12 High Volume Band Finishers

The use of bands is likely a missing aspect of your programming that allows for many advantages that straight weight does not have. Using a band accommodates the “strength curve” meaning tension increases where we are strongest.

Furthermore, bands are a powerful tool for both strength development, activation drills prior to your training session, as well as reducing the risk of soft-tissue injury done for high-volume finishers.

Band variations are so effective that they are a staple in every single one of our programs.

Elevate your training with bands

Performing high-volume resistance band work has many advantages. For instance, this work will directly aid in strengthening connective tissue which will help prevent potential soft-tissue injuries.

Another benefit is greater storage of kinetic energy via the series elastic component (SEC) which includes muscular components – tendons constitute the majority of the SEC.

When the SEC is stretched during eccentric ROM the SEC acts as a spring which correlates to higher reversible strength (ability to go from eccentric to concentric contractions) thus improving the explosive strength capability of an athlete.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Can be done for high amounts of work with no risk of injury and/or delayed onset muscle soreness which is an added bonus if you’re trying to perform more work and not take away from your main training sessions.
• For those of you with lower training ages, these band movements will help improve your “mind-muscle connection” where it will be easy for you to feel the correct musculature working as you will not be limited by their lack of experience.
• Hypertrophic adaptations and the ability of the muscles to generate more force thereby increasing your overall strength.
• Highly effective when band-work is used to prepare you for the upcoming training session in your warm-up sequence – variations have a multitude of uses and are not just for “finishers.”
• Incredibly easy to teach and perform making them a great option for your clients if you’re a trainer.

Included is a list of examples, for the most part, using bands, but there are a few variations that do not include the use of bands that we’ve found to be quite effective when used as a high-volume finisher.

A few guidelines for programming:

• Perform as a final movement of the day
• Shoot for a maximum number of repetitions in either 5:00 or accumulate 100+ reps.

Lower Body Training Days

1 1/4 Banded Glute Hip Thrusts

Double Leg Banded Leg Curls

Banded Pull-Throughs

Band Resisted Russian Kettlebell Swings

Upper-body Training Days

Band Resisted Chest Supported Rows

Reverse Hyper Chest Supported Rows

3D Banded Pull-apart

Banded Triceps Complex

Banded Triset

D-Ball Floor Presses

Sled Floor Presses

Sled Facepulls

Closing

Don’t be afraid to get creative with how these are structured in your programming either. You can superset in an antagonistic fashion for 2-3 sets instead of just performing one movement until all of your reps are complete.

In terms of variations, you’re only limited by your imagination. There are several ways you can vary these movements, such as simply changing band thickness or the positions in which you perform your band work.

Things like banded pushdowns can be done with a single-arm variation, and banded pull-aparts can be done from a variety of positions: eye-level, behind the neck, etc.

Adding this extra work to your training multiple times a week will yield a great return on investment when it comes to improving your lifts and ability to steer clear of injury.