Resistance Bands Vs. Dumbbells: Which Will Help You Build Muscle the Fastest?

When starting a strength-training routine, most people head to the weight rack. But when it comes to working your muscles, dumbbells aren’t the only tool available. Resistance bands have become an increasingly popular way to add a strength component to workouts and increase muscle tone.

Which may leave you wondering: Which is the better mode of strength training?

Dumbbells are a proven way to build muscle and tone the body. Resistance bands, on the other hand, are popular for good reason: compared to other fitness equipment, they’re inexpensive, easy to store and simple to use at home (or anywhere for that matter).

“Can you get toned, can you get strong, can you get a good workout with resistance bands and hit weight-loss goals? Absolutely,” says orthopedic clinical specialist and physical therapist Erika Mundinger.

So which is the better choice? Read on to find out which fitness tool will give you the most effective workout.

Resistance bands vs. dumbbells

First, what’s the difference in strength training with resistance bands versus weights? “If I grab a 15-pound dumbbell, the resistance of that 15 pounds stays consistent throughout the entire contraction,” that’s known as an isotonic contraction, Mundinger explains. “And then there’s isokinetic, which is what we get from the resistance bands, and that’s where the resistance changes as I move. [When] I grab that resistance band to do a bicep curl towards me, that resistance is going to get harder on the top and easier as I bring my hand back down. The more we are going through the motion, the resistance actually changes. So it just strengthens the muscles a little bit differently.”

Various bands come in different levels of resistance. “Each brand is going to have their own pretty rainbow color scheme,” Mundinger says, “and it’s pretty standard that lighter colors are typically lighter resistance, and as it gets darker it gets harder.” When you can consistently maintain your form through a full range of motion with a band, you can begin to work your way up to the next one, she says.

When are resistance bands the better choice?

Physical therapists love resistance bands, Mundinger says. Here are some of the reasons they are a great equipment choice:

• You want to work your deep core. “Because it is isokinetic and it gets harder as you move through, we start to activate our stabilizer muscles a lot more,” Mundinger says. “So the more I’m pulling on that band, the more my core muscles have to engage, the more I’m raising my arms up overhead, the more my stabilizer muscles around my shoulder blades have to engage. So in physical therapy we love resistance band isokinetic stuff because it really trains that core stability.”

• You want to improve functional strength. They can also help you improve your other workouts, including those using dumbbells. After working with resistance bands, “when I go back to those big foundational moves like the bench press or the squat or the deadlift, I am stronger because I have those accessory muscles now engaging more,” Mundinger says. “Even if you’re not hitting the weight room, they’re just great for overall functional strength that I need to have throughout my day.”

• You're recovering from an injury or have limited mobility. “They’re a good exercise for people who have injuries to be able to still build some core strength and stability and not flare up injuries and inflammation,” Mundinger says. Isokinetic exercises allow you to perform a lot more repetitions with lighter resistance, which comes with a lower risk of injury compared to performing isotonic exercises, she says. They also make it easy to “modify and substitute and limit your range of motion as much as or as little as you need to,” she adds.

• You have back issues. For anyone who can’t load their lumbar spine with barbell squats, you can still train body-weight squats with bands, Mundinger says, “and then you get the cardiovascular component of the squat without causing back pain.”

When are dumbbells the better choice?

While Mundinger favors resistance bands, she admits there are some circumstances when dumbbells come out on top:

• You want to track your progress: “It’s hard to know exactly how much resistance you’re pulling with,” Mundinger says, so people who really want to be scientific about the amount of weight they’re lifting won’t be able to do that. with dumbbells, you are able to clearly track the amount of weight you are lifting and progress it over time to track progress.

• You are training for power. Resistance bands are not as helpful for training power moves like Olympic lifts, says Mundinger. Power is the ability to generate force and velocity. In practice, it is how quickly you are able to overcome resistance to perform a desired movement, which not only improves athletic performance, but functional movement as well. And it is something that declines with age, which is why incorporating power training into your routine is important. To progressively train for power, you either need to increase the speed in which you move or the weight you are moving (force required). Training with dumbbells allows you to increase your weight over time, and the speed with which you are moving that weight.

• You want bigger muscles. If you are strength training for hypertrophy — or to increase your muscle mass — dumbbells are the better option. With resistance bands, “you’re probably not going to get quite as ripped,” she says. “Because the resistance is changing as I move, I can’t take my body through a full range of motion.” With a squat, for example, “I can’t get my body to do a full deep squat with resistance bands unless they’re really light,” she added. “To get big and strong and ripped like we would with full-body motions that we can do with dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells, it’s hard to do because you’re going to be starting at the bottom with really light resistance and ending with really hard resistance, and it’s just impossible to create that power motion.”

Should you workout with resistance bands or dumbbells?

There is really no clearcut winner here: The best piece of equipment depends on your fitness level, goals and lifestyle. The good news is, you don't have to choose! Incorporating both pieces of equipment into your strength-training routine is a great way to mix things up and keep challenging your body. A combination of resistance band and dumbbell workouts will allow you to build strength and muscle definition, while improving balance, core stability and functional fitness.