The average generic resistance band may only cost $5-10. Naturally, you may wonder what makes a covered resistance band worth it when the average price of one jumps up to around $15-35. Some especially good bands, or ones that are built in a specialized way, may run you close to $45.
Covered resistance bands represent a better investment in your workout equipment. There are several reasons why you should consider making the switch away from the conventional band type in favor of sleeved bands. First, let’s take a look at what causes resistance bands to wear down.
How Do Resistance Bands Degrade Over Time?
Down to the molecular level, the structure of an elastic band is dependent on the integrity of its fibers. Think of how a rope becomes weaker as its fibers begin to break individually. In the same way, the elastic material relies on its molecular structure to be intact. The more a band wears down, the more it tears. Those tears in the body of the elastic weaken it because less of the structure is intact to resist extension.
Most of what causes tears in resistance bands simply come from the rugged nature of use. Whether being wrapped around rough objects like trees or fences or repeated contact with the ground, that roughness can cause damage to your band pretty quickly.
The other threat of tearing your band comes from hyper-extension, or over-extension. Resistance bands obey the physical laws surrounding Hooke’s Law. The physics of resistance bands essentially determines that there is a point of extension where, if the band stretches past that point, it will not return to its original form. This reflects in the band with tears and abrasions that happen as a result of hyper-extension. Stretch that band past that critical point a few too many times, and it will most likely break.
1. Covered Resistance Bands Will Last Longer
A broken band may not seem like much trouble, especially if you didn’t pay much for it. If you keep replacing it with the same kind of band, however, those problems won’t go away. Ultimately, your financial burden only grows with more and more replacements.
By having a covered resistance band, you’re solving the problem of rapidly deteriorating integrity by dually preventing exterior damage as well as interior damage through hyper-extension. To start with, the cover on the band makes it virtually impossible to afflict it with minor cuts and tears through exterior forces. Stuff like dirt, dust, glass, or anything else that could potentially slice up the band even microscopically is kept away from the surface of the elastic.
As far as hyper-extension is concerned, a well-made covered resistance band restricts users from stretching their band too far. This is by the non-elastic sleeve having just enough slack to allow an extension up to or just short of that critical point. So, with the sleeve, you have an advantage other athletes don’t have: you know how far your band should stretch.
2. Covered Resistance Bands Are Safer
It’s a vain hope to believe that any resistance band you have will last forever. These bands do and inevitably will break. No company should tell you different. The two things in your control are 1) how long it can last before a break, and 2) what will happen when it does.
We’ve already gone over how a covered resistance band significantly lengthens the life of the band. So what happens when the inevitable strikes? Your band will, at some point, wear down enough to break. That break will almost certainly happen when you’re in the middle of a workout and are stretching it out. If you’re using a standard style of resistance band without any coverage, the band will snap. Once that happens, the severed ends release all their stored tension and wildly lash out in any direction.
This kind of event poses a great threat of physical harm to you during your workout. Many have suffered black eyes, welts, or other abrasive injuries to their bodies from getting caught in the broken band’s whiplike trajectory. Injuries during a workout can lead to missing future workouts, either due to recovery or discouragement.
When using a covered resistance band, the risk of getting hit by a broken band is virtually eliminated. The cover on the band won’t keep it from eventually wearing out and breaking, but it will protect you when it does. By encasing the band inside the cover, the severed ends of the band are confined to simply retract to their unstretched length inside the sleeve. Essentially, your resistance band just turned into a jump rope.
By investing in a better resistance band, you’ve avoided injury and kept your workout momentum going.
How Am I Saving Money?
By investing more initial cost into a covered resistance band, you are very likely to be saving money in the long run. Covered resistance bands will last indefinitely longer than the standard band will, and they’ll perform better in the process and look better when you’re using them. In addition, you’ll avoid the risk of injury, which could result in unplanned medical costs and detract from your workout schedule. Take the investment, and get better bands today.
Check out our blog for more information on how to use resistance band and stay motivated in the gym, and take a look at our wide selection of covered resistance bands in our store.
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