These things are more effective and better made than I expected. As a pastor in my late 50's, I don't get a lot of exercise, nor do I have a lot of extra time or money. I wanted something small and inexpensive - not a weight machine that I would have to set up in the basement. My wife suggested exercise bands. After a quick review, I determined that 1) I needed a complete set to have enough for a good workout, 2) they had to me made well (many reviews complained about weak stitching and other failures). BMP's "new and improved" set (that included a Door Anchor - which I use in about half the exercises I do) seemed like the best choice.
As a former engineer, I look closely at design, workmanship and quality of materials. I have not seen other brands up close, but I am very impressed with this set from BMP. The straps connecting the handles to the bands are made of heavy "ballistic nylon", with an extra piece added to double the thickness where the heavy duty metal grommet is located. To keep the bands from pulling through the grommet, they appear to have something like a large ball-shaped bead over the tubing with a tough rubber sleeve over that - a very nice design. The handles have a somewhat thin, but comfortable padding. The clips that attach the bands to the handle are heavy-duty and easy to clip with a single motion.
Before my first workout, I tried each exercise to determine what band combination I would need. I then ordered my workout to somewhat minimize the number of band changes -- but I was surprised how quickly I could change them out. I was also pleased with the variety and quality of the exercises - I thought bands would be a poor substitute for machines and free weights, but in many ways I find bands to be better - especially compared to the kind of machines you can afford for home.
One of the things I found to be lacking with the BMP set was exercise instructions - they only have six exercises. If they just printed one more double-sided piece of paper they could have added an additional 12 exercised. So I found a good small booklet - "The Great Stretch Tubing Handbook" for $8.95. Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set with Door Anchor, Ankle Strap, Exercise Chart, and Resistance Band Carrying Case
Compared with other resistance band products selling, this band definitely is superior in both quality and strength. I'm a pretty fit guy, and sometimes when I use other bands, I'm scared that some part of the band is going to break if I'm too hard on them. With these bands, I'm sure that I can go as hard as I can, and the integrity of the bands will not be compromised.
The design is overall better. The plastic in the handle is thicker, ensuring that will not break. In addition, the other weak point of the band between the clip and the actual colored band is enforced with a ball-type system, which is also superior to other designs.
If you are planning on using bands for high intensity workouts like P90x, these bands cannot go wrong. Having used other multi-colored bands for sports like wrestling and soccer, I can say that these are the highest quality bands that I've used.
I have recently started the P90x system, and required these resistance bands for the program. I have shopped around and priced these things all over, and these are the least expensive by far... especially considering the quality and the included door anchor, leg strap, and the fact that these bands are stackable meaning it will be a long time before you max out on these things. The materials are of high quality. The metal rings are of good construction and the metal clips are thick sturdy metal. the handles are made of high grade nylon webbing and are very strong, the handles have foam grips that are very comfortable to use. The included bag makes taking your stretchy gym everywhere you go very convenient.
Was looking for exercise bands to use with P90X rather than buying a complete dumbbell set. I'm very happy with this product. I don't seem to use the yellow and blue bands at all since they don't provide very much resistance. The other bands get used and work well. I like the fact that the bands have clips for the handles. I bought an extra set of handles to avoid having to swap out frequently between exercises. As it turns out, a lot of times when I'm working a smaller muscle group with a single band, I won't even use the handle -- I'll just grab the end of the band near the attachment. I also really like the fact that it's easy to combine the bands to increase the weight. I haven't used the ankle strap and I'm not sure if I ever will. I have used the door attachment and it works well when used as instructed. I think I'll attach a carabiner to the closed nylon loop on the door attachment which will make it even easier to use.Overall, this is a great product. Very pleased.
I purchased these resistance bands about 5 weeks ago for use with P90x. I required an affordable and convenient way to easily move workout equipment from one room to another. These resistance bands achieve that requirement. From a product perspective I have been extremely impressed with overall quality and performance of the bands. A really nice feature of these bands is the ability to add multiple bands for additional resistance to one handle using the clips. The clips are great for ease of transition to different resistance bands, however if you are trying to do Lawnmowers or Heave Pants the additional 3-4 inches the clip extends the handle limits your range of motion.Overall I am happy with my purchase and the overall quality of this product. I would definitely purchase this product from this company again.
I don't often write reviews, but a month in and I love this product. I was going to go to my local sporting goods store and buy a resistance band. Then I started to look into it, and the cost of getting them in multiple "weights" added up quick. This system has the ability to be quickly tailored to difference resistance levels 'on the fly', and comes in a nice compact carry-bag. Loved it so much I bought it for a family member as a gift! - Exercise - Exercise Bands - Fitness - P90x'
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