Quick Guide to Your StrollerFit Kit™ Rubber Resistance Equipment
Rubber resistance training describes any fitness training in which muscle strength, tone and flexibility is achieved through use of variable resistance bands, loops or tubes manufactured from rubber or similar products.
Your rubber resistance band or tube will increase in length during exercise by about three times providing consistent resistance against the stretch while the stretching takes place. Once a band or tube exceeds three times its length it will start to stretch less smoothly and risk breakage.
To increase resistance within the recommended stretch distance of your StrollerFit Kit™ rubber resistance equipment, simply increase the thickness of the rubber being stretched. This can be achieved by buying a range of different thicknesses of the resistance product (green, red, blue) or alternatively by doubling or tripling the quantity of the tube being held.
Selecting the Appropriate Strength of Rubber
Different exercises will require a different strength/thickness of rubber, so you may wish to purchase different resistance levels. Selecting the appropriate strength of band or tube relates to your strength level and purpose of your training. Your training goals - i.e. toning, strength, power etc. normally dictate the number of repetitions you perform. Once you have decided your desired repetition range, select a resistance of rubber that ensures you experience moderate to maximal muscle fatigue.
Maximizing Exercise – How to Best Use Your Rubber Resistance Products
Before starting each exercise make sure the rubber is under slight tension throughout its length. There should be no slack in the rubber throughout the range of movement during the exercise. The amount you pre-stretch the rubber can affect the resistance during your exercise. You don’t want the rubber to overstretch, so make sure that during the exercise the rubber is not expected to stretch more than three times its original length. This will not be a concern with StrollerFit approved exercises.
Just like lifting free weights, it’s important to retain smooth form (not jerky) when working with rubber products. Be sure to keep the rubber under your control at all times. The return phase (or eccentric phase) of the muscle movement is equally important as the outgoing phase. Try to ensure that the return phase takes between two and four seconds.
Safety Considerations
Rubber resistance products tend to be relatively low cost and very effective, but do have a limited life expectancy. Most quality rubber exercise products can be expected to withstand at least 20,000 stretches under moderate use. This will decrease if rubber has prolonged exposure to sunlight, extremes of heat or cold, salt or chlorinated water. Based upon a standard rubber workout requiring at least two strengths of rubber and involving 8 exercises with two sets of 12 repetitions you should not expect your product to be in tip-top condition after about 200 workouts. At home this might take two years but for the Fitness Professional or Personal Trainer using the same rubber for multiple clients this could be just 6 months.
Never tie two pieces of rubber together when exercising. As rubber is stretched it becomes thinner and becomes susceptible to damage. Sharp rings on fingers and long fingernails can damage stretched bands while damage at the point of ‘insertion’ (this is the point at which you trap the rubber under feet, in door or machine attachments etc) is quite common. It is therefore important that before each use you always inspect your rubber product for nicks, tears or any other sign
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