Your body doesn't know what type of exercise you're doing, you're doing dumbbell exercises, resistance band exercises, or even dumbbell resistance band exercises. It only knows that it feels resistance and has to overcome it. To add muscle and strength, progressive overload is the name of the game: more weight, more reps, more sets, and more extended tension on the muscle.
Some dumbbell exercises can mess up the mechanics of the movement (when the dumbbells get big). The cup squat and dumbbell bench press are two prime examples. Additionally, in some gyms, the barbells go so high that they knock you out.
One way to get around this problem is to add a looped band to a barbell, because the more the band stretches, the harder it is to add resistance where it matters. Adding a few resistance band exercises to your workout is a combination heaven, and here's why.
The power curve
It sounds like a fancy name, but it's not. The strength curve of an exercise is the force generated at each point through an exercise range of motion. During lifting, the angle of your joint changes and the resistance you feel varies. For example, the dumbbell bench press requires more strength for the first third of the exercise than the lockout, where the resistance feels light.
The beauty of adding resistance bands to dumbbells is that it counteracts that strength curve. Less force is required to get it going when the band is not taut, but more force is required to lock it. Because the more the band stretches, the more resistance you get. The main benefit of adding bands to dumbbell exercises is adding more resistance during concentric concentration, which will help improve your lockout strength.
3 dumbbell resistance band exercises
If you don't have access to heavy dumbbells, adding resistance bands is a great way to add resistance and variety without the expense of buying dumbbells or hurting yourself putting the heavy dumbbells in place. Adding bands to dumbbells makes a nice change and helps improve your lockout strength, and here are three exercises that do just that.
