rather think of hands as hooks. Gripping too tight also

takes some of the workload from the target muscles (like back and biceps) into the

forearm for gripping.

•Keep the wrists neutral. If you allow the wrists to open (bend backwards) the potential

energy of resistance is weakened thus dissipating some of the tension from the target

muscle.

• Life expectancy will decrease if tubing has prolonged exposure to sunlight, extremes of

heat or cold, salt or chlorinated water.

•Do not wrap tubing around the hands or body.

•Never tie two pieces of rubber together.

•Ensure proper warm up to circulate the blood into your limbs to loosen up your muscles

and joints. Always perform a general warm up before any kind of physical activity.

•Bad habits limit our range of motion. Incorrect posture leads to blockages that interrupt

the flow of movement to certain parts of the body which leads to loss of coordination,

compromised posture and limited flexibility and balance. Be sure to never compensate

form.