Thoracic Band Pull Scaling

Just got to this point in the series and it killed me. I don't have any bands so I just tried lifting up, but I can barely get my chest off the ground, especially with my arms above my head. 

What is a good way to scale this exercise down?

Hi Nolan,

Are you talking about the Prone Thoracic Band Pull?

If so, the only way I can see right now is to keep pushing yourself to thoracic extension to increase your strength.

But I would look to buy a bungee type band if I were you.  It's not so expensive and it's really useful for this one.

The right band setup will actually make this exercise easier than unassisted, since it pulls you up off the floor. 

Hi Nolan,

I strongly suggest to get a band for these exercises. Are you performing the series at home or in the gym? Some gym equipment may work as an alternative until you get your bungees  

I used resistance bands at first, then eventually got bungees. They really do make a world of difference. If you don't have anything at the moment, Then I'd say pass on this until you get some bungees and in place of them do Cat Cows as deep as you can. Really flex the muscles involved when doing the Cat especially. Set of 10 or 20 should be good for something.

Hey everyone thanks!

I am performing everything at home. I will try to get some bands and bungees. Hopefully I can get them attatched to something solid.

Until then I might just try doing as much extension as I can without them and throw in some deep Cat Cows.

On 9/25/2017 at 3:28 PM, Ronnicky Roy said:

I used resistance bands at first, then eventually got bungees. They really do make a world of difference. 

Hi, I'm curious about the differences between band and bungee for this particular exercise. Could you elaborate? My thoughts are bungee provide less assistance as you come up, but allows you to go down more easily, compared to a resistance band. But I never used a bungee, and not sure if I'm missing something from not having a bungee...

28 minutes ago, Jin Liu said:

Hi, I'm curious about the differences between band and bungee for this particular exercise. Could you elaborate? My thoughts are bungee provide less assistance as you come up, but allows you to go down more easily, compared to a resistance band. But I never used a bungee, and not sure if I'm missing something from not having a bungee...

Hi Jin,

Well, as @Coach Sommer states in the TB video, the bungee has a better range of motion, making the pulls much better and more doable.  Usually, the grip is also better on bungees, since they have handles, things I don't remember to have ever seen on therabands.

9 hours ago, Jin Liu said:

Hi, I'm curious about the differences between band and bungee for this particular exercise. Could you elaborate? My thoughts are bungee provide less assistance as you come up, but allows you to go down more easily, compared to a resistance band. But I never used a bungee, and not sure if I'm missing something from not having a bungee...

I thought the same thing. The opposite is true. You can find good size bands that will give good tension on the bottom. But in my experience it's just too much slack when you go up, while with bungees there still tends to be tension assisting. Might just be the nature of the material.

Thanks @Étienne Lajeunesse and @Ronnicky Roy! I'm using the kind of resistance band or tubing that has handles too (see image below). I got the second lightest one, which gives me a good amount of pulling when I come up. My only complaint is that it makes it harder to lower back to the ground, as the resistance increases when the band stretches out more. For this exercise, ideally I only want assistance going up (and even more assistance at the end of the range), and less or no resistance coming back down. I'm almost thinking of a type of material that provides more assistance when it shrinks and less when it stretches. Does a bungee do that? Or am I wrong by assuming we don't need resistance coming back down in a controlled manner? Actually I have never tried that...

5 minutes ago, Jin Liu said:

Thanks @Étienne Lajeunesse and @Ronnicky Roy! I'm using the kind of resistance band or tubing that has handles too (see image below). I got the second lightest one, which gives me a good amount of pulling when I come up. My only complaint is that it makes it harder to lower back to the ground, as the resistance increases when the band stretches out more. For this exercise, ideally I only want assistance going up (and even more assistance at the end of the range), and less or no resistance coming back down. I'm almost thinking of a type of material that provides more assistance when it shrinks and less when it stretches. Does a bungee do that? Or am I wrong by assuming we don't need resistance coming back down in a controlled manner? Actually I have never tried that...

Hey Jin,

That's the right kind of band.  I don't know if every kind of bungees use the same colors and weight resistance, but I got the green one and works pretty well.

In the case of the exercise, coaches could correct me, but I let it pull myself up and keep pushing to get a full stretch.  While going down, I don't have any problems, it's smooth and controled. Maybe your's too strong?

I don't see how a full stretched band could give less assistance, since it's only purpose is to come back to its normal size.  

19 minutes ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

Hey Jin,

That's the right kind of band.  I don't know if every kind of bungees use the same colors and weight resistance, but I got the green one and works pretty well.

In the case of the exercise, coaches could correct me, but I let it pull myself up and keep pushing to get a full stretch.  While going down, I don't have any problems, it's smooth and controled. Maybe your's too strong?

I don't see how a full stretched band could give less assistance, since it's only purpose is to come back to its normal size.  

I agree, I don't think that type of material exists. I do the same as you in the exercise. So maybe my band is too strong. It's almost more tiring coming back down than going up, LOL. Probably time to get a lighter band..

You should stop by Lowe's and test out some bungees to feel what I mean. Can get a pack of various lengths and just keep the receipt. If they don't work you can always return them. Super cheap

I just picked up some band/bungees like the one above. There's a 10lb and a 15lb resistance on them and they can attach to a closed door. I will be doing Thoracic bridge tomorrow, so hopefully they will work well.

6 minutes ago, Nolan Phillips said:

I just picked up some band/bungees like the one above. There's a 10lb and a 15lb resistance on them and they can attach to a closed door. I will be doing Thoracic bridge tomorrow, so hopefully they will work well.

Cool! Let us know how your training was with them

On 10/6/2017 at 7:20 PM, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

Cool! Let us know how your training was with them

The bands are working great!

The workout is still kicking my ass though.

11 hours ago, Nolan Phillips said:

The bands are working great!

The workout is still kicking my ass though.

Happy to know they're working great!  That's why we like those bands!