Frankly, no gym – home or otherwise – is complete without a set of resistance bands. This should absolutely be the first bit of fitness equipment you pick up when you decide to extend your home workouts beyond bodyweight.
That’s because resistance bands are cheap and effective, can be used in a variety of ways, and are easy to use without putting yourself at any risk of injury. Getting a set may be a no-brainer, but it’s still worth understanding a little about your options before buying.
There are four types of resistance bands which suit different goals. In brief:
- Tube bands with handles are the easiest kind to use for high-resistance strength workouts. This resistance band workout for arms is a good example. Some sets will also come with an anchors so they can be attached to a door, fixed pole or bar to widen the range of moves the band can be used for. Other sets will allow you to add bands to the handles to increase the resistance.
- Open-ended strap bands are often used for mobility work, stretching and Pilates. They are sometimes tied off to create a loop.
- Large looped bands are ideal for strength sessions, and are often used to perform assisted pull-ups. Large looped bands that offer a lot of resistance can also be used to add an extra challenge to barbell exercises.
- Mini looped bands are great for lower-body work, like this resistance band glute workout, or activating muscles before a heavy leg workout.
Many people gravitate to tube bands, but a selection of large and mini looped bands open up the widest range of possibilities for your money. It’s a combination that’s used in our most popular resistance band workout.
Once you’ve decided on the type of band, you need to choose the level of resistance. The colour of a band indicates how heavy it is. Generally yellow bands have less resistance, blue and black bands have a high level of resistance, and red and green bands are in the middle. But there is a lot of variation between brands, and special colours are often thrown into the mix – gold bands in particular are usually very strong.
If possible, try some bands with different degrees of resistance before buying: if the resistance is too great you’ll struggle to get any benefit, but too light and you may end up snapping them. You also need to take care of them, as natural latex bands can degrade and a nick can weaken the band.
To help you home in on the best resistance band for you, we’ve divided them by type.
Best Tubed Resistance Bands
You’re getting a lot for your money here. The set includes five bands which can be combined for a max resistance of 150lb (68kg). Along with the expected two foam handles, there’s a door anchor attachment and two ankle cuffs, which means you can add standing glute kick-backs to your workouts.
Even though we’d trust every band on this list not to snap if properly looked after, it never hurts to be cautious. This band’s nylon protection sleeve helps negate the risk of its latex tube failing, while also extending its lifespan. The resistance options span light to extra strong, and a door anchor is included to expand the range of exercises the band can be used for.
Best Large Looped Resistance Bands
These long loop bands are ideal for exercises like squats or providing assistance for pull-ups. The beastly black band will also handle resisted sprints. The overlapping resistance levels also makes it easier to find the right level for you.
These natural latex rubber bands span eight levels of resistance, with the toughest best reserved for especially experienced lifters looking to make heavy barbell lifts even more challenging. You can buy the bands individually, as a pair if you’re planning on using them for barbell exercises, or in a pack of three with different resistance levels to cover all your bases.
Best Mini Looped Resistance Bands
The king of suspension trainer brands also offers a set of durable mini bands, ranging from an X-Lite version that’s ideal for Pilates moves up to a heavyweight option that’s more at home in the weights room.
If you currently live in a band-free household, we recommend picking up a few of these stretchy loops immediately. They’re excellent value and will enable you to take your home bodyweight workouts to the next level. You can opt for one band or a pack of four that has a range of resistances, from the red band (light) up to the black (extra heavy). If you have all four you can also combine the bands to increase the challenge involved in your workouts.
The loops are great for building strength and for rehab after an injury, and if you get a set of four it comes with a handy pouch to stuff them in after your workout is done.
The cheapest set on our list also offers the most bands and includes a rare XX-heavy red option. It also comes with a carry bag. Our only complaint is that the starting band has a comparatively high level of resistance.
One downside of Latex or TPE bands is that they can pull leg hair. TRX has designed an adjustable alternative made from cotton. The set comes in a light, medium and heavy resistance option and can be hand-washed to keep them fresh for your next workout.
Best Open-Ended Strap Resistance Bands
As you may have realised by now, Meglio is one of our preferred brands and you may well encounter its products in physiotherapists’ offices, commercial gyms and Pilates studios. These open-ended bands are available in 1.2m and 2m lengths in the UK, while in the US your option is supersized to 7ft. There’s also a wide range of resistances so you can use a light resistance for rehab and a tougher version for strength work.
Theraband has been going for more than 40 years and if you’ve been rehabbing an injury in the US there’s a good chance you will have come across its products. The company offers a wide range so you can also find non-latex sets and more challenging resistances.
