TBG Resistance Bands: A Complete Guide

Resistance bands are an incredibly versatile and valuable tool for building muscle, enhancing muscular endurance, and even promoting joint health. Heavy duty TBG Resistance Bands offer durability and varying levels of resistance, making them a perfect addition to any training regimen. These bands are made from high quality latex, ensuring long lasting elasticity and reliability, even under extreme tension. A full set of these bands, ranging from 5lbs of resistance at the very lower end all the way up to 175lbs of resistance at the very upper end, can dramatically augment and enhance traditional free weight and calisthenics exercises while also providing unique benefits that barbells and dumbbells cannot offer.

Why TBG Resistance Bands?

Unlike flimsy bands that lose tension over time, these high quality, heavy duty bands are designed to withstand intense training. The layered latex construction provides exceptional strength, preventing snapping or overstretching. This makes them perfect for both assisted and resisted movements, accommodating users of all fitness levels.

Owning a complete set of TBG Resistance Bands unlocks a spectrum of training possibilities. The lighter bands are excellent for high rep accessory work, mobility drills, and rehabilitation exercises. The medium bands introduce moderate resistance for hypertrophy focused movements, and the heaviest bands challenge maximal strength, simulate progressive overload, and assist in overcoming sticking points in compound lifts.

Key Exercises with Resistance Bands

Resistance bands can be used for a variety of exercises targeting every major muscle group. Here are some of the most effective band based exercises for strength and hypertrophy:

Upper Body Movements

1. Triceps Pushdowns, Band Curls, & Lateral Raise

• Great for pumping large amounts of blood into the elbows, shoulders, and arms, promoting joint health.
• Can be done for very large volumes to promote muscular endurance and biceps, triceps, and deltoid hypertrophy. Very high stimulus to fatigue ratio.
• These exercises are able to provide constant tension throughout the range of motion, which enhances muscular engagement and creates a greater pump through extended occlusion.
• The ascending tension enhances the intensity of the contractions at peak flexion/extension, forcing the muscles to work harder.
  

2. Band Pull Apart

• Hold the band at shoulder height and pull it apart by retracting the shoulder blades and squeezing them together as hard as possible.
• This is excellent for building posterior deltoid and upper back strength, improving posture and scapular stability.
• The upper back muscles are known to respond to very high reps and high total workloads, which is something that pull aparts naturally lend themselves toward.
• Resistance bands allow you to perform a natural drop set by choking your grip up on the band at the start of the set when you are fresh, and loosening your grip over the course of the set as you fatigue. This intensity enhancing technique works exceptionally with resistance bands, especially when working muscles (such as the upper back) that respond well to this style of high fatigue training.

3. Band Resisted Push-Ups & Dips

• Using accommodating resistance on classic calisthenics exercises dramatically increases the difficulty of the movements.
• Triceps engagement goes through the roof.
• Great for building explosive power by trying to “outrun” the band ascending band resistance.
• These movements simply cannot be sandbagged. Maximal effort and intent are forced.

4. Band Resisted Chin-Ups

• Great for working the pull-up/chin-up pattern in an explosive fashion.
• The peak contraction becomes incredibly challenging with these variations as the band resistance is greatest at the top of the rep, where the strength curve is naturally weakest on pull-up variations.

5. Band Assisted Chin-Ups

• Secure the band to the pull-up bar and place a foot or knee in the loop.
• The band pulls you up, reducing your body weight and making the pull-up easier. This allows for higher rep volumes to be performed.
• This is also a viable method of working towards being able to do chin-ups and pull-ups for novice trainees who are incapable of doing so initially. A full set of bands comes in handy here so you can gradually taper down the assistance level.

Lower Body Movements

1. Band Resisted Squats & Deadlifts

• Squats and deadlifts are easiest at the top, but the added band tension makes up for that as this is where the band is stretched to the greatest degree.

• Accommodating resistance is a tried and true way of working these compound lifts explosively to improve strength and rate of force development.

2. Banded Good Mornings

• Loop a band over your shoulders or onto a lightly loaded barbell and perform standard good mornings.
• This is a great way to pump large volumes of blood into the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. 
• Good for active recovery or as a finisher.

3. Band Resisted Hip Thrusts

• Adding band tension onto hip thrusts will increase the intensity of the peak contraction.

Benefits of Resistance Band Training

Accommodating Resistance

Unlike free weights, bands provide variable resistance, meaning tension increases as the band stretches. This strengthens the muscles through their full range of motion, reinforcing weak points in lifts. Typically, the lockout portion is the easiest part of the lift with free weights. Adding band tension to these compound lifts evens out the strength curve by making the upper half of the lift progressively more difficult.

Joint Friendly Strength Training

TBG Resistance Bands allow for smooth, controlled resistance, reducing joint stress compared to heavy barbell training. This makes them an excellent option for those recovering from injuries or dealing with joint pain. They lend themselves well to high reps and constant tension, which creates a very big big muscle pump that can have therapeutic effects.

Portability and Convenience

A full set of TBG Resistance Bands weighs almost nothing and can easily be taken with you anywhere. This makes them ideal for home workouts, travel, and outdoor training sessions

Progressive Overload and Hypertrophy

By adjusting band thickness or incorporating multiple bands, resistance can be progressively increased over time. This ensures continual muscle growth and strength development.

Versatility in Training Applications

TBG Resistance Bands can be integrated into virtually any training protocol, whether it's powerlifting, bodybuilding, functional fitness, or rehabilitation. They can be used as a standalone tool or in combination with barbells, dumbbells, and calisthenics to create new and exciting challenges.

Natural Drop Set

By choking your grip up on the band at the start of the set when you are fresh and loosening your grip over the course of the set as you fatigue you are able to perform a natural drop set without ever having to pause your work to change weights. This gives you the best of all worlds. It allows you to start a set off with very high resistance when you are fresh (strength), work into a middle resistance as fatigue initially kicks in (hypertrophy), and extend the set by dropping to light resistance and continuing to push on (endurance). This is a unique and underrated aspect of incorporating band work into strength and hypertrophy training.

Final Thoughts

High quality resistance bands, such as the TBG Resistance Bands, provide an effective and efficient way to build strength, muscle mass, and endurance. Their durability ensures they can handle extreme levels of tension, making them suitable for beginners and advanced lifters alike. The complete set of resistances covered by the TBG Bands allows for a full spectrum of training possibilities, from assistance work to direct resistance applications in compound lifts.

By incorporating TBG Resistance Bands into your workouts, you unlock new ways to challenge your muscles, improve power and endurance, keep your joints happy, and enhance overall performance. Whether you train at home, in a commercial gym, or on the go, these bands offer a practical and powerful solution for achieving your strength and hypertrophy goals.