The Benefits Of Getting Mini Bands
When it comes to picking the right workout equipment for our homes, it can be tough depending on our space and our budget. The mini bands have various different methods of use and can be used for upper and core too, not just the lower body. They can be a great tool for rehabilitation style workouts or just something to add for an extra challenge.
It is great for targeting the glute’s and core muscles
Helps focus on engaging the above muscles efficiently
Different resistances that can be used for a wide range of exercise’s and progressions
Easy to store or take with you for travelling workouts
It specifically can be useful for those recovering from injury and are not cleared for weight training yet.
You can do any type of workout, quickly and effectively. Sometimes we don't have the proper weights to do our workouts from home, we have heavy enough for legs but not light enough for upper body, or vice versa… and its not easy to store all those free weights either. The mini bands can also be used for a full body, upper or lower body workout depending on your goals, and especially for core! Using the mini bands for one of these listed workouts can help us engage our glute’s and have a better mind body connection with it while we do our exercises. They are a great tool to add to your warm up as well if it includes exercise’s like the bridge or fire hydrants. This is because of the added resistance from the band that forces us to keep our muscles constantly engaged, specifically of the glute section, depending on what exercise you are doing. The added resistance makes us squeeze our glute’s and can help us feel them a bit more if engaging the glute’s is something you struggle with. If not, it may not be as effective of an addition for you. However, for certain exercise’s like hip thrusts adding a nice tight band just above the thighs can give us the thought of having something to press into around the legs when we just want to give in and use our quads on the last few reps. That band is a nice reminder.. just one example of how it can be useful for beginners and those that are more advanced. It’s great for core workouts as well and can allow us to try different techniques for basic exercises like the plank, bird dog, and superman!
When we use the Bosu we are engaging different stabilizer muscles than we would be without it whether we are standing, sitting or laying on it. We engage our core a lot more as we have to hold ourselves and balance while performing the movement. Now when we’re doing dumbbells vs the barbell we are stabilizing even more, creating an even greater challenge on the body as a whole. This is why it’s nice to switch it up once in a while! Lifting weights will give you progress, but sometimes we can do so without using proper technique. Another great reason for getting a Bosu. If you feel you are in a plateau and have only been using free weights, this can be a nice way to challenge yourself. If you feel like you want to improve your core strength and balance this would also be a key tool to do so. The mind body connection with our core and using our body as a unit is important in our daily lives too, not just when we exercise! Preventing injury, lifting heavy objects safely and being quick on the feet all improve our quality of living.
The mini bands allow us to try different movements that we may do on a regular basis with an extra challenge, and can also help us correct these basic movements
Here is an example with the squat:
Having “valgus knee’s” in a squat is quite common, meaning the knee’s come in towards each other instead of nice and in line with the shoe laces. This is usually caused by strong hip adductor muscles (inner thigh) and weak hip abductors (gluteus minimus and gluteus medius). Adding the band can give us a better connection with our glute muscles and act like something for the legs to press into, putting them in better alignment. This is not something you will want to train with permanently but this step can help progress to one moving properly without the band.
As mentioned it can be a great way to work the rest of the body too! Here’s a fun way to try your pushups and isolate the triceps, keep the band above the wrists so you have constant tension. You are trying to keep the elbows in towards the body and hands just below the shoulders. Helps us keep the form too ;)
Enjoy & Happy Exercising!
Robyn