Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsIt's long, but I hope this helps
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017
I know this is long and I am sorry, but I was new to these when I bought them. I went on a lot of forums to find the right brand. I could find a lot of YouTube videos about how to determine the weight of your bands, but they were awful and didn't tell you anything about how to use them to actually achieve those weights or how to increase or decrease the weight without changing bands.
*Skip to the bottom if you want to know how resistance bands work, ie stretch vs. actual weight.
I bought this set mainly for physical therapy on my knee. I have extensive nerve damage and aerobic exercise is out of the question. So I have had these for a month now. I really do like this set. There is a lot of variety in weights. I live in an RV and free weights are not an option. I also feel safer using these. I have worked out a decent amount with free weights and I feel I can keep my balance better when working out my arms at chest height and higher.
Now the goodies it comes with.
The door anchor works great. So far the biggest band I have put on it is the 8# one (so 16#'s working weight). Remember it's an RV. I keep an eye on the door and frame. There is not the slightest damage and it doesn't budge when working out.
I also like the "anywhere" anchor. It really makes anchoring these possible to just about anything.
I find the ankle straps are comfortable.
The handles are just the right size. When working out with two bands, I keep a handle on each band during some exercises. I can easily grip both handles to work out. If I can't finish my number of reps, I just let go of the lighter strap and finish with the heavier one. It keeps me from having to stop working out, change grips around, then continue. I am thinking about purchasing one more 3# band. I keep the door anchor with its band on the door all of the time. I also keep the handles attached to their straps all of the time. An extra 3# band would give me the ability to increase the weight on either one without having to share a band.
The band barrier is essential to protect the bands. Just like when I used to rock climb, abrasion is not your friend. I think it is fairly good quality. It could use a better type of stitch. It is way bigger than it looks in the picture. It is 22" long and 3.5" wide when Velcroed together and flat. Nice.
The storage bag is also huge. It is roughly the size of a sleeping bag stuff sack. There are no issues putting everything in there. As a matter of fact, if you plan on carrying this to different places, you could keep a pair of shoes, a towel, and your workout clothes in it with the bands. (I just did it to make sure)
*Now, how bands work. You either have to know calculus really well or just read below.
Skip this paragraph if you have an idea how figuring band weight works.
Most bands I have seen have their rated weight occurring at 300% stretch. When they talk about stretch or percent stretch, here is what they mean. I like easy numbers so we are going to say the tubes on these bands are 40" long. 100% stretch means you are stretching it an additional 100% of its original length or double. Therefore the band is now 80" long. At 200% stretch, it is 120" long or triple. At its max of 300% stretch it is a whopping 160" long or quadruple. That's right. Your band that is a hair over a yard long needs to be stretched to almost 4.5 yards to reach its rated weight on the tag. Most exercises use the band folded in half, so you only have to stretch it to 2.25 yards. That is actually not too bad for some exercises. Remember, if you fold a band in half like you do when using the door anchor, you have to double the weight listed on the band. So, using the above example and a 10# band, your new 300# stretch length would be 80" (40" / 2 because it is folded in half gives 20". Then 20" x 4 gives 80".) and the weight would be 20# (just 10# x 2).
Now the part that is a bit confusing for some. I did a lot of weight testing while stretching, measuring stretch percentage, and math involving algebra. I came up with Bodylastics' weight ratings are at 100% stretch, not 300% like others. This felt right to me, I just never tested it. I like this because it's less math. Each band is slightly different, so it's give or take. At 150% stretch, it was right around 150% labeled weight. (For all the nerds like me, my actual numbers were 100% stretch = 113% weight and 152% stretch = 153% weight. If I used calculus instead of algebra, the 113% weight would be a lot lower) What this also means is their weight ratings are real and trustworthy. Please note I was doing this solo so take my numbers with a grain of salt.
To give you an idea how to use all of this, I will give an example. My door anchor has an 8# band looped in half, so 16#. I put my right foot in the ankle strap and move just far away to make the band taught. I now measure 22" from where my foot is. (half of the 44" stretchy part of the band since it is looped in half) I now position myself so my right foot ends up at that mark during each exercise. I now know I am pulling 16#. If you want more, make your mark at 33" from your original starting point. That is 150%. If your foot ends there you are doing 24#.
