Amazing Biceps

Someone on a thread used a bicycle inner tube. I've been using one to spot lots of muscle-ups and straight front levers and assisted crosses.

Having used bands before, I think the bands work better and they are longer. However, the tube had a hole in it, so it was cheap. In fact if you were to go to a bike store just ask for a flat one and they might give you one ( and look at you weird ). Then again, they might patch them.

They also tend to slip and snap at you.

I was only going to buy the smallest weight band offered and maybe the one up from that. Any more of a spot, and you're probably wasting your time and should be scaling down the skill and just playing around rather than training seriously.

Blairbob said:

Rogue Fitness or Iron Woody power bands. I'm sure a google or maybe they're on ebay.

Which of the Woody power bands do you have because they are difference, like starters, Intermediate, Advanced till Elite ones.

They are expesive too by the way

i dont know what you call expensive. Mine cost me about 10$ (three bands, different colors/resistence) they are 15 cm. wide and 1.5m long and have no grip at the end (not the ones like tubes with a grip at the end).

thats indeed not expensive, i saw on the net prices about 100 -300 dollar

wow, i saw the Iron Woody power bands and are really expensive, but the are also thick, i was refering to something like therabands (no thick at all may be the blue one is 1 mm but the others are less than half mm :roll:) I'm sure you can find theraband type or clones in any good sport store (sometimes sales them in a package as you can see in the next link or by meters (5 € the meter).

You can see the difference in the photos of thera-band web.

http://www.thera-band.com/store/product ... oductID=26

McMaster.com Pallet Bands

When utilizing bands for basic strength work assistance, I prefer to use pallet bands from McMaster.com. Compared to other bands on the market, the pallet bands are much lighter in the assistance which they provide as well as much thinner; so although it will require more bands initially they also make it substantially easier to customize the amount of assistance provided by adding and subtracting bands.

The prices are also substantially better:

Item # 8848T93: 1/2" (width) x 1/16" x 28" (length); 27 pieces for $17.45

Item # 8848T81: 1/2" (width) x 1/16" x 46" (length); 18 pieces for $16.20

My personal preference are the 1/2" bands, although there are also 1/4" and 3/4" bands available. Go to McMaster.com and enter catalog page 1526 or do a search for "pallet band" for additional information.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks, Coach.

I haven't bought any bands yet, but I have been thinking about buying the two smallest ones at Rogue Fitness.

I have to look in my place as well, Holland. Its also possible to buy this kind of bands by a sailing boat shop for less money.

In the past its was also possible to buy the bands by Yuri van Gelder. I have to check out if this is still possible.

Will be saving up my pennies to buy some bands soon. Thank you Coach.

Van Gelder Using Bands

That is very interesting that Van Gelder was using bands also. Do you have more specifics on his band training?

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach one question, Do the bands have an accelerated progression, compared to the normal progression of moves? Or is just a nice addition to have? I mean because if lets say it cuts your progression time by 35% I think think they are a good idea.

well, i'm not the Coach , but for me it let me do cross pulls in wich other way it wouldn't be impossible, so i can approach the real movement but assisting enough to do it. It's simply you can adjust the load as you would do with barbell. And for iron cross works really well. I also tried to do back levers and front lever pulls (arms and legs straight) and also gives you some assistance on the hardest part of the movement, so that way i can go for reps (not just one movement) no other way it would be possible (for me of course).

Yuri van Gelder using support strings:

The whole time I was like O_O big deal when you're asian. Didn't notice the support strings till he clips them off at the end.

sghetti said:

Yuri van Gelder using support strings:

The whole time I was like O_O big deal when you're asian. Didn't notice the support strings till he clips them off at the end.

I thought Gelder was dutch :?

Have you had any issues with the heavier therabands snapping? Mainly we used them not for assistance bands but just warming up and prevention/rehab. I became known for snapping these by accident when using them to hilarious results.

I did get a chance to test out the heavier bands, but again we never used them for assistance. I really wish we did as it would allowed the boys to do a lot more self spotting and would have been easier on me.

I didnt have any problem, even at cross pulls if i let me go down the only effect is a little clap on my butt :oops: , but nothing dangerous at all. you have to be carefully when you expand them at all for example hooking them by the foot and you go to a shoulder press with the bands because if slip of the foot it can hurt on your face, so you have to be sure that you wont move your foot at all. On the cross pulls, the bands cant hit your face because your hands are lower than your face. And for levers the strech of the bands are really little so no danger.

IvanPS said:

sghetti said:

Yuri van Gelder using support strings:

The whole time I was like O_O big deal when you're asian. Didn't notice the support strings till he clips them off at the end.

I thought Gelder was dutch :?

Yes, he is indeed Dutch

Coach Sommer said:

Van Gelder Using Bands

That is very interesting that Van Gelder was using bands also. Do you have more specifics on his band training?

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

The only thing that I know is that he uses the bands for his warming up.

I use bands just for warming up to. But these terabands are so "fragile"->alo of snapping...

I found tube from bicycle tires a good support band and have had no issues with them breaking

I bought those rubber bands Coach suggested from McMaster.com. They work great. It cost me $20, and I only need a 1/4 of them, so I've split the cost with some friends. Great place to get some. I like them better than the bicycle tubes and the surgical tubing.

mark said:

I bought those rubber bands Coach suggested from McMaster.com. They work great. It cost me $20, and I only need a 1/4 of them, so I've split the cost with some friends. Great place to get some. I like them better than the bicycle tubes and the surgical tubing.

I think I'm going to orde some of these bands....

do you think you'll be able to progress faster than without them?

As far as progressing faster, I don't know. For some skills I think you would definately use a spotter, and these can take the place of the spotter. For a muscle up, it seems like you can strengthen the muscles that help with the transition from the pullup to the dip by using the bands and slowly reducing the amount of assistance needed. Just like that recent post by the guy who completed his first muscle up.

I train since some months pull ups with rings now and do not use bands any more. I see more progression.

Working pull ups work much better than chin up or barbell or what ever for my arms.

What do you do guys for getting bigger arms?

serotonin said:

You should read the articles section of this website:

http://gymnasticbodies.com/articles2.html

It's what Demus stated, but in the link is the answer. This was a really surprise for me with some bodybuilding background training.

But when you start to do some planche or cross training you can understand the great development of the biceps without flexing them :shock:

This link doesnt work, maybe you have an other one whats work?

Many thanks