Resistance Bands Versus Free Weights – Which Is Right For You?

If you’re looking to get started on a strength training program, one question that you may be asking yourself right now is which equipment you should be considering purchasing.

When it comes to building a home gym, there are definitely a few options to consider and if you choose wisely, you’ll be more apt to actually do the workout sessions, so this is important.

You’ll be looking for something that you can easily tuck away out of sight in your home and something that’s relatively cost effective as well.

Resistance bands and free weights are both good options for this, so understanding which is best for you is a wise move.

Let’s go over the points to know.

See our top resistance bands.

Your Current Strength Level

The very first thing to look at is your current strength level. Those who are starting out at a higher strength level will likely find that using a set of dumbbells the better route to go.

While resistance bands definitely do provide resistance to the body, they are not going to reach the level of resistance that using free weights would.

With free weights, you can pick up dumbbell sets that run all the way up to 100 pounds (for the very strong!) so there are far less limitations in this regard.

With resistance bands, you can get those in varying resistance levels as well, but you’ll never reach this kind of resistance with them.

Whether Joint Pain Is Present

Next, you also need to assess whether joint pain is present or not. If you experience knee, shoulder, back, or any other sort of pain, the bands may be the superior choice for you.

Bands will place slightly less overall stress and tension on the joints compared to free weights, so tend to be the best option for most people.

If you are going to use free weights, then you’ll just want to be very careful as you use them and be aware of using good form at all times.

Your Degree Of Knowledge

Speaking of good form, this brings us to our next point.  Using resistance bands does tend to pose less of an injury risk due to poor form than free weights, so if you’re very new to strength training and your body is just adapting to the movement patterns, they may be a better choice because of this.

See our best adjustable dumbbells here. 

With free weights, if you make one wrong move and that dumbbell takes a bad pattern of movement, this can immediately set you up to experience a strained or pulled muscle, causing you to become sidelined.

So your best bet would be to use the bands while you learn the exercises and then graduate onto free weights.

So there you have the most critical points to consider as you choose which equipment is right for your home gym. There’s no right or wrong here – only what’s best for you.

Looking to build a home gym? Use this guide to help you.