Bands were first introduced to Dave Tate close to 10 years ago. After experimenting with accommodating resistance and the use of chains, Dave took his squat from 760 to 855 in 12 months. With his new success, he was hesitant to use any other method. Over the years lifters and coaches have been attaching exercise bands to weighted barbells with amazing results, and the results have sustained the test of time.
Bands have come a long way since then and at EFS, they have now evolved into EFS Pro Short Bands.
Benefits of EFS Pro Short Bands
- Easy to set up
- No need for a platform for band deadlifts
- Balanced tension
- Heavier ones have a wider base compared to double looping or quad looping the bands (this can cause them to shred)
Why were they made?
A lot of time could be saved if you didn’t have to spend 50 million attempts trying to double-up the bands so that they are even. After years of frustration, it was time to make shorter bands with the same resistance as doubled bands.
How do they work?
When bands are used, there is more weight pulling you to the floor than without the bands, causing a form of maximal eccentrics.
There are many ways you can implement them into your bench training using dynamic, max effort and submaximal methods. Below are some examples:
Dynamic Bench Cycle
Week 1 – 50% for 8 sets 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wide)
Week 2 – 50% for 8 sets 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wide)
Week 3 – 50% for 8 sets 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wide)
· If you feel good and the weight feels easy, add two sets of five reps at the end of the eight dynamic speed sets, with a weight 10-20% higher than the weight used for your dynamic sets.
Sample Max Effort Bench Application
Select a band tension close to or equal to 50% of your best bench press to perform a three-board press with bands. Load the bands on the bar first and work up to a one or three rep max. This is a great movement for lockout and tricep strength.
A Note on Submaximal Bench Training With Bands
While there are many ways to skin a cat, Dave suggests a reduction of barbell weight equal to the band tension at the bottom of the lift. So if your training weight is programmed to be 300 for 2 sets of 5 reps and the band tension at the bottom is 40 pounds, he suggests you lower the barbell weight to 260 pounds.
There are also many ways to use the band for training the deadlift, but two of the most popular are: max effort pin pulls from a pin below the knees and speed pulls from the floor.
Pin Pulls With Bands
Select a band tension equal to 40-50% of your best deadlift off the floor. Load the band to the bar first and work up to a one rep max.
Speed Pulls
Select a band tension close to 50-60% of the weight you will be using for your dynamic (speed work). Most lifters tend to use a weight between 40 and 60 percent of the best one rep max for speed work. If your max pull is 600 pounds then your training weight would be 300 and your band tension 150 pounds at the top (or whatever works out closest). You will then do 6-10 sets of one rep.
The Tension Chart
Mike Lawrence, a Ball State University biomechanics laboratory graduate assistant, conducted a study on our EFS Pro Short Bands. He tested the bands when they are stretched from 24-50 inches. Every two inches, he calculated the amount of force in pounds the mini bands produce.
The distance Mike measured is the distance from the center of the end of the bar to the center of the peg. The bands were put around the bar on the inside of the collars. If the bands are put on the collars, it may add a few pounds.
The bands show less force as they are stretched more towards the end of the calibration, Mike said. The picture below shows what the force curve for bands will look like.
All of his measurements took place between the band being slack and point B on the curve. This is the range around where the bands will be stretched for benching. Mike does not recommend stretching the black and yellow bands past 48 inches.
“What I wasn’t expecting is that the curve would start to increase so dramatically towards the end,” Mike said.
Sample Movements
PDF 
Rachel is training for her first competition and lifelong dream of being on The Bachelor. She believes she'll win because she enjoys long romantic walks on the treadmill, Disney movies, expensive dinners at McDonald’s, stuffed animals won for her out of claw machines and the smell of blue heat on sweaty men.
Her talents include, but are DEFINITELY limited to dancing, running the monolift, smiling, correcting Dave’s spelling, baking with Betty Crocker, writing and avidly following her 5/3/1 religion.
Rachel trains at the Mecca of strength hoping to one day wear heels, lots of pretty sparkles and Protan.
She is known to her many adoring fans as "Bubbles." 
Where would i buy a platform that they used to dead lift off of. I have found smaller conventional platforms but none wide enough to Sumo dead lift being 6’3. Thank for all your help
are these measurements per band or per pair?
They are per pair.
It is unbelievable the amount of tension the grey bands provide at the top of a deadlift. The chart says it should be in the 150′s, which is probably correct, but the rapid increase in tension makes it feel like 300.
@Mike, I like pictures, they help me understand things and grasp concepts faster. I especially like graphs, I think they can explain how things work in a single snap shot. I made a graph of the long and short band calibrations simply for my own understanding. I thought is was odd that some of the short bands (light thru heavy) actually saw a decrease in tension at the max length (50″). I came back here to post this and noticed that your graph doesn’t look anything like mine. Your graph suggests a linear increase in tension followed by an exponential function until failure/breakage. My graphs, made from the table above, are linear with a slight drop in tension at 50″. Just curious why the discrepancy. Disclaimer: I am a science dork and probably spent way too much time thinking about this, LOL.
Swede, Keep in mind that this was done with the band around a band peg…not under the base of your foot. Makes a little difference… under the base of your foot the tension is probably closer to 250 than 150.
JOHN, Good point. lol
Which short band would be good for doing hip abduction?
John,
Would it be possible to show some math for base of foot vs band peg? My gym has no band pegs so I either use my foot or dumbbells to hold the bands down. I’ve just been measuring the length of the band stretched and following the chart. Is this not the correct way?
Who is the bald guy that pulls sumo in the Elitefts.com – Short Band Dead Testing *profanity video… Thanks..
WOW~!!! The idea of short bands is incredible! Amazing it took somebody this long to come up with the idea. I used a Jump Start’s bands many years ago and yup, it was tricky trying to figure how many additional pounds the purple band put on my bench and deadlift. I just hooked them up and made it a bit difficult and pulled or pushed like hell to smooth continuous extention.. It did assist my lifts but it was so much a pain in the ass recording some things that I just let it go after about a year or two. Having shorter bands available takes all the dumbshit out of using them. Thanks Dave/Elitefts ! it’s the smartest idea since jock straps.
Also Dave I love your writing style. ‘Under The Bar’ came my during the most hair raising time on my job in corrections. I took a transfer to another jail county two hrs away on a guys’ word on the working conditions at the newer place after already having 22 yrs in the deptartmant. Moving and commuting for a few months before moving my family here was scary as hell.. The attitude in Under The Bar put and kept me in check. Very grateful to ya Dave. Thank You.
I purchased a pair of Pro Short Light Bands a while back, and I’ve recently noticed that one of the bands has a slightly greater tension than the other. At first, I thought it was just me, but I’ve tested them out several times on the bench, switched the bands on both sides of the barbell, and I can definitely tell that one band has a heavier tension. I love the bands, and I’ve seen great results from them, but the imbalance between them is really starting to bothering me. Is there any way I can fix this problem, or should I just buy a new set?
bother**
i was curious which band would be best for performing band push ups with at least 150-200 pounds at 70″ in distance thanks guys keep lifting heavy iron
Going to use the bands in some of my bench training for now. Going with EFS Pro Short Monster Mini Band, EFS Pro Short Mini Band and EFS Pro Mini Band. Anything have exp using bands care to comment if this looks good to start me out?
I didnt see many mini bands, the non short ones.
Thanks , I’ve recently been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the best I have found out till now. However, what about the bottom line? Are you positive in regards to the source?