When to Choose Resistance Bands vs. Dumbbells

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Resistance bands and dumbbells are both great for strength training at home, since they don’t require much storage space and tend to be a lot cheaper than a full setup with a barbell and plates. But they each have pros and cons, so let’s talk about how to choose.

Resistance bands can offer more total weight

If you buy beefy enough resistance bands, they offer a lot of resistance. A pair of “strong” bands from EliteFTS will pull on a barbell with the same force as 122 to 275 pounds of weights, depending on how far you stretch them. During the time gyms were closed because of COVID, coach Greg Nuckols told us that a set of bands would be his pick for training as heavy as possible without traditional gym equipment.

Dumbbells are more versatile

If you truly love resistance bands, you can probably figure out how to do almost anything with them. But for most of us, dumbbells are a little more intuitive and it’s easier to find exercises that work appropriate muscles.

If you use a resistance band, for many exercises you’ll need to find a place to anchor it. Sometimes you step on the band, so it’s pulling on your feet (not always comfortable if you work out barefoot). Other times you’ll need an appropriate anchor at floor level, or overhead, or straight in front of you. Depending on where you work out, there may not be anything strong enough to do the job with the right placement.

This means it's easier to put together a routine with dumbbells: you just pick them up. Plenty of staple gym exercises use dumbbells, and you probably already know some: bicep curls, shoulder presses, bench presses, lunges, and so on. Just hold the weights and do the exercise, no planning needed.

Resistance bands wear out over time

Iron is forever, but rubber degrades over time. Check the manufacturer’s directions, but most will tell you to replace your bands after a year, or for thinner bands, sometimes just a few months.

The way you use the bands can affect their lifespan. If the band rubs against its anchor point, for example, that can wear it out more quickly. (Follow manufacturers’ instructions for properly anchoring the band or attaching it to accessories.) When a band snaps, it may end up hitting you, which is why some trainers advise against moves like face pulls in which you’re pulling a band toward yourself.

The tension on bands depends on their length

This, I think, is the most important difference between bands and dumbbells. When you pick up something from the floor, you have to support its entire weight as soon as it leaves the ground. But if you’re getting the resistance from a band, the resistance will feel very light when you’re closer to the floor, and get progressively harder as you stand up with it.

This means you may be working harder than you want at the top of the lift, but not being challenged at all at the bottom. You can still work all your muscles if you choose and combine exercises appropriately, but you have to carefully choose exercises to make sure you're working every part of the range of movement. This factor means that bands aren’t a drop-in replacement for dumbbell or barbell work.

You’ll outgrow fixed dumbbells

People often start with a pair of dumbbells that come stamped with a number on one end (a five-pound pair, for example), but if you actually train with dumbbells consistently, pretty soon you’ll need more. You’ll also notice that different exercises require different weights: Something that’s challenging to curl will probably still be too light to press overhead.

A way around this is to buy adjustable dumbbells. You slide plates on and off, or with the fancy (expensive) brands you place them back on their rack and select the next weight. I have some picks for good adjustable dumbbells here.

You can still outgrow adjustable dumbbells. The affordable ones that come in 40-pound sets might seem huge to you at first, but 20 pounds per hand is not that much if you’re strong. “I can always buy more of the little plates,” you’ll say to yourself, forgetting to check how much room the dumbbell handle has for little plates. Often, not much.

The bottom line is that dumbbells and resistance bands each have their pros and cons. It’s cheaper to buy several sizes of resistance bands than to buy a full lineup of dumbbells, but the bands won’t necessarily give you the same workout. This is another case where the ideal answer is probably: Why not both?