Customer Reviews

Bodylastics 19-Piece Strong Man Quick-Clip Resistance Band System

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got my Bodylastics strong man band system and I am just blown away. I literally will never need to buy any other resistance bands unless I suddenly turn into The Hulk or something because these things are HEAVY DUTY, I swear it seems like you could tow a truck with the orange ones and it comes with two of those! I have not attempted to curl all the bands because to be honest with you I cannot even curl both orange ones which REALLY surprised me because I am by no means weak, I can easily curl 65 lb dumbbells for 10 reps. I am so happy I ordered these bands because they are just the highest quality I have ever even seen. The speed of adding or decreasing resistance is really going to come in handy when I do my P90X workouts too which is really awesome. Even the door anchor that it comes with is massive and there is no way that thing could slip through the door, the regular anchors I have seen I have always been to scared to use because they seem like if you pull to hard they will pop right on through the door and savagely bull whip your skin. It comes with an extra pair of handles too so you can have another resistance ready or share your bands with someone. Also two pair of the leg attachment. I know this review is getting long but I just wanted to be as clear as possible when I tell any and everyone out there who may be considering buying these bands that you should do it because you will not regret it at all. If your looking for some seriously hardcore bands that are going to build really explosive power then you have found them. As Forrest Gump said, Thats all I have to say about that.

I was a complete skeptic when I came across Bodylastics. I cannot stress enough how much I HATE going to the gym. I loved lifting weights when I was younger, but was always disgusted by how many people go to the gym to talk. I go to the gym to take names, or at least I went... Starting a few months ago, I purchased a set of kettlebells and dropped my gym membership. Not only did this cut $45 a month in fees I didn't get much use out of, but it also freed up some cash to invest in equipment I use anywhere and everywhere. Kettlebells. Medicine balls. And now I have Bodylastics to add to my routines, and after using them a few times, I'm adding them proudly. These things are built like a Russian beet-farmer. Another point is that you should ask a doctor if you have a latex allergy before ordering these. The reaction is nasty: trust me.

First of all, Bodylastics is not a gym in a bag. Gyms are a waste of time if your real interest is athleticism, period. Bodyweight exercises (calisthenics) are the best way to build athleticism safely without much risk of injury. Bodylastics are a great way to either add or subtract resistance to bodyweight exercises. The isolated movements that you're capable of doing with these that are associated with traditional bodybuilding are just icing on the cake. There are a million different ways a creative person can use these, and with essentially limitless amounts of tension... go nuts. As for explosive strength training, I'm going to stick to kettlebells, medicine balls, and boxing. For athleticism and stability: Bodylastics, calisthenics, sprints, and stability balls. Get it clear: Bodylastics is not a total solution. They are an extremely good tool to have in your kit. The value is phenomenal: they are built better and cost less than half the price of other... latex tubes from companies like TheraBand that don't even offer the possibility of modular resistance! It would be an insult to call Bodylastics that: Bodylastics is a product that is as competent as the brain using it. Look around your gym. People are stupid. This package gives you most of the potential of a gym membership, only your results are your own responsibility. No talk. No blame. Resistance tubes are based on real science that will get you outside instead of locked in a sweaty meat locker with idiots that have an inability to bathe properly and stand WAY too close with the blank stare of their oblivious soul.

Now for the bad news: latex is a natural biodegradable product that is harvested from rubber tree sap. Like any other natural product, latex is biodegradable. As an EMT, we are trained to understand that latex starts breaking down as soon as it comes in contact with the skin's oils. A latex glove is an ineffective barrier after about 10 minutes, +/- how much you sweat. Add in sunlight and repetitive stress and you can see where I'm going with this. These tubes WILL eventually break, the smaller ones are most vulnerable. While it is tempting, try to avoid handling the tubes BY the tube itself and try to avoid getting sweat on them. Also try to avoid long periods of direct sunlight. UV, natural oils, and moisture are the things that accelerate the breakdown of natural materials: especially latex. If you're moving nearly 270lbs of resistance and a small band snaps, it isn't a big deal. If the two big bands snap, it's a big deal. Take care of your equipment and your equipment will take care of you. The good news is that Bodylastics offers free replacement within 90 days of any broken tube and a lifetime replacement for $5.95. If you ask me, that warranty is far beyond what I would be happy with.

Things everyone should have: good shoes for interval sprints, a bag of chalk, a 35lb kettlebell, a jump rope, a couple of medicine balls, and Bodylastics. $250 minus shoes. Gym membership: $200 sign-up fee, $30-$50 a month in membership fees, waiting for machines, oblivious wanger-hangers in the locker room, disgusting equipment, herpes and other STDs on the shower knobs, and fluorescent lighting on beautiful days. Minus shoes. Do the math and take the $300 you're going to save and hire a licensed personal trainer to design a program and show you how this stuff works. You'll end up $150 ahead on first-year cost alone.

The already excellent Bodylastics brand has undergone a very dramatic improvement with these new bands. Everything about this kit now oozes professionalism, from the ends (O-rings) of the handles, to the newly-metallic ends of the bands themselves, to thicker more comfortable ankle straps, even the bag having a section to insert the workout book and additional sheets. I hesitated initially, already owning a heavy-duty Bodylastics kit still in good condition, but am very glad I made the choice to upgrade.

Having paid for annual memberships at numerous gyms, including a few high-profile reputable ones, I believe I have discernment about quality. I did not imagine that this would replace every exercise, however since I now have a greater focus upon bodyweight exercises and a more streamlined approach to strength training, I find resistance bands to be an excellent replacement for iron.

The previous Bodylastics systems were very good, however they still looked and felt like a home-based contraption. These are at a completely different level now. This system could be included in any gym, anywhere, and no one would think them out of place for a moment. The action of the bands is tremendously smoother due to gym-like metal-upon-metal. The handles are thicker and grip better. Even the tubing looks and feels more high-end. Clearly much energy went into maximizing the overall feel of using this equipment, along with its raw results.

As previously stated I do not use this alone for a strength-building regimen. The primary missing ingredients for me are body-weight back exercises (pull-ups), body-weight chest exercises (push-ups), anaerobic training (interval-sprints), and of course the most neglected exercises of all, grip-strength. For the first I have discovered Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar, that can also be used for abs-workouts, with or without the abs-straps. For the second I use Jack Zatorski's Push Up Pro which I got for an excellent price, some prefer Perfect Push-Ups. Only quality running shoes are needed for intervals, and for grip strength I find Captains of Crush Hand Gripper - No. 2 and Gripmaster Pro Golf, Tennis, Musician, Strength Trainer to be a good start, there are numerous other exercises and pieces of equipment for developing this further.

These additional exercises are besides the point. For the brief times of the week when focus is upon overall strength development or maintenance, and a number of smaller exercises for supporting muscles, an all-in-one home-kit that can fit in a bag smaller than a typical backpack is an ideal system worth investing in.

One final small note, I considered the slightly-more expensive system (ten dollars more approximately), however the only noticeable differences were a DVD of exercises and a second door strap. I intend to add the strap from the kit I already own, and I consider the DVD to be unnecessary in my case. The decision depends upon whether you might already have an earlier Bodylastics system, and how much you know already about strength exercises.

NOTE: I have been using this new kit for a day and a full weekend when this review was first written, I have used the earlier version for years without a single breakage or problem. In a few months I will update this review, adding a review of its reliability under constant careful heavy usage.

Been using these bands for some time now and I really enjoy them. The inclusion of the heavier weighted bands really adds to the uniqueness of this product. It does however come with cons. I'll describe both below.

Pros:
Durable
Able to combine bands with each other
Large variety of resistance

Cons:
The attachments with the carabiner can rub against your body/arms when doing certain exercises
I'm almost 5'11" and these bands are a bit long for me with the exercises I am doing with them. I can't imagine them being much help for people under 5'8", would have to create a large loop etc. Maybe some can comment on this issue if you are below this height
TO package does not fit neatly into provided bag ;)

Overall great product. Love the replacement policy and they are great for P90X.

I purchased the Aylio bands prior to this, because it was far cheaper. Come to find out, it is far cheaper in more ways than you can imagine. Can you imagine having to exclusively go to YouTube to watch how to use these things? No instruction manual, just some starter diagrams on the side of a cheaply printed box.

Then there are the bands themselves. The handles are flimsy, 2 bands having snapped the first week I used them. I could go on...but I won't.

Contrast that to these bands. Yes, you'll pay more, but you'll see the difference quickly. Well made, and for people who never did a serious workout program in their lives, I strongly suggest the DVD. Bam! A ready-to-go workout program.

One small caveat, you really need to make sure that you are using them properly, because you can cheat yourself from a full workout. Really have to work on your positioning, especially on the exercises where you bring the handles back up and behind the shoulders. Use them wrong and the darn bindings will scrape up against your back.

The other small complaint is the 'nutrition guide'. Don't waste your time because it is a joke. I don't know why they even bother to provide it.

That said, overall a great product.

UPDATE: I've had this for about a month now, and let me tell you, it is worthwhile to get even for one person. Having two sets of handles is very useful as you may need different resistances for different parts of the body.

Also, the DVD is a great starter disk, since you'll be busy enough trying to learn how to properly use these bands such that you don't 'cheat'.

I bought these bands to use with P90X, but I did not use them for long. Most of the exercises were too awkward or uncomfortable to use the bands. If you are bending down, you will have to wind the band up and step on it. If you are sitting down, you will have to wind the band around your chair. This will be true with any bands, but I wanted to mention it because I bought them specifically for P90X and wound up buying dumbbells.

The one exercise I did enjoy using the bands for were the pull-ups. The door anchor that comes with these bands worked really great. I quickly moved to an Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar, though, and I feel the price tag on this set of bands is too high for a week or two of pull-ups.

The resistance increments between bands are also much steeper than the increments you can achieve with dumbbells.

I didn't know what to think about using bands for working out but I've used similar bands several times for therapy after knee surgeries so I figured I would give these a shot. I'm used to free weights but I'm overseas enough that I wanted something I could use to work out while traveling. Of course, it has to pack very light and these fit nicely.

I get a fantastic workout in about 30 minutes to an hour. I use a 4 day routine that hits up all the major muscle groups and just uses the bands, a chair, and a door. After a workout with these I am spent. The many bands give you flexibility and let you choose between strong muscle building resistance and light toning resistance. That means both my wife and I can get a lot of use out of these.

I think these bands are great for anyone who wants a good workout without the expense and space requirements of gym equipment.

Great quality and product. Definitely a great addition to my home gym. For the amount of work you can do with this item I believe that it is a great value.

The product is definitely sturdy. I've used them a few times since receiving them and have been impressed. They make an excellent addition to my workout plan and they can travel with me which is an added bonus. The only real downside to this product is that with some exercises, the bands scrape against your arm. Really it's more just the nature of using bands that are durable and designed to last and not necessarily a flaw in this product. This product comes highly recommended.

There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said by other reviewers, so I will just touch on a couple of main points that impressed me. First and foremost, the quality and presentation of this product is outstanding. These bands and accessories and built tough and built to last. This particular set comes with lifetime tuition to strengthbanduniversity.com, which gives you access to all kinds of videos, workouts, etc. The company is well aware of customers doing P90X and even includes a pamphlet on how to do certain P90X movements with the bands; this implies that the company cares about and is in touch with their customer base. These bands are a little bit more expensive, but are worth every penny and then some. This is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Edit: I've been using the bands more and would like to add a couple of points. One, the bands are durable and perform at a high level. I did a legs and shoulder workout yesterday and my quads are really feeling it. Two, the membership to liveexercise.com that came with this product is probably worth the price of the bands. They have several types of "live" workouts daily, ranging from muscle building, abs, cardio, baseball, football, et al. Basically, one could buy these bands alone and start immediately with full access to workout programs of all kinds.

Edit, April 17th, 2011: I've started using these bands for P90X and they are holding up and performing well.

Edit, October 23rd, 2011: I'm still using these bands through a second round of P90X and they are as strong as ever. These bands can also be looped over the top of a pullup bar and connected to the knees via the ankle straps in order to perform assisted pullups.