UrbanUpdate

Eventually, even the most diligent gym rats among us—the ones who never cut short a superset, or skip a legs day, or complain when downing their umpteenth reprehensibly bad post-workout protein shake—are going to reach a plateau of sorts. At some point, your body will adapt to the stresses that lifting weights places upon it, and in order to ensure that your workouts actually make you stronger and do not slowly deteriorate into a tired, obligatory regimen that yields no results except intermittent soreness, you'll need to try something different. May I present to you a modest proposal: Incorporate some resistance bands into your free weights workout routine.

Unlike the static resistance encountered when lifting free weights, the resistance supplied by an using elastic band—packs of which can be obtained for less than twenty bucks—actually changes throughout the range of motion. (Threading a band underneath a bench and attaching it at both ends of the barbell, for example, yields a band-altered bench press. Looping one around the bottom of an Olympic rack allows for dynamic squats.) As the band stretches, it will require the user to generate more force and power to continue to push or pull it in a given direction. In other words, the amount of "weight" you're lifting suddenly becomes variable, which is, of course, good news for those of you looking to shock muscles that have grown a little too complacent.

In a 2011 study, researchers divided novice lifters into two groups: One spent six months doing regular free weight training, while another group used bands to augment the free weights routine. At the end of the study period, both groups had boosted their one-rep max on the squat and bench press, with no statistically significant difference between the gains. The team did, however, find that band users were able to generate more power than free weight users. In very rough terms, this means that although both groups were moving the same amount of weight after sixth months, the band users could do it faster. This effect might be even more pronounced among experienced exercisers: a 2008 study of college athletes found that when compared to a free weights-only cohort, band users were able to generate more power, double their bench press performance, and triple their squat performance in only seven weeks.

Safely setting up a band-assisted exercise requires a certain level of expertise that first-time lifters don't yet possess, so, the researchers conclude, teaching everyone to start their training like this might be a bad idea. However, they add, for gym veterans looking to bust through a pesky training plateau, working in some bands might be an appealing and effective way to do it. Just... be sure everything is securely fastened first. Scientists have yet to observe any correlation between increased muscle strength and getting snapped in the face with a giant rubber band.

Watch Now:Macklemore Thinks About Getting a New Tattoo Every MorningJay Willis is a staff writer at GQ covering news, law, and politics. Previously, he was an associate at law firms in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, where his practice focused on consumer financial services and environmental cleanup litigation. He studied social welfare at Berkeley and graduated from Harvard Law School... Read more