Powerbands are incorporated into rehabilitation and fitness programs at Function and Form. Bands provide all the benefits of resistance (strength, flexibility and endurance). And the low cost and accessibility of bands makes them an ideal at home training tool.
Bands may be use to facilitate general body warm up, develop strength and flexibility, and multidirectional speed.
The powerlifting community has embraced power bands for strength training to assist varying training stimuli to push through plateaus.
Bands add resistance through multiple planes during movement. The resisted movement in turn results in the switching on of the stabilising muscles. Thus complex movement patters can be replicated with multiple directional changes.
Power Bands can be used as a resisting or assisting force on their own, or combined with other equipment.
Power Bands affect the strength curve (forced produced relative to joint angle).
During an ascending strength curve, the movement becomes progressively easier throughout the concentric phase because more force can be produced when the joints enters a position of mechanical advantage. Ie in a band resisted squat, when the mechanical advantage increases, the stretch of the band increases and provides more resistance as the body enters a position of mechanical advantage. Thus requiring greater force production from the muscles and a greater training effect.
During a descending strength curve, difficulty progressively increases throughout the concentric phase and more force is produced as the joints enter a position of mechanical disadvantage. ie. in a banded pull up (band attached from the floor to the torso), as the band stretches whilst pulling closer to the bar this results in making the hardest part of the movement more difficult.
Strength Exercises
1. Assisted push ups
2. Assisted pull up
3. Assisted squats
4. Assisted pistols
5. Deadlift variations
6. Good morning
7. Lunge
8. Squat
9. Row
10. Chest press combinations
11. Shoulder press
12. Split stance shoulder press
13. Push up
Agility & Acceleration Exercises
1. Lateral run
2. Forward run
3. Backward run
4. Bear crawl
Stretching & Mobility
1. Shoulders
2. Knees
3. Hips
4. Lumbar spine
Power Band Training
