Practical Guidelines and Considerations for the Use of Elastic Bands in Strength and Conditioning

ELASTIC BANDS ARE A FORM OF VARIABLE RESISTANCE AND A STRENGTH TRAINING MODALITY COMMONLY SEEN WITHIN A STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING TRAINING ENVIRONMENT. THEY ARE CONSIDERED AN EFFECTIVE TRAINING TOOL DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE RESISTANCE ALIGNS WITH THE FORCE CAPABILITY OF THE MUSCULATURE THROUGHOUT THE RANGE OF MOTION OF MANY MOVEMENT TASKS. THIS ARTICLE WILL EXPLORE THE WAYS IN WHICH ELASTIC BANDS CAN BE USED TO CHALLENGE OR ACCOMMODATE A MOVEMENT'S RANGE OF MOTION TO PROVIDE A MORE SPECIFIC STRENGTH-TRAINING STIMULUS. FOR A VIDEO ABSTRACT OF THIS ARTICLE, SEE SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT 1 (SEE VIDEO, HTTP://LINKS.LWW.COM/SCJ/A146).