A Study Of The Resistive Forces Provided By Elastic Supplemental Band Resistance During The Back Squat Exer-

cise: A Case Report

Kurt Neelly, Sean A. Carter, Joe G. Terry

The use of elastic bands to supplement traditional plate weight resistance to the back squat has become increasingly popular in weight rooms.
By using supplemental elastic bands, a variable resistance is produced. This variable resistance will progressively increase the amount of resis-
tance throughout the range of motion of an exercise that possesses an ascending strength curve. The set-up and technique for using elastic
bands has been described in the literature, however, the resistance of the bands during an actual squat has not been measured. PURPOSE: The
purpose of this study was to measure the actual resistive forces provided by various supplemental elastic bands during the back squat exercise.
A secondary purpose was to compare these measured resistive forces with the manufacturers reported values. METHODS: The subject (height =
1.83 m; weight = 111.4 kg), an experienced weight lifter, was analyzed performing a back squat with supplemental elastic band resistance. Plate
weight was set at approximately 50% of the lifters self-reported 1 RM. The elastic bands were looped under the bottom of the power cage and
one end threaded back through the other to properly affix the band to the cage. The elastic bands were attached to load cells via a carabiner clip.
The load cells were affixed to standard 0.05 m sleeve collars for placement on the barbell. The use of the load cells allowed for the measurement
of the resistive forces being provided by the elastic bands throughout the entire squat. The subject performed one set of 3 repetitions with a pair
of purple “light” elastic bands and again with a pair of green “average” elastic bands. RESULTS: The pair of light (purple) elastic bands provided
an average maximum resistance of 273 N. The average (green) elastic bands provided an average maximum resistance of 405 N. CONCLUSION:
The manufacturer of the elastic bands provides a chart approximating the amount of resistance provided by their bands. They report, depending
upon the attachment technique, a single “light” purple band provides up to 222 N of resistance, while a single “average” green band provides up
to 334 N of resistance. The resistive forces we reported are the total forces provided by both elastic bands when performing a back squat. Per the
manufacturer’s guidelines, the resistance provided from a pair of “light” purple bands would be up to 444 N while the resistance provided from
a pair of “average” green bands would be up to 668 N. The resistance provided by the elastic bands in our study was only 61% of the manufac-
turer reported values. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The amount of resistance provided by elastic bands should have a linear relationship with the
amount they are stretched, the more they are stretched, the more resistance they produce. The resistive force produced when our 1.83 m tall
subject completed a parallel depth squat was only 61% of those values reported by the manufacturer. One should expect greater amounts of
resistance from a taller individual and less resistance from a shorter individual.