The research has been coordinated by Juan Carlos Colado, Full Professor at the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Head of the Sports and Health Research Unit and Head of the Universitat de València’s Prevention and Health in Exercise and Sport Research Group.

45 healthy, middle-aged, sedentary female volunteers were chosen for the study and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: 21 subjects were trained with resistance bands, 14 were trained with weight machines and 10 were controls. Both exercise groups were trained with a muscular endurance programme scheduled twice a week for 10 weeks, with a total of 6 exercises per session for the major muscle groups.

Exercise intensity was matched by jointly monitoring the same target number of repetitions and the active muscle’s rate of perceived exertion. Functional ability was assessed by knee push-up and 60-second squat tests. Body composition was measured using an 8-contact electrode bioelectrical impedance analyser.

The results for both the training group with resistance bands and the one with weight machines show a decrease in fat mass (p = 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and an increase in both fat free mass (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and the number of repetitions of knee push-up (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and squat tests (p < 0.01 for both). None of the variables measured for the control group changed significantly.

In summary, regardless of the device used, the joint monitoring of the same target number of repetitions and of the active muscle’s rate of perceived exertion can be a valid tool to control the intensity of the endurance exercise and can lead to healthy adaptations. Therefore, resistance bands can offer significant physiological benefits that are comparable to those obtained from weight machines in the initial phase of strength training of middle-aged sedentary women.

The study provides a very specific physical training methodology that allows the equalization of both types of physical conditioning equipment, as well as facilitating the creation of highly safe and effective exercise protocols for strength training with resistance bands.

Resistance bands are cheap, accessible, can be used in many places by many different people and can be applied for a variety of objectives. For these reasons, they can be useful for both very untrained people who have particular special needs and for highly trained people and/or athletes throughout their lives.