Champion Sports Resistance Tube Bands for Men and Women, Durable Stretch Fitness Band for Strength Training, Stretching, Rehabilitation- Premium Home Workout Equipment- 50 Lbs Resistance Tubing-Orange

Adjustable length !! Models R5 and greater are longer than R3 and lesser.
I have the XT series; with rigid handle frames. My strength has grown steadily via use of this product. I initially obtained the “pink” ( better described as red; R3 ). Repeat orders followed, as I progressed through orange (R5), green (R8), and black (R10).All of the assemblies that I ordered have a 56 7/8″ length of tubing between handle frames, except for my lowest tension model; the “pink” (red) R3, which is 45 3/8″. I imagine that R1 and R2 are probably of that same shorter length, as the three of them comprise the lowest tension levels available from Champion Sports.I originally obtained this product for doing the so-called “biceps curl” exercise. After experiencing a small annoyance with it, I eventually solved that problem, and in doing so came up with an improved configuration for performing that particular exercise; not only via this product, but via any other similar products, including those with simple webbing for the handles.I found that when doing this exercise ( with palms facing up ) it’s hard white plastic handle frame impinges on the bony protrusion on the lateral side of my wrists. Just a small annoyance, but that’s not a problem when using other similar elastic tubing assemblies handled via nylon webbing instead of rigid frame. Eventually I realized that it’s only a problem if that exercise is performed the conventional way; i.e. by standing on the tubing. The angle of the tubing then becomes too acute only at the very finish of the stroke, causing the handle frames to impinge against the wrists. The simple solution is to bend the midpoint of the tubing around a fixed overhead point, such as a pull-up bar or a door anchor, and in addition to sit on a low bench. In order to preload the tubing, start the exercise from a posture that is leaning well rearward. The resulting tension vector ( from high above the body ) can no longer make such an acute angle with wrists. Much to my satisfaction, I discovered that this high configuration is FARR better for the spine ! This might not be apparent for persons with a healthy spine and / or using very low resistance. But if you have an unstable or herniated disc, or painful arthritis in your spine, then you will appreciate the fact that such an improvement puts absolutely no compression load on your spine whatsoever. Think about it… if you pickup a pair of 15 lb dumbells, and either sit or stand with them, then regardless of how you use them you are exerting 30 lbs of compression on every disc and vertebrae below your shoulders. Not phased by that ? Then consider the 100 lb potential of elastic tubing.I now use this product for a couple additional exercises: rowing and wrist flexion.I do the rowing workout from a standing position with the tubing anchored at my shoulder height. I lean back slightly from vertical, and the tension counterbalances my weight. This torso “floating” arrangement is FARR more ergonomic than the awkward chest-supported weight stack machines found at commercial gyms that are expressly designed for rowing. I’m absolutely delighted with this discovery :-)The benefit of a rigid handle frame over the more common construction ( handle attached via nylon webbing ) is that such construction enables the length of the tubing to be adjustable. Simply pull the excess tubing through the hole and wrap it around the frame, tying it in place with just a half-knot to secure the adjustment. If you need to shorten the tubing quite a bit, then split the total excess as two equal adjustments at both handles. For example, I have shortened my R3 equally at the handles for a distance between them of only 17.5″ in order to do wrist flexion exercise ( left and right simultaneously ). Since I have strong forearms, it is performed with the tubing shortened to produce maximum pre-tension at the beginning of the stroke.I’ve spent some time with a carefully designed measurement procedure to determine what exactly is the practical elongation of the various tubings offered by Champion Sports. Regardless of which color tube is chosen, and regardless of how much of the tubing is being stretched, its stretched length will be a practical maximum of 3.04 times longer than its relaxed length ( of the segment that was stretched ). IOW, the practical elongation is 204%. Note that it took at least 10 secs for the band to fully relax through the final 4% of its elongation to recover back to its initially unstressed length. Evidently, that long delay of the final 4% of its recovery showed that I had attained the practical tensile limit. It can be stretched beyond that limit, but a shortened usable life should be expected for such extreme such duty cycles.About MeYou might say that I’m an expert when it comes to elastic resistance training. Long before I purchased this item I had been working out in my home with various types of elastic bands and tubing; almost 8 years of broad experience. I eventually quit visiting commercial gyms in favor of my two regular routines, which now comprise a total of 33 different elastic resistance exercises ( soon to be expanded to 37 ). Only a couple of those exercises have been only marginally effective due to either limitations in that equipment or some inadequacy in my home ( anchoring issues or insufficient height ).