The Best Ways To Safely Anchor Your Resistance Bands At Home

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Resistance bands are very versatile and allow you to do many exercises. Just your body and a resistance band can be used for quite a few movements. But, for some exercises you need to mount your bands to something solid to be able to do them right. What are the best ways to safely anchor your resistance bands?

Securely installed wall anchors are the best way to anchor resistance bands safely. Door anchors are a good alternative if drilling in the wall is not an option or there is no sturdy wall available. Other immovable objects can be used as long as it’s possible to wrap the band around safely.

Below you can find some more band anchoring options and the pros and cons of them.

Resistance Band Anchoring Options

There are a few ways to anchor your resistance bands safely. All of the ways are pretty cheap so choose what fits your situation and expectations the best way.

Here are the best options to anchor your bands safely;

• Door anchor
• Wall anchor
• Gym Equipment
• House
• Furniture

These options work for most type of long resistance bands. Below we’ll go into a bit more detail on all of these types.  Find out more about different resistance bands here.

Wall anchor

The best and safest way to anchor your resistance bands is with wall anchors. These are pieces of plastic or metal that are specifically designed to anchor resistance bands to. These wall anchors are shapped in a way where the band can’t pop out easily so it won’t happen during exercise.

They are mounted on the wall with screws. So how secure they are does depend on which wall you mount them on and on your skills mounting them. Mounting them on drywall isn’t going to do you any good… Good wall mounted anchors come with the mounting hardware and instructions included.

Resistance band wall anchors can be mounted on any height you want but after they’re installed, you can’t easily adjust them except by drilling new holes. So make sure you get them at the right height.

Most wall anchors come in a kit of two or three so you can have a low, medium and high position. Of course which height is the best exactly depends on how tall you are. To get the most complete anchor setup, use three different anchors. Mount one at shoulder height. After that, mount one anchor 1.5 foot/45 cm above shoulder height and one more 1.5 foot/45 cm below shoulder height.

Suggested: Which length resistance bands is good for a full body workout?

That should provide a good range of exercise options. If you want to mount even more, one anchor just above the floor and one just below the ceiling will increase exercise options even further.

Door Anchor

The simplest way to anchor your resistance bands is with a door anchor. These are nylon straps with a foam or rubber roll on one side and a place to attach your band on the other.

The foam/rubber roll goes on the outside of the door, the nylon straps just fit past the door frame through the other side. On the inside of the door you’ll see the end of the anchor to attach your resistance band to. Any type of resistance band will work.

This is by far the easiest and a pretty safe way of anchoring your resistance band at home. You don’t need anything else, no drilling, mounting or other hardware required. These anchors are quite cheap as well.

One of the great things about a door anchor is that

There are a few downsides though;

• To adjust the height of the anchor, you have to open the door, adjust the height and close the door again.
• You want to be very sure nobody else is opening that door otherwise the anchor releases.
• If your door is very tight against the frame, the nylon straps can be thick enough to prevent the door from closing.

Because doors can open, door anchors are slightly less safe than (properly installed) wall mounted ones but much easier to use because there is no drilling required.

Gym Equipment

If you’ve got any other gym equipment besides your resistance bands like a power cage or functional trainer, those are pretty good spots to anchor your resistance bands as well.

Big pieces of gym equipment are not supposed to move which is perfect to attach a resistance band to. Some power cages even come with band pegs to loop your resistance bands around. These pegs are usually meant to help you integrate resistance bands into a weightlifting workout but of course nobody is stopping you to use them for other exercises.

If there are no band pegs and the equipment is heavy enough, you can simply wrap the band around a solid piece and go from there. Especially if you’ve got a tall piece of gym equipment, you can wrap the band around at any height you want so you have plenty of exercise options.

It’s always a good idea to have a mirror opposite where you anchor the bands so you can keep an eye on your form. It’s not strictly necessary but if you’ve got the option to do your exercises in a way where you can see yourself in a mirror, that’s a good spot.

Furniture

Just like you can wrap your band around gym equipment, any heavy furniture will act the same. You just want to be able to stretch the resistance band on one side while the other stays in place. So if you have a piece of furniture that’s heavy enough to not move, it’s OK.

There are two big downsides to using furniture as a resistance band anchor though;

• There usually isn’t much choice at which height you want to mount the band. So exercises might be limited.
• The resistance bands can rub and damage the furniture over time. Using something soft in between the furniture and the band will prevent any rubbing and damage.

House

Finally, in some cases you can attach your resistance bands to part of the house (or shed). As long as it’s sturdy and small enough to wrap a resistance band around, you can use it. Think about pillars, the handrail of a staircase or a sturdy fence.

Those things are unlikely to move under the resistance you can generate with a resistance band. If this is a feasible option really depends on if you have anything in your house and if that’s in a suitable location to do your exercises.

Resistance band anchor for travelling

Looking for an anchor that can travel with you so you have the same workout everywhere? A door anchor is the best option. Especially if you’re staying in hotels, you can always use a door anchor.

The bathroom door in a hotel room is often the best door to use because you’ll know that nobody is going to open that door without you knowing. Housekeeping can sometimes come in unannounced and if you’re doing your exercises at that time, you can be hit in the head by the anchor because of the tension.

Resistance band set with anchor

Buying a set of resistance bands is a good way to get started. Combo’s often come with five different bands (different resistance), an anchor, some attachments and a carrying bag. So in one go you get pretty much everything you need for use at home or travelling.

The anchors included in these combos are almost always door anchors. There is nothing wrong with them but if you want wall mounted anchors, it’s better to buy them separately. Even if you want wall anchors, buying the combo is still not a bad plan. You can use the carrying bag and door anchor for when you’re travelling but use the wall anchors at home. This way you get the best of both worlds.