What is a Dyna-Band®?

Dyna-Band® is a giant rubber band that provides resistance to certain muscles of the body during workouts. Its concept can be traced to hospitals that began using rubber bands to rehabilitate the muscles of injured patients. Since then, it has expanded as an important component of the physical fitness world. Prime retailers of the Dyna-Band® include Crown World Marketing in the United Kingdom and Balls 'N' Bands in the United States.

Each Dyna-Band® is color coded, which denotes its strength level. The pink version represents "light strength," with 8 mm of thickness and 4 pounds (1.8 kg) of maximum force when fully elongated. The green version is classified as "medium strength," which consists of 2 mm of thickness and 7 pounds (3.2 kg) of maximum force. The purple version is the "heavy strength" band, offering 16 mm of thickness and 9.5 pounds (4.3 kg) of maximum force. At the apex is the "extra heavy strength" silver or grey Dyna-Band®, which is 22 mm thick and applies up to 13 pounds (5.9 kg) of force.

The Dyna-Band® comes in four lengths. Each band is 3 to 6 inches (1.2 to 2.4 cm) long. There is also the option of getting all four strength levels for each length. Dyna-Band® is composed of natural latex rubber, which makes it less susceptible to breakage than many other exercise bands.

Each Dyna-Band® comes with a guide sheet booklet, which provides more than a dozen exercises to try out. The resistance band is most commonly used for the arms. A popular exercise for that part of the body is performing bicep curls by trapping one end of the band with one's foot while holding onto the other end.

The Dyna-Band® can also be used to strengthen the midsection and legs. To perform a chest workout requires holding the band in front and stretching it from side to side; maintaining that position for about three seconds; then returning to the original position. Standing leg curls can be performed to strengthen the calves.

Dyna-Band® continues to be recommended by members of the medical community for rehabilitation. Some exercise gurus and instructional videos rely on it to improve the strength, calorie burn, stress relief and weight loss of clients. Dyna-Band® has also become a band replacement for owners of "EA Sports Active," a 2009 video game exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console system.