Fit To Travel

Positive Resistance

Lose the dumbbells now and again for another kind of strength training

Last year, Tom Marshall learned that when it comes to strength training, sometimes you really can have too much of a good thing. A trainer for Sports Clubs/LA, Marshall was accelerating too quickly through a regimented bodybuilding program, lifting free weights on a rigorous schedule, until his shoulder joints became painfully inflamed, and his workouts came to a necessary halt.

“It was too much for my body,” Marshall, 44, says. “I got to the point where I couldn’t do a chest press. So I had to lay off.” When he began exercising again, Marshall opted for resistance training, using elastic bands and tubes rather than weights and machines. “So I could apply a load at a lower level but with a lot of different ranges of motion, and not have that stress on the shoulder,” he explains.

In elastic resistance training, bands and tubes — when positioned correctly — act much like weights, creating force to oppose any effort performed against them. This method has been used for years in rehabilitation settings, helping people like Marshall strengthen muscles after injuries. But it has become a popular training tool among fitness enthusiasts of all levels, says William J. Kraemer, professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Even elite athletes often use elastic resistance training workouts for at least three reasons: they help build and maintain strength; they work areas of the body that are often neglected; and they travel well, so you can stay fit even if you’re on the road.

Build in a New Direction

For competitive athletes, elastic resistance alone may not provide enough of a strength workout, but for general fitness purposes, it can help maintain and even build some strength, with less impact on the joints. “The body responds to an overload by getting stronger or becoming more efficient in terms of endurance,” Marshall says. “If I get very thick tubing, and I could only do the movements attached to that load maybe four or five times, then it’s the same thing as weight training. It’s based on power and strength.”

Another advantage of elastic resistance is that it doesn’t rely on gravity the way dumbbells or machines do. Instead, you pull or push against the band or tube, and as the elastic is stretched, the resistance increases. As the band or tube shortens, the resistance then decreases. “Because of these properties, you’re not limited like you are with dumbbells or machines, which means you have more exercises and movement patterns to choose from,” says Phil Page, a Baton Rouge–based physical therapist and personal trainer and the author of Strength Band Training (Human Kinetics, 2005). You can also work single or multiple joints at the same time and strengthen muscles, like your rotator cuff, that other equipment might miss.

“It allows you to do hundreds of exercises, literally, depending on how well you know how to move the body,” Marshall explains. “You can use it for almost any body part. The only limitation is your own imagination.”

Do the Right Thing

All this doesn’t necessarily mean elastic resistance is superior to other strength-training equipment, but some people may enjoy the portability of bands and tubes. “If you’re traveling, elastic resistance may be better than other exercises,” Kraemer says. “You can maintain your strength and not let your body get detrained, especially if you’re traveling for weeks at a time.”

Whether you’re practicing elastic resistance training in the gym or at home, keep a few safety guidelines in mind. First, store equipment away from direct sunlight. Before you use a band or tube, examine it to make sure there are no cuts, tears, or signs of wear; if there are, get another one. Also, always stay in control of the resistance, as an elastic band can easily snap back at you.

Finally, bands and tubes come in varying resistances, so choose the appropriate one. While one band might provide five to 25 pounds of resistance, another might provide 65 to 85 pounds. You can even buy bands that provide 200 pounds of resistance.

To help determine the correct resistance for your bands or tubes, Kraemer says, think about the exercises you’ll be doing, since some require more resistance than others. For that reason, you should consider buying bands or tubes in several different resistances. They’ll easily fit in any workout bag or suitcase, giving you plenty of ways to strength train — no matter where you are.

On-the-Road Mini Workout

To help maintain your strength program while you’re traveling, Phil Page, author of Strength Band Training, suggests the following exercises. Do two to three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each move.

Squat
Stand on the middle of the band, with both feet on it, hip-width apart. Grasp an end of the band in each hand, keeping your arms at the sides of your body. Bend your knees and lower your body until your thighs are almost parallel with floor, keeping your back straight, with your knees pointing forward and aligned over your ankles.

Push-up (with band behind shoulders)
Wrap the band around your shoulder blades and hold an end of the band in each hand. Get on the floor in a push-up position, supporting your body on hands and toes (or knees), with your wrists directly under your shoulders. Anchor the ends of the band under each hand, allowing the band to stretch across your shoulder blades. Contract your abs and bend your elbows, lowering your body to the floor.

Seated row
Sit on the floor with your legs extended, feet hip-width apart or slightly wider. Wrap the middle of the band around the bottoms of both feet and cross the band over your legs. Hold an end of the band in each hand, arms extended in front of the body, palms facing in. Keeping your back tall and your abs contracted, pull the band alongside your body toward the hips.

Lower ab crunch
Lie face-up on the floor with your feet lifted off the floor, knees bent at 90 degrees and aligned over the hips. Stretch the band over your knees and cross underneath the body. Grasp an each end of band on the floor at your hips, with your arms extended by your sides. Working against the band’s resistance, lift your hips off the floor.

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Follow the Red Brick Road

Ditch the bike path for a run
back in time

It may seem counterintuitive, but on your next visit to Columbus, Ohio, don’t run the Olentangy/Scioto multiuse trail. Sure, it offers 12.75 miles of traffic-free running and marked miles. But unless you’ll be doing a really long run — 10 miles or more — the trail’s downtown segment could be discouraging. A more manageable option, according to Kevin O’Grady, co-founder of the local running store Frontrunner, is a jaunt through picturesque German Village.

Settled more than 150 years ago by German immigrants, the 233-acre enclave just south of downtown Columbus is crammed with tidy red brick homes, decorative iron fences, carved sandstone windowsills and lintels, and a profusion of greenery, making it one of Columbus’ most appealing residential neighborhoods.

Start your run downtown at the corner of Third and Broad streets, site of Ohio’s state capitol building. Head south on Third Street; once you cross Livingston Avenue, just past the half-mile mark, you’ll be entering German Village. Most of the streets and sidewalks here were created from the same red bricks as the homes, and they are quite uneven in places, so you’ll need to be careful while running. But the scenery more than makes up for the tricky terrain.

Continue down Third until you hit stately Schiller Park, which is in the southern part of the neighborhood. Turn right and run around the perimeter, which will bring you to the two-mile point on your run, then head back north along Mohawk Street. Take a quick detour east on Beck and run a few short blocks to Frank Fetch Park. Patterned after Munich’s “social gartens,” this tiny green space boasts attractive landscaping, decorative gaslights, and a water fountain, complete with a dog dish at the base for Fido. Once you’ve had a drink, run back along Beck to Third, then retrace your steps to the capitol.

At this point, you’ll have about four miles under your belt. If that’s not enough, or you want to do some worry-free speedwork on even footing, head west on Broad Street to the start of the recreational trail, taking inspiration from a street sign near the start that commands “Commit to Be Fit.” A word of caution: the start of the trail is confusing, as there are numerous unmarked paths, but if you stay close to the river you’ll be fine. Or maybe you’d rather head back to Katzinger’s Delicatessen, at the north end of German Village, which serves up some delicious breakfast items, including grilled sticky buns — always a good way to end a run.

Getting There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Columbus from its hubs in Houston, New York/Newark, and Cleveland.