Do something different!!

Worldwide changing trends in fitness have seen many different things being used to add variety and challenge to your everyday workout. Few examples would be swiss balls, kettle balls and exercise bands and tubes.
Therabands™ and exer-tubes have been very popular abroad in health club settings and as a home workout option.
The primary use and effectiveness lies in rehabilitation exercises for sports injuries and in physiotherapy and clinical settings for special patients. However, these days many health clubs also provide them at their premises.

The bands are basically 6 inch wide, latex bands with varying thicknesses which are colour-coded, into easily recognizable colours. The colours start from yellow, red, green, blue, black and silver in that order and offer resistance starting from 1 Kg to 8 Kgs respectively. In other words, yellow, red, green are light in resistance and blue, black and silver are slightly heavier in resistance.
The effect while using these bands, inspite of comparatively low weights is very different than using the usual dumbbells and barbells. The progressive resistance offers a good scope for progression in the intensity.

The major advantage is that it is very easily portable, and can even fit in your handbags, which makes it an ideal option while travelling!! It is relatively inexpensive and is easily available in leading medical stress or online.
While the ends can be just wrapped around your hands, it is advisable to invest in a pair of handles exclusively available with the bands and tubes.
A few cautions while using the bands could include keeping them away from sunlight, since they are made of latex and not using them incase you have applied body oils or oily creams to avoid injuries due to slipping. Also, they must be checked for tears or punctures regularly, inorder to avoid injuries due to snapping of the bands.
Also, it is important to consult an expert, atleast once before beginning the program to take all precautions.