Resistance Bands Vs. Free Weights...Which One is Better For Exercising And Shaping Your Body?

Resistance bands vs. free weights, the never ending question of which method is more effective in building muscles and losing body fat and having an excellent workout overall.

As humans we’re always seeking for the absolute useful exercising tools to use and to have the quickest results possible.

Searching for the best tools and being skeptical if this one exercise tool can give us better results than the other to get the most effective results is all good, but the problem is that we start to spend too much time and effort seeking the silver bullet for training methods.

And in the meantime while we’re still waiting for an answer our bodies are out of shape and everyone is not happy with the way they look and feel!

So, let’s talk about the resistance bands vs. free weights exercising methods and get to the bottom of this mystery and hopefully you can decide to exercise after reading this article.

Both resistances bands and free weights (ex., dumbbells and barbells) add an external resistance/tension in your exercise and your working muscles really don’t know or care for that matter if you’re using even sack of potatoes. All they know is that there is a load or resistance that they have to lift and deal with, period.

Resistance bands use their elasticity material property and gravity to a lesser degree to put resistance on your working muscles and free weights use their mass/weight and gravity to a greater degree to put resistance on your working muscles.

Now, let’s talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the two different tools then you can decide which exercise method suits you the most.

Even though resistance bands have different levels of tension that can translate to poundage loads they are not as clear-cut as the free weights.

For example, when using barbells for your workout you can add a 2.5 or a 5 pound increment and some gyms or sporting stores can provide as little as a ¼ or ½ pound increment which can be useful for certain types of weight lifting training. And you also know how much weight you’re lifting so you can keep track of your progress more specifically than with resistance bands.

The advantage in using free weights can be a very important factor if you’re a competitive professional/Olympic power lifter or a like. Besides you do have to use free weights in most cases during the sport competition anyways.

But if you’re an average person who cares about becoming fit and getting in shape by looking good in your swimsuit then this free weights advantage is not that important.

Another advantage is the psychological image and boost when you’re capable of lifting heavy weights which can be impressive and encouraging to your self and to people around you if you are working out in a gym, and that’s something to look forward to in your next workout. But this also can be a disadvantage which I’ll mention in the free weights disadvantage list.

One more advantage is “the feel of holding” dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells which can be different than using resistance bands. If you have been using free weights for sometime you can understand what I’m talking about.

Free Weights Disadvantages

• If you want to exercise in the privacy of your place using free weights then make sure you have a garage or a basement.

• If you live in a second floor apartment your neighbor underneath below you probably won’t like the pounding sound effect and you might accidentally damage doors and walls.

• Depending how much free weights you use they can take too much space

• You’ll have more chance to get injured.

• They are way more expensive.

• Taking free weights with you when traveling!? Forget it.

In Part Two of this article I’ll continue talking about the two common exercise methods and hopefully put an end to this question; are resistance bands better or free weights? So stay tuned.