Martín-Ruiz Julio, Ruiz-Sanchis Laura, Tamarit Grancha Ignacio, Gallego Cerveró Clara, Vicente-Mampel Juan, Baraja-Vegas Luis
Department of Health and Functional Assessment, Catholic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Department of Physical Preparation and Conditioning, Catholic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Sports Health. 2025 Jul 29:19417381251353769. doi: 10.1177/19417381251353769.
Elastic tubes are used widely in fitness programs because they are lightweight, easy to use, and versatile. However, evidence of their equivalence to other equipment, including dumbbells, remains insufficient.
Elastic tubing and dumbbells do not have equivalent loads, although both equipment generate similar symmetry and muscular synergy.
Cross-sectional study.
Level 2b.
Thirty physically active people (15 men and 15 women) performed 4 upper-limb exercises (elbow flexion, shoulder abduction, scapular elevation and abduction, and scapular retraction and abduction) with 5 loads (dumbbells ranging from 2 to 6 kg and red, green, blue, black, and silver elastic tubes).
Only elbow flexion ( = 0.14 and ≥ 0.99) and shoulder abduction ( = 0.13 and ≥ 0.99) exercises showed load equivalence in men but not in women. Both types of equipment were symmetrical and generated similar synergies when the load was increased, with no sex differences ( = 0.11). Load equivalence was found only in men and in the 2 exercises, suggesting that this equipment was not interchangeable.
Dumbbell and elastic tube exercises can be executed in a balanced and symmetrical manner, yielding similar synergies considering the involvement of all muscle groups regardless of sex.
This study analyzed a higher number of exercises performed by both men and women. The results showed that these 2 pieces of equipment cannot be considered interchangeable, as they generate different loads. However, similar efforts are required for symmetry and muscle synergy.
弹力管因其重量轻、使用方便且用途广泛，在健身项目中被广泛使用。然而，其与包括哑铃在内的其他器材等效性的证据仍然不足。
尽管弹力管和哑铃这两种器材产生的对称性和肌肉协同作用相似，但它们的负荷并不等效。
横断面研究。
2b级。
30名身体活跃的人（15名男性和15名女性）使用5种负荷（2至6千克的哑铃以及红色、绿色、蓝色、黑色和银色弹力管）进行4种上肢练习（肘部屈曲、肩部外展、肩胛骨上提和外展以及肩胛骨后缩和外展）。
仅肘部屈曲（P = 0.14，ICC≥0.99）和肩部外展（P = 0.13，ICC≥0.99）练习在男性中显示出负荷等效性，而在女性中则不然。当负荷增加时，两种器材都是对称的，并且产生相似的协同作用，无性别差异（P = 0.11）。仅在男性和这两种练习中发现了负荷等效性，这表明这两种器材不可互换。
哑铃和弹力管练习可以以平衡和对称的方式进行，考虑到所有肌肉群的参与，无论性别如何，都会产生相似的协同作用。
本研究分析了男性和女性进行的更多练习。结果表明，这两种器材不能被认为是可互换的，因为它们产生不同的负荷。然而，实现对称性和肌肉协同作用需要类似的努力。
