Using the best resistance bands is a great to strengthen your whole body. That’s why we’ve evaluated the weight, length, material, and price tag of a wide selection of these bands so that you can challenge yourself during your workouts at home or in the gym.
Resistance bands can be used in low-impact workouts, with slow isometric movements to target a particular muscle, or in high-intensity workouts to help burn multiple muscle groups, as well as part of your warm-ups. Along with the best dumbbells, they make a core part of any strengthening workout.
While you might not see a huge spike on your pick of the best fitness trackers during resistance workouts in terms of cardio, you'll reap a lot of long-term benefits, and be able to feel yourself progressing. Strength training for women is so important, especially as we age; these types of workouts can help combat the natural loss of bone density, reduce the risk of injury and build muscle. We've tried and tested top resistance brands on the market, all of which you’ll find below, to make your workouts that bit more challenging.
The best resistance bands chosen by the w&h team
RRP: £15.00
We tried the Long Light Resistance Band and the premium fabric stood out straightaway. The band was easy and comfortable to use when performing everything from banded squats to forward presses and seated rows. The silicone taping ensures this kit is non-slip but also lightweight enough to carry to the gym, too. While it's great for beginners, the resistance range is quite small. As you build up your strength, you might need to move onto a higher resistance quickly and end up making another purchase, like the GymShark Heavy Band, which is a step up.
Reasons to buy: The quality is worth it. After all, buy cheap, buy twice!
Reasons to avoid: It’s an entry-level resistance band. Those a bit more experienced looking for a challenge might want a set to work through.
RRP: £48.00 for 3 bands.
Sturdy, high-quality and easy to use, we think these Lululemon bands are the ultimate set of bands you can buy for your strength training journey. You can build up through the different bands, starting with the light, and then graduating to the medium and heavy. While the light band is perfect for arm exercises, the medium will test you during glute workouts. As always, this bands show Lululemon has you covered when it comes to everything from resistance bands to the best yoga mats.
Reasons to buy: You can challenge yourself with the range of bands.
Reasons to avoid: We can hardly call this an affordable buy.
RRP: £25.00 for 3 bands.
These long resistance bands are the perfect way to work on your pull-ups, whether that’s at home or at the gym. You’ll need a bar to loop these bands over, but once you’ve done that all you need to do is pop your feet in, and work on hauling yourself up. These are the place to start when it comes to general bodyweight exercises too, including with testing your arm strength. Made of latex, these are the perfect stretchy bands for all-over toning, and we love the mesh drawstring back that they come in too.
Reasons to buy: If you stick with them, you can really test yourself when it comes to bodyweight exercises.
Reasons to avoid: If you want a band to activate your glutes with before a workout, options #1 or #2 will suit you best.
RRP: £2.50
You won't have to worry about the Sundried Resistance Band slipping down your legs as you work up a sweat, or snapping mid-workout. The fabric material is comfortable on the skin, durable, and non-slip. It doesn't cause chafing after a few reps—and we used them doing everything from kickbacks and donkey kicks to side steps and fire hydrants. While learning how to lift weights has many positives, using non-slip bands like this is also a great alternative to tone up.
Reasons to buy: Quality non-slip for warm-ups and strength training.
Reasons to avoid: There's just one weight variation we can find.
RRP: £105.00
You might recognise these bands from your local gym, just like we do. That’s because TechnoGym is commercial-gym quality, and these bands are no different. The handles with these resistance bands make them so versatile, and unlock a huge range of exercises. When we tried these bands, we positioned one under our feet and then used the resistance to work our core and arms, with exercises such as a front raise and a bent over row. They don’t slip out of place, and the handles have a great grip.
Reasons to buy: They offer a range of options for workouts on the go - great for your suitcase!
Reasons to avoid: They are undoubtedly an expensive buy.
RRP: £22.00
This set comes in a handy bag and includes a door anchor if you want to work out your upper body at home. The five resistance bands are different colours to indicate different weights and range from x-light (2-4lbs) to x-heavy (25-30lbs)—giving you a great selection of equipment for different workouts at a super affordable price. Plus, unlike some other latex-based bands out there, we found the material of these bands smooth and didn't pinch the skin.
Reasons to buy: perfect if you want an affordable way to work out your entire body at home.
Reasons to avoid: these bands are smaller, thinner and lack the same quality as other options on this round-up that cost more.
RRP: £20.00
These bands are a great combination of many of the things we love from other picks on this list too - the range of resistance is good, they come in a small bag, are convenient for traveling, and will challenge you during your next workout. They're also designed not to slip, and at £20, we think it's a pretty good price for a set too.
Buy it if: you want a lightweight set in a convenient travel bag.
Don't buy it if: you need longer bands for full body stretches.
RRP: £17.44 for 3
These natural rubber bands will make recovering from injury or just generally getting into stretching much easier. Light, and easy to use for the entire body, the lowest band starts with just 4.6lbs of resistance, to gently ease you into stretching with these bands. Set up your mat and you'll be sorted with this set, which is also very affordable.
Buy it if: you want affordable bands for stretching out anytime.
Don't buy it if: you want bands to target your glutes.
RRP: £20.00
This is a set that provides resistance with equipment that's a little different, this time a pilates ring and mini balance ball. You also get an exercise mat thrown in, and with it the chance to perfect your pilates routine at home. A low-impact routine with this equipment is perfect for toning up without over-exerting yourself. And we love the purple colour!
Buy it if: you want to start pilates at home.
Don't buy it if: you want to do straightforward stretches.
How we chose these resistance bands
To test the bands included in our top picks, we performed multiple strength-based workouts for women (see our round-up of the best resistance band workouts for inspiration). The workouts included various glute, arm, leg, and core exercises to help us determine how well they performed.
When testing resistance bands we also considered:
- Weight—bands come in a range of different resistance levels. If you're new to strength training, start with a light or medium band at around five to 10lbs.
- Material—the best resistance bands should be made from stretchy material, such as latex or cotton mixed with elastane to help create the resistance element of the band. It's worth noting some latex bands can be uncomfortable on the skin, and rub your hands or legs while using them, especially when you start to sweat.
- Length—depending on the type of exercise you're doing, you'll have to decide what type of band you want. Long loop resistance bands are best for full-body workouts, while short loop resistance bands are ideal for targeting glutes, quads, and triceps.
- Price—you can purchase resistance bands relatively cheaply, but you will get what you pay for. Investing a little more will ensure you're getting durable bands made of high-quality material that will last many workouts to come.
FAQs
Do resistance bands build muscle?
“Resistance bands, like free weights, are very effective at strengthening muscle,” says personal trainer Caroline Idiens (@carolinescircuits). “In fact, they might do so to an even greater extent, since with a band there is constant tension on the muscle through the entire movement of the exercise.” She adds that since bands are versatile and easy to transport, they can be a great way to tone your body from pretty much anywhere.
How do they work? “Training your body using resistance will result in increased strength because your muscles must fight against the extra force,” explains David Wiener, training specialist at fitness platform Freeletics. There's an extra strength training perk, notes personal trainer Aimee Victoria Long (aimeevictorialong.co.uk). "This is because they recruit the stabilizing muscles of the targeted area to provide extra intensity to whatever move you might be performing," she explains.
However, if you’re thinking of parting ways with your kettlebells and dumbbells anytime soon, you should be aware that you’ll need to ensure you're really challenging yourself with your resistance band. “You need to push your muscles to hypertrophy, which is when muscles get damaged or injured and the muscle fibers are broken down in order to rebuild stronger and bigger,” adds Wiener. “This can be harder to achieve using bands, but is still entirely possible.”
Resistance bands vs dumbbells: which is better?
Our Health Editor Grace Walsh says:
"Bands, kettlebells, and dumbells offer the same thing: resistance. It's this resistance that's essential for improving strength, which helps to maintain muscle and bone mass, and flexibility as you have to work against the force to move it, pushing your body beyond its most natural capability. However, when working out at home, I prefer to use resistance bands.
They are so much more versatile as you can hold them in whichever way feels most comfortable for you, attach accessories to them to replicate gym equipment, attach them to doors for back workouts and so on. Resistance bands obviously also take up much less space than dumbbells - you can fold them up and store them in a small bag in a drawer at home, and you also need fewer of them to begin with as you can use a couple together to learn how to do resistance band exercises and create a heavier weight rather than swapping them out."
Our experts
You can also read up on the experts that informed this round-up below.
Grace Walsh is the health editor at woman&home online, covering all areas of wellbeing, including nutrition, fitness, sleep, sex, and relationships.
Caroline Idiens is a personal trainer and fitness coach, with over 20 years experience in the industry.
David Wiener is a training specialist at fitness platform Freeletics.
Aimee Victoria Long is a personal trainer based in London.
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