But it’s just not true.
The lore around Ancient Greek athletes using halteres for strength workouts that included lunges, deadlifts, and curls dates back to the 5th Century BC — and possibly earlier for long jumps. Weightlifting was first introduced into the Olympics 125 years ago, during the 1896 Athens games.
And in the latter half of the 20th century, with the growing popularity of icons like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kenneth “Flex” Wheeler, the concepts of bodybuilding and weightlifting became nearly interchangeable.
PHOTO: Gene Mozee/Muscle and Fitness
History creates habits. This is true in many professional fields, and the arena of human health and wellbeing is certainly no exception. The question is, what do we do when we know that there’s not just room for improvement, but room for a revolutionary better way of life?
At LIT, we’re not only asking that question in every product and experience we design, but when it comes to strength training, we are dedicated to sharing the profound benefits of using resistance bands as an alternative to weights.
When developing our signature method of combining resistance bands and rowing, we went through an iterative process of first understanding the physical limitations of weights and then identifying how resistance bands can subsequently help people go the limit without fear of injury or setback.
A LACK OF STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Weights increase the risk of injury prone joints like the shoulders, wrists, elbows, and knees.Resistance is not inherent in weight training. Relying on gravity and momentum rather than resistance means two detrimental results: bad form and a supplemental need for additional weight to increase difficulty.
They’re bulky — and they limit range of motion.
A LASTING ALTERNATIVE - LIT Axis
The LIT Axis is a smart resistance band that combines traditional resistance band training with technology to provide an interactive and personalized workout experience. The band connects to the LIT app that tracks your progress and provides real-time feedback on muscle imbalances, reps, resistance loads, total volume lifted, calories, and time under tension.
When you use this bands, you do two things simultaneously:
You reduce your risk of injury and tension in your joints — and you increase resistance on the muscle you are looking to train.
Momentum is a false sense of security in exercise and because you can’t rely on it to help you through a move with bands, you are able to decrease your risk of injury, strengthen muscle imbalances, correct posture, and increase your mobility and flexibility.
And bands give you a tremendous amount of versatility, ultimately offering exercises in every plane of motion.
THE FUTURE
We are certainly believers that the past is prologue, but that’s just it. It’s prologue. It’s an early sketch and inspiration for the vast opportunities we now have to care for ourselves in the 21st century. Just because something has been done one way doesn’t make it the way of the future.At LIT, every day we are designing forward thinking, sustainable fitness programs around our innovative resistance training band system. Longevity is at the core of what we do and with Low Impact Training, we intend to help you build your mind, body, and soul without fear of injury and in perpetuity.
This week, try our strength training classes and experience why we believe wholeheartedly in the efficiency and effectiveness of bands.
