Using Bands for Strength

Why Would I Use Bands For Developing Strength?

Exercises are rarely equally difficult throughout its full
range of motion. The varying degree of difficulty throughout the movement of an
exercise is known as a strength curve, or strength profile. A strength curve
may be ascending, descending, or a bell curve.

Exercises with an ascending strength curve become easier at
the end of the movement; think squats and bench pressing. No-one gets stapled
at the top of a squat. Lazy or uneducated lifters love to perform partial reps
halfway down to move more weight.

To the contrary, exercises with a descending curve become
harder throughout the movement. Think lateral raises. The further the weights
rise up, the further the weights move from your body laterally, hence the
longer the lever being used.   

Finally, exercises with a bell-shaped curve are hardest halfway
through. These are most common with elbow flexion-based exercises, such as
curls; as the weight is at the furthest point away from the lever halfway
during the exercise. 

Using Power Bands will alter an exercise’s strength curve to become more descending in nature. If a relatively small amount of resistance is applied using bands to a bench press, it will still be harder at the bottom but the overall proportion of difficulty will be more consistent. Using a relatively large amount of resistance may result in the exercise becoming easier at the bottom.

So Where Do I Want The Exercise Hardest?

There is no best or right answer, it depends on your goals
and the application.

Making an exercise harder at the end will lead to improved
power, rate of force development and similar speed-based adaptations. Given
strength = force x speed, this is highly applicable to improved strength in
both the gym and the field.

Making an exercise equally hard throughout would have ideal
connotations for increasing time under tension for those seeking muscular
hypertrophy.

Perhaps there is a sticking point in an exercise that an
athlete wishes to improve. For exercises with an ascending strength curve, this
will likely be at the bottom. In this case, the lifter may only want a small
degree of band resistance to encourage greater force production throughout the
movement whilst retaining this sticking point as the hardest point to overcome.
This would be most applicable to powerlifters.

How Would I Set This Up?

Power Bands can certainly be used by themselves in order to increase strength, but they are most commonly used in conjunction with either free weight or machine-based exercises. Whilst it’s difficult to quantify the exact amount of resistance a 41” Power Band is providing, lifters normally do not want excessive differences from the start and end of a lift; otherwise the lift will be either way too easy or way too hard at differing points of the lift. Using a band by itself may not provide enough resistance at the strongest point for experienced trainers while allowing enough movement at the weakest.

Start by anchoring your Power Bands. Once anchored, loop the remaining end on the Barbell, Dumbbell, machine, your foot or whatever apparatus it is you are moving, as shown in the below diagram.

Ideally, you want to use a specifically designed Band Pin, as the Power Bands will be pulling back towards their anchor point. Failing this, heavy Dumbbells can be substituted, or an anchor point can be improvised using your set-up.

Make sure the Power Band is taut from the beginning of the movement to ensure a consistent increase in tension, and from there you’re good to go. Adapt the resistance of the Power Bands to ensure an appropriate strength curve (which may take some experimentation at first) and watch your performance improve.