Resistance Strong - Resistance Training Reinvented

Progressive Latex Fetish

Progressive overload is one of the cornerstones of resistance training. You want to progress the load in small, predictable steps.

The resistance of a band depends on the cross section (width * thickness), and the stiffness of the rubber compound used.

The first step is to get bands with sensible increments of width.

By adding a yellow or red band to wider bands, the load can be increased in small steps.

The second step is to get bands that have consistent resistance proportional to the cross section. Many suppliers do a bad job at this.

Our supplier has good control over the width, and a consistent rubber compound. Unfortunately there is about +/- 10% variation on band thickness. Measuring the thickness is not easy, as the pressure of a caliper will easily distort the band. I found that it is easier and more precise to weigh the bands. Measured band resistance correlates well with band weight.

OCD solution: To get well-matched sets, we sort the bands of each color by weight, then make a set from the heaviest bands first, descending to the lightest. This way the bands in each set will be from the same part of the gauss distribution.

This is why we don't sell individual bands, except for the grey one. Please keep sets together.

Measurements for the set of bands that I use:

Description 1.2x 1.4x 1.6x 1.8x
0.25" yellow 1.6 kg 2.6 kg 3.3 kg 3.8 kg
0.5" red 3.5 kg 5.5 kg 6.8 kg 7.6 kg
0.75" black 5.5 kg 8.8 kg 11.1 kg 12.1 kg
1.25" purple 8.8 kg 13.8 kg 16.8 kg 19.6 kg
1.75" green 11.4 kg 19.0 kg 23.7 kg 27.1 kg
2.5" blue 16.4 kg 25.5 kg 32.5 kg 35.8 kg
3.25" orange 20.3 kg 32.9 kg 39.9 kg 45.9 kg
4" grey 24.6 kg 39.3 kg 48.7 kg 55.8 kg
Band resistance in kg force measured at 1.2x / 1.4x etc. relaxed length with two active strands. Resistance doubles when four strands are pulled. My test setup is not long enough to measure 2x extension.

The resistance can range from about 2 kg (yellow band, one strand) to 200 kg (grey + orange band, four strands).

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