Resistance bands are your perfect solution for exercising at home or when traveling. Besides offering super convenient workouts, resistance bands offer versatility, safety and effectiveness to your exercise routine all in a super cost-effective manner. We all want to find exercise routines to get ripped and jacked at home. Resistance bands, a truly cheap and inexpensive product, will make the most of your home gym workout.

Resistance bands, also known as exercise bands, allow you to move more freely and achieve a greater range of motion (as opposed to a machine which controls where you start and stop). As a result, you are creating resistance from all directions—the side, overhead, below, etc. You can also adjust your angle of movement (by moving the fixed point higher or lower), and combine several exercises effortlessly. These bands also allow you to mimic movements that you do in real life. For example, if you are looking to improve your baseball or golf swing, you can do that exact motion against resistance, which no machine or free weight can accomplish nearly as effectively.

Here are 8 simple benefits of using resistance bands:

1) Cost-effective way to get fit

A gym membership can cost you around a hundred dollars a month and building a home gym can cost you thousands of dollars. You can find a set of high quality resistance bands for under $30.00 to tone your muscles.

2) Adapt for multiple fitness levels

Most resistance bands come in multiple resistance levels, usually from light, medium or heavy. In addition, you can add more resistance during exercise by simply giving more or less slack on the band, as well as by combining multiple resistance bands to increase the challenge.

3) Strength training with bands

Resistance band exercises mimic that of traditional strength training exercises. For example, if you stand on one end of the band and curl your arm up while holding the other end, you’re doing a standard dumbbell bicep curl.

4) Full body workout

There are many resistance band sets that provide suggested exercises for nearly every major muscle group in your body. For example, stepping on one end of a resistance band or looping it around a fixed object can open up many exercise possibilities. Many resistance bands come with a door anchor, ankle strap, and starter guide to help you create an effective home workout while creating different variations to your workout.

5) No storage? No problem!

Resistance bands provide ideal storage if you don’t have much space or are traveling. Many resistance bands come with a carrying case or you can even hang them on a hook or stick them in a drawer after you exercise.

6) Variety is key

Over time, your muscles will adapt to a specific workout routine. Even if you train with free weights most of the time, your body will see even more results if you use resistance bands. It’s probably best to mix up your routine by incorporating cross-training with free weights, machines and resistance band exercises. Each will work your muscles in a slightly different way.

7) Safety comes first

When using resistance bands, you don’t need to worry about dropping a heavy weight on your foot or crushing your fingers in between plates. Most importantly, your risk of pulling a muscle or hurting your back is severely decreased when working with resistance bands. That makes these bands ideal for training when you don’t have a personal trainer or exercise partner to spot you.

8) Get an effective workout

Although there are differences between free weight and resistance band exercises, both provide highly-effective workouts. Here’s a simple way of understanding how both work: Your arm makes an arc motion while doing a bicep curl. Free weights will feel heaviest at the beginning of that arc, while resistance bands make your muscles work harder at the end of the arc (when the band is most stretched). Either way, your body is moving against resistance, and that will give your muscles an effective workout.