80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops Comparison (Bands)

If you are doing Autumn Calabrese’s 80 Day Obsession or A Little Obsessed from Beachbody On Demand, then you know how much the program depends on the 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops designed for the program. Since the program was a smash success and the company under-estimated the demand for the Accessory Bundle, many customers resorted to purchasing third-party loops or strength bands to get started. If that applies to you, do you know how your bands stack up to the ones the cast is using? I’ll show you how to compare what you may have to the official Resistance Loops used on the screen.

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What You Will Need

To measure the resistance of your loops, you will need 3 things:

• a tape measure or yardstick
• a 15 pound dumbbell
• resistance loops or strength bands

(If you don’t have a 15 pound dumbbell, then go get a pair! You shouldn’t be doing an 80 Day Obsession leg workout with less than 15 pounds!)

How to Measure

What we are basically going to do is see how much a loop has to stretch before it starts to lift a 15 pound dumbbell off the floor. The stronger the loop, the less it will stretch. Here are the steps for checking your loops or band:

1. With your dumbbell flat on the floor, measure the gap between the floor and the dumbbell handle. Since our measuring stick will be measuring from the floor you will subtract this gap from the stretched measurement so you are only measuring the stretch of the band. My hex weights only have a 1″ gap between the handle and the floor, but my plates and discrete handles have a 2″ gap.
2. Place one end of your loop over the handle of your dumbbell. Rather than center it on the handle, shift it all the way to one end of the handle so it is right next to the business end of your dumbbell.
3. While holding your measuring stick in one hand, raise the other end of the loop until it starts to stretch. Continue stretching until one end of your dumbbell just starts to lift off the floor. Take care not to lift the weight off the floor more than a quarter of an inch or your reading will be too high. Record the height of the stretch at the top of the loop.
4. Subtract the gap you measured in Step 1, and that is your loop stretch for comparison.

Comparison of Different Loops and Bands

I evaluated 4 sets of loops/bands:

• Official 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops (9″, yellow, green, blue)
• Official 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops (12″, yellow, green, blue)
• Beachbody Strength Bands (older 10.5″ version used in Brazil Butt Lift, yellow, green)
• Fitness Gear Bands from Dicks Sporting Goods (9″, orange, green)

This chart illustrates how much the official 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops stretched, and how the other two sets compared:

The 9″ 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops are definitely the strongest set of loops that I tested. The green and blue loops specifically are pretty beefy, and under normal use should not rip or tear easily. The 12″ 80 Day Obsession Resistance Loops are similar to the 9″ loops with about 3″ of additional stretch because they are 3″ larger in diameter. The Beachbody Strength Bands were the weakest that I tested, although I did not have the heavy red Strength Band to test.

If you test your bands this way please tell me in a comment below what measurements you get. I’m curious how everyone’s official Resistance Loops compare. If you are using a third part set of loops or bands, please share what brand they are and where you purchased them so we can all learn how they compare!

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