Exercises with your own body weight today receive undeservedly little attention, despite the fact that they initially contain very high potential. Those trainees who treat them with disdain, in fact, simply “don’t know how to prepare them” or do not understand their true purpose. Someday ask yourself how many pull-ups you can do, for example, on the rings? And it doesn’t matter how much weight you lift in the vertical block row. And how many times can you do push-ups on the floor, with good technique, and not “so-so”, just to do a certain number. This approach will not bring any benefit, and sooner or later you will abandon the idea of using bodyweight exercises, but it will not be about them, it is about you. So how can you start getting benefits from the exercises you're willing to invest in?
From simple to complex
Let's say we are dealing with push-ups, and if you are not strong enough yet, then your progression in them will look like this:
Knee push-ups -> Classic push-ups -> Elevated push-ups -> Added weight push-ups -> One-arm push-ups (I agree, this one is really hard). |
Let me start with the fact that if you are not yet strong enough to do a few regular push-ups, by going through the preliminary stage of push-ups from your knees, you will quickly get stronger, your muscles will learn to obey you, and you will be able to do normal push-ups. Then it’s a matter of time. The moment will come when it’s time for you to add additional weight.
How to attract additional burden?
At this stage, you have several options on what to do: a weighted vest (a rare thing in the gym), a brutal barbell plate on your back (you need an assistant, and this is not always convenient). And the third option, the simplest and most advanced at the same time, is training harnesses (Myprotein has these and yes, they are good!). The training harness is selected based on the resistance you would like to add. Just grab the ends like loops and throw it over your back. When doing push-ups from the floor, you will also overcome the resistance of the tourniquet, which will give you several additional kilograms of load.
Progression here is not difficult to organize: over time, switch to thicker tourniquets, they give a greater load. And if you only have one such tourniquet, then over time make a small knot on it to make it shorter. This way you will increase the load.
Features of training with a tourniquet
Exercises with a rubber band only work if they are applied to the correct training system. We will create this system now.
For the fastest progress in training with a tourniquet, you need to:
- Follow the principle of load progression. Increase objective training stress: resistance of the band, number of approaches, repetitions, exercises;
- Do this in the supercompensation phase - the only stage that is optimal for gaining muscle mass;
- Progress gradually, do not try to do everything “in a rush.” The main problem that beginners face in the first stages of training with rubber is overtraining. In 2-3 weeks the body wears out so much that further work becomes impossible;
- Set personal goals and move based on your understanding of the task. With rubber loops you can achieve any goals: from gaining muscle mass and losing weight, to developing strength, endurance, and explosive speed.
Load progression and supercompensation
Compliance with the principle of progression of loads in the supercompensation phase is the main secret to obtaining the desired result. Thanks to the combination of these two principles, you can train with a tourniquet more effectively than in the gym.
The training process is divided into 4 stages:
- Traumatization. Happens during training. Muscles and all body systems are subject to stress, which is necessary to trigger the following phases;
- Recovery. Starts after completion of training. During the recovery period, the athlete's body is ready to perform worse than before training. After completion of the phase, there is a return to the pre-training level;
- Supercompensation. The body has coped with stress and is ready to perform the usual load with less energy. But we do not repeat the load, but follow the principle of progression of loads and increase it. Objective stress increases while subjective sensations remain at the same level;
- Loss of super compensation. Occurs when an athlete trains too infrequently and misses the supercompensation phase:
Using the example of squats with a rubber band, workouts might look like this
Week #1
Monday. Training
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Purple (12-36) | 3 | 20 | 2 |
Tuesday. Recovery. You cannot train your lower body (the muscles that were used during training).
Wednesday. The recovery continues.
Thursday. Supercompensation sets in. It lasts from Thursday to Saturday. During this period, you need to train your legs again. Let's do a workout today:
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Purple (12-36) | 4 | 20 | 2 |
We follow the principle of progression of loads, adding 1 approach.
Friday. Recovery. You can only train muscles that were not used in the previous lesson.
Saturday. The recovery continues.
Sunday. Supercompensation. We follow the principle of load progression by adding a new approach.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Purple (12-36) | 5 | 20 | 2 |
Week #2
Monday. Recovery. Let's relax
Tuesday. Recovery continues along with rest.
Wednesday. The recovery is over, but supercompensation has not yet arrived. We rest for another day.
Thursday. Supercompensation. We train our legs. Let's add one approach again.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Purple (12-36) | 6 | 20 | 2 |
Friday. Recovery.
Saturday. We continue to rest.
Sunday. Supercompensation. We change the harness to rubber with greater resistance, and reduce the number of approaches.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Green (17-54) | 3 | 20 | 2 |
Week #3
Monday, Tuesday – recovery.
Wednesday. Supercompensation. We increase the load by adding one set and reducing the rest by 30 seconds.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Green (17-54) | 4 | 20 | 1,5 |
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – rest. The body recovers after exercise.
Sunday. Supercompensation. Add 1 approach.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Green (17-54) | 5 | 20 | 1,5 |
Week #4
Monday, Tuesday – we recover after class.
Wednesday. Supercompensation. Let's add the approach again.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Green (17-54) | 6 | 20 | 1,5 |
Thursday, Friday – recovery.
Saturday. Supercompensation. We change the tires to harder ones with a decrease in the number of approaches.
Exercise | Rubber color (resistance) | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest in minutes after approach |
Squats with loops | Blue (23-68) | 3 | 20 | 1,5 |
Sunday. Recovery.
Result: in 4 weeks we significantly increased the resistance of the rubber and decreased rest, which affected strength endurance and the appearance of the lower body. We continue to use this system until we are completely satisfied with the result.
Graduation and training goals
To achieve results, you need to know your goals and go in their direction. The main goals when training with rubber look like this:
- Development of performance
. High performance leads to increased muscle mass. Trains in the range of 6-15 repetitions, in 3-7 approaches with a rest of 1-2 minutes. The progression of loads is maintained by alternating an increase in rubber resistance with an increase in the number of approaches; - Development of endurance
. It also allows you to lose weight and burn fat. Endurance development is an increased duration of training in the range of 15-25 repetitions in 3-7 approaches, with a large number of exercises. The harness resistance is minimal. Otherwise, it will not be possible to complete a high volume of work. Rest between sets – 30-60 seconds. To strength work with rubber, you can add aerobic training in the form of running or jumping rope; - Strength training
. Development of strength qualities, which will help prepare for working with a barbell and other equipment found in powerlifting and extreme strength sports. Building strength will help beginner ectomorphs who want to build muscle mass from scratch. We train in the range of 1-6 repetitions with high resistance rubber. We perform from 2 to 5 approaches with a rest of 2-4 minutes. Before performing heavy approaches, warming up is mandatory.
Progression of loads during the period of supercompensation within the framework of understanding your goal is the key to success.
Understanding that we have everything to implement the task, and all that remains is to start moving in a given direction, leads us to the last mistake - moving forward too quickly.
You need to start with a load that is comfortable for you at the moment. After the first workout, you should feel slightly tired instead of wanting to die. You need to progress gradually, step by step. Otherwise, the level of cortisol (the main stress hormone) rises sharply, and physical and mental emasculation occurs. Progress stops completely.
The expression “The slower you go, the further you will go” is most relevant in relation to this situation.
What about pull-ups?
The situation here is no less interesting, and we also have some good options for how to develop the ability to do pull-ups and turn this exercise into a powerful tool aimed at achieving progress.
The progression might look like this:
Pull-ups on the bar using a training harness -> Classic pull-ups -> Pull-ups with weights -> Pull-ups on rings (optional) -> Pull-ups on rings, with additional weights. |
And here, again, training harnesses from Myprotein come to our aid. Yes, I know, now you can sort of do without them, because there is a gravitron and all that. But, firstly, not every room has a gravitron. Secondly, not every machine is well designed; it may require you to pull yourself up smoothly and slowly, otherwise you will move faster than the support that pushes you up. And thirdly, you can simply enjoy the fact that you make do with a spartan set of equipment for classes. And what could be simpler than a familiar crossbar that is always and everywhere accessible?
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of a rubber band:
- It costs much less than many other simulators.
- Such a projectile increases muscle strength and endurance, and also allows you to work them out to the maximum.
- The tourniquet can be used both to increase the load when performing a variety of exercises, and, on the contrary, to reduce it.
- There are many ways to use such a projectile, despite the fact that it has the simplest possible design.
- During exercise, discomfort may occur due to tissue compression by a narrow tourniquet.
- Such a projectile is less convenient than, for example, .
- Difficulties may arise when using, especially for beginners.
A tourniquet will help develop strength
If you are not strong enough (this is just for now!) to pull yourself up, it doesn’t matter, throw one end of the rubber band over the horizontal bar, make a loop, pull the free end and stand on it with your feet. Keep your body tense and pull yourself up, you will feel how much easier you feel. Moreover, when using dynamic resistance (rubber), it will provide you with the greatest help at the bottom point, since at the bottom it will experience maximum tension, but at the top you are already reaching on your own. Over time, you will become stronger and can move on to a thinner tourniquet. A little more time will pass and you will begin to pull yourself up, without the help of rubber. So, the way will open for you to use additional weights in the form of pancakes on your belt, or you can throw the same tourniquet over your belt, and fix its end on the floor, tying it to something stationary, for example, to a heavy weight. Thus, you will receive dynamic resistance, which will create an additional load for you, different at different points of the amplitude. Believe me, this technique will allow you to develop strength in pull-ups very quickly!
Why is it needed?
will help you learn to do pull-ups
Using a rubber band, exercises have already been developed that help tighten the body and get back in shape quickly and easily.
Classes with this simulator are available to everyone and have no contraindications.
- This mini-simulator is most popular among strength athletes. A common activity is weighting, when the rubber is attached at one end to the floor and the other to the barbell. The tourniquet creates resistance and makes the barbell more difficult to lift. In addition, weighting is not the only effect when using a rubber band. He Helps you learn how to lift and lower barbells correctly.
So, it is easier to learn how to do a bench press using a tourniquet. It helps to smoothly lower the load to its original place, which is assessed during competitions and guarantees uniform loading.
This simulator is used by wrestlers. Exercises with a harness help develop the strength of several muscle groups.
Knowing the rules for training, with its help it is easier to pump up hard-to-reach muscles that are difficult to train on simulators.
A rubber band is a universal exercise machine that helps tone any muscle in the human body.
Such activities help in home workouts. The tourniquet will help both the arms and thighs.
The main thing here is to choose the right exercises and develop an individual training course.
Surprisingly, a rubber band can not only burden, but also lighten the load.
Often, beginner girls use this method to make it easier to start training. For example, with its help you can easily master uneven bars. His assistance is smooth and even, unlike the pushing from a partner that was used before.
Today, medical use of the tourniquet is not excluded. Under close supervision, rehabilitation therapists help perform exercises to help a patient recover from a serious injury.
Video training with Resistance wrestling tubular rubber
What about the legs?
Everything there is also no less interesting. I won’t mention classic squats or additional weights in the form of tourniquets, but I can recommend you the dynamic Romanian deadlift, where instead of a barbell you stand on a rubber band and take its ends in your hands like loops. The band must be thick and provide maximum resistance to compete with the barbell. From the bottom position, straighten by working your hips and glutes. The tourniquet in your hands will stretch, creating resistance. This will be analogous to the Romanian traction, but only with rubber. In addition, you can quite work like this, but in an “explosive” manner, straightening up very sharply and powerfully, returning to the starting position with a smooth negative. This will add to your skill in performing high-speed deadlifts, try it yourself.
Types of harnesses: how to choose and where to buy
which one to choose for training?
The name “tourniquet” is gradually replacing “loop” today. In stores you can see multi-colored plaits. But don't think that they differ only in color. Each one has a different degree of resistance and degree of stretch.
You should choose a loop depending on:
- what result are you trying to achieve;
- for what purpose will you use it (strength training, rehabilitation, home workout to keep fit).
Before purchasing, consult an experienced athlete if the goal is training, or a doctor if the goal is rehabilitation.
When choosing, focus on the experience of the masters, and not on your color preferences.
Only a correctly selected harness guarantees effective training, which will lead to impressive results.
You can buy this exercise machine for muscle elasticity in two places:
- sporting goods store;
- pharmacy.
If you want to get a professional exercise machine that is ready for use immediately after purchase, then you should buy it in a specialized store, for example, a sports master, where they guarantee the quality of the equipment and rubber bands. You can exercise with them at home or go to gyms where there are no such devices, but you need weights.
If you are improving your fitness at home, then by purchasing tourniquets at the pharmacy, you will make your own exercise machine that is suitable for home workouts. It is not possible to determine the difference in the degree of resistance, but for initial training and keeping fit, this is an acceptable option.
Rubber band for learning pull-ups
He helps you learn this. Thanks to him, even girls learn to do pull-ups.
You need to train as follows:
- Take the stiffest tape possible.
- The high rigidity of the tourniquet will greatly help you reach the level of the horizontal bar with your chin.
- When you can do 12 pull-ups with such a harness, you need to change it to a less rigid one.
- Each time after performing 12 pull-ups, take a tourniquet with a lower stiffness coefficient than before.
After you can do 12 pull-ups with the most elastic band, you can remove it. After all, now is the time to start pulling yourself up with your weight. Of course, you won't succeed the first time. However, don’t give up; after a few attempts, you will definitely be able to pull yourself up without the help of a tourniquet.
How to make a choice?
How to choose a rubber sports harness? There are several important points to pay attention to:
- Length of harness. It depends on what exercises you plan to do. So, if the apparatus will be attached to simulators, then the length must be sufficient. If the tourniquet will be used as an expander, then it can be short or medium in length.
- Thickness. It affects the strength of resistance. The thicker the tourniquet, the greater the load will be placed on your muscles.
- Width. Wide rubber bands are classified as a separate type, but, in fact, they can be considered a type of tourniquet. Sometimes they are more convenient (for example, if they come into contact with wide parts of the body), but for working the arms it is often more convenient to use a thin tourniquet.
- You can purchase a tourniquet with loops or handles at the ends, but it will be convenient only when doing exercises for the arms; it will not be easy to work out other parts of the body with the help of such a projectile.
Full body pumping with rubber loops
A sports harness is a universal device with which you can train various muscle groups. It is not for nothing that athletes of many sports resort to using a tourniquet: swimmers, skiers, boxers, wrestlers, judokas - for all of them this simple, but at the same time, proven effective sports equipment helps improve physical condition and perform successfully in competitions.
For an ordinary person who is not involved in any sports activity, a tourniquet can also become an indispensable assistant in building a strong and beautiful body.
You can purchase a rubber band both online and in sports stores. It is also sold in pharmacies, where there are options of different lengths: from 2 to 7 meters. The most popular brands are TORRES, Sportsteel and harnesses from domestic manufacturers.
Some have asked what is better: branded loops or an ordinary rubber band sold in a pharmacy? As practice shows, both branded and ordinary harnesses have pros and cons.
Branded hinges
+ Ability to change the load by selecting rubber with more or less resistance, very elastic. The kit includes special handles or you can purchase them in addition.
What to remember
Before using a tourniquet in training, you need to start doing short-term exercises, and then gradually increase the time of exercise.
Before training, you need to do a short warm-up to warm up your body. At the end, you should do muscle stretching exercises.
3-4 exercises (to work a specific muscle group) with a rubber band can be included in your usual workout program.
Regular workouts (3-4 times a week) along with a balanced diet will help you achieve the body of your dreams.
That's all. See you again on the expanses of my blog!
A sports harness is a useful universal training product that allows you to train different muscle groups. It is actively used by representatives of many types of activities. But exercises with a rubber band are useful not only for athletes, but also for those who simply want to improve their physical fitness. It is suitable for home training and can replace a lot of expensive equipment.
Why you should get a sports harness
In conclusion, I would like to tell you a few more words about this sports device. Don't neglect them . If you want to improve your body , but do not intend to spend a lot of time and money on it, then a rubber tourniquet is exactly what you need.
Firstly, it costs about 500 rubles. Secondly, training with it will not take you much time. After just a few weeks of training, your friends and acquaintances will wonder when you managed to acquire such an athletic body. The main thing is regularity of classes. And then the result will not take long to arrive! I wish you success!
Training program
Consider a classic 3-day training. Day 1 (legs and shoulders)
- squats 5*12 (sets/repetitions);
- Roman rod 4*15;
- military press 4*10;
- extension to the shoulders to the sides 3*10;
- set, each exercise 3*12 - front delts and rear delts.
Day 2 (chest and triceps)
- push-ups 4*15 - change the position of your hands from workout to workout;
- chest harness 3*12;
- bars 4*12;
- triceps extension 3*12 - up or down.
Day 3 (back and biceps)
- deadlift 5*12;
- pull-ups 4*10;
- lumbar thrust 4*12;
- biceps 4*12;
- biceps hammer 4*12.
When training with a harness, you don’t need a lot of space, so the undoubted advantage is that classes can be done at home. Resistance can be easily changed by choosing rubber with a larger or smaller cross-section, or by changing the length of the projectile. Exercises with a rubber band are a good complement to exercises with iron, as they change the type of load on the muscles.
It is extremely important to warm up before training. Don't underestimate the load that rubber gives. Therefore, you should never neglect a few warm-up movements that will prepare the body for work.
As was said, a tourniquet is a universal sports equipment that girls can also exercise with. Girls can use the given complex, adjusting the load to suit themselves. For example, you can exclude parallel bars, and do pull-ups with a loop attached to the horizontal bar and resting your feet on it.
And I’ve been working out at home for almost a year now, and a tourniquet exactly like the one you have in the bottom photo is lying idle. I couldn’t even think that it could be used so effectively in my training. But now, thanks to your article, I will definitely exercise and with him too, but do you think it’s possible to combine training with a barbell and with such a tourniquet or is it better to choose one?
Of course you can. You can use light exercises with a tourniquet as a complement to your training program. This will give an impetus to increasing strength indicators.
Five tubular resistance bands with carabiners, two handles, two leg cuffs, a door anchor and a bag.
The set contains three tubes with handles: orange - 4 kg; blue - 5 kg; green - 6 kg.
Universal rubber loops for pull-ups, suitable for any weight and for any purpose.
A rubber band is an ideal exercise machine for working at home and outdoors. With its help, you can achieve any goals: from gaining muscle mass and losing weight, to establishing striking techniques, improving health and psychological state on an ongoing basis. All this is achievable only if you know the best exercises and features of training with a tourniquet.
Squats with side leg raise
- Place the tape over your knees.
- Place your feet hip-width apart and your hands at chest level or on your hips.
- Bend your knees and perform a squat, moving your pelvis back.
- Get back to the starting position and lift your right leg to the side, keeping your knees straight.
- Place your foot on the floor. This is one repetition.
We perform 20 times, changing sides.
Marty says keep your abs tight and your chest up. Also, you should not round or arch your back.
Which tourniquet to choose
As I already said, sports harnesses can have different shapes and materials. Lately, every manufacturer wants their product to sell. The result is the addition of something new to a simple harness design, for example, comfortable handles or extended parts.
By the way, not all strands are the same in size (length, width, thickness) and density. The density of the harness is generally the main criterion for choosing this rubber simulator. Remember how different kettlebells or dumbbells have their own weights? Do you remember the plates (discs) for the barbell? It’s the same here: each of the strands has its own density - the ability to resist with a certain load on the practitioner.
That is, if it is written on the tourniquet (or its insert) that it is capable of providing resistance of 6 kg, then this means that when bending the arms for biceps with a tourniquet, each of the arms will receive the same load as with a similar curling of the arms with 6 kg dumbbells. Introduced?
This training equipment has different densities and sizes. So, the resistance can be 5, 10, 25 kg, for example, but there are also those where it reaches 100 kg.
Therefore, based on what you want to pump up or work on, choose the appropriate density. It would be a wrong decision to buy a tourniquet with a density of 50 kg to work out the arms, for example. This load will be indecently inflated. But for working the legs and back, this density will be optimal (approximately).
Exercises for triceps and biceps
- Exercise for triceps: take a rubber band, stand on one end with your heel, take the other end in your hand and bring it behind your head. Stretch your arm up, straightening it and pulling the tourniquet.
- Biceps exercise No. 1: stand with both feet in the middle of the machine, take the ends in your hands, bend and straighten your elbows.
- Biceps exercise No. 2: while standing, step on one end of the band and take the other in your hand. Press your hand towards your body and release.