u/SportsBarPundit

1. Side Press. Amazing band exercise , you can feel those horizontal chest fibres being recruited as you progress through the range of motion. Starting with the outer chest and culminating in the middle part of the chest with a deep contraction. Great for mind muscle connection. You can’t replicate these with a dumbbell.
2. Reverse flyes . Simple exercise following a pyramid path of motion. Electric upper chest contraction at the end of the movement which generates a heap of tension that tries to yank your arms to the ground. Used by bodybuilders to drive blood to their chest pre show. When used with a heavy band with a slow tempo it’s a fully fledged hypertrophy exercise. The feeling of these top two exercises alone will convert you to bands if you’re not convinced.
3. Anchored lower chest press single arm - great lower chest contraction. I like pressing across the midline to recruit more of the diagonal / horizontal muscle fibres.
4. Banded push-up. I’ve said this before . A staple of chest workouts. Combines the best attributes of a bodyweight exercise with the added tension of the top with a band. I do these in a slow tempo to prolong time under tension.

1. Resistance Band Wrap Around. This is like a hybrid between a press and a fly. To be honest it’s not the most optimal movement for hypertrophy ; it doesn’t generate as much torque and tension at the beginning of the movement as other anchored chest exercises. The reason I had to include it in my list is because it generates an amazing peak contraction as you cross your arms over your midline. You can feel those muscle fibres running horizontally across your chest straining .It also requires no time setting up. A lot of my other favourite chest exercises are single arm variations - I don’t like to have a workout stacked entirely with SA movements - although they are great they can prolong the workout and potentially double the workout time. I included this because it’s quick when you’re short on time and a great finisher; not every exercise needs to be optimised for hypertrophy ; I like this because it makes the workout more palatable and enjoyable.

2. Anchored Resistance Band Decline Press. I never felt the Lower portion of my chest when I trained with weights. The mind muscle connection with my lower chest is intense with this exercise.

3.Resistance Band Push-up. No brainer . Your taking the best parts of a body weight compound movement that works your chest , shoulders and triceps and amplifying its benefits by adding resistance to the top portion of the movement which is a lull spot / dead zone in terms of resistance with body weight alone.

4. Anchored Resistance Band Incline Press. Again another anchored exercise that produces a heap of torque and tension throughout the entire range of motion. Make sure you’re far enough away from anchor point so there’s no slack at the beginning of the movement. Every chest workout should include an incline variation that biases the upper chest.

1. Not prolonging time under tension at the peak of the movement / top of the range of motion. This is the money portion of the movement where the band is generating the most tension. You need to harness the attributes and physics of bands. Squeeze and hold that peak contraction for 2 seconds ideally. Jerking the band up and down compromises your sets. It could be the difference between gaining muscle and stagnating.

2. Having slack at the bottom of the range of motion when initiating the movement. You’re robbing yourself of kilograms of force at the start of the movement. Loop bands ; slide your grip down to pre stretch the band, or widen you foot placement. If it’s an anchored movement position yourself further away from the anchor point so the band is taut. The only instance where you should have slack at the beginning of the movement is if you want to create a mechanical dropset ( another great attribute of bands you can do on the fly ). At the end of your set you can extend your point of failure but allowing some slack at the beginning of the movement in a bid to add more reps.

3. A basic concept of resistance hypertrophy training; progressive overload . Every workout you should be aiming to build on previous weeks progress by either increasing the width/ resistance of a band your using or increasing reps. Attack your workouts and go to failure - bands aren’t crushing the joints like a barbell so every set should go to failure and you should be striving to increase. Another one I’ve been prone to is switching up exercises every other week ; instead of adapting and mastering an exercises - compounding on gains your wasting time re learning the nuances of an exercises. You confusing your body and it will fail to adapt. I liken it to building the walls of a house and scattering bricks across multiple walls instead of honing in and completing one wall.

1. The peak contraction / mind muscle connection produced is unparalleled. They feel like an extension of your limbs, you can almost drill down and feel every muscle fibre straining as you progress through the range of motion. It’s a very mentally stimulating form of exercise. If I had to compare; weights feel like a blunt force, whereas bands feel incisive and more clinical. This is my experience with loop bands.
2. Your sovereign. You can train on your on terms. This unassuming tool can create as much force as a hulking machine at the gym which takes up a heap of space and weighs almost a tonne. You’re free to train at home or in the park or on holiday. You’re no longer boxed into an artificially lit gym filled with masses of people ( not relaxing ).
3. They don’t grind down and crush your joints like weights. They give you the ability to resistance train for the rest of your life ; so you can continue to build and maintain dense capable muscle which adds to your quality of life and longevity. Reason for this is they don’t compress your joints in the bottom of the range of motion when your body is most vulnerable like weights do ; a bench press loads up your joints in the weakest position when the bar is just sitting above your your chest - for an equivalent chest press with a band - the tension is light at this point in the movement and really ramps up when the further your hands get from your chest - when your mechanically strongest in the movement.