{"id":188,"date":"2014-01-19T16:02:16","date_gmt":"2014-01-19T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/?p=188"},"modified":"2014-01-19T16:08:52","modified_gmt":"2014-01-19T16:08:52","slug":"recycling-tire-tubes-for-resistance-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/recycling-tire-tubes-for-resistance-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycling Tire Tubes for Resistance Bands"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"stcpDiv\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Three women perform shoulder stretches with tire tubes during a workout with Molly Graves at the Marsh Studio\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_shoulder_women.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly holds a tire tube in her hands\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_molly_0.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/?q=articles\/interview\/aerial-journal-interview-molly-graves\">Molly Graves<\/a> brought out her recycled tire tubes during my first retreat to the Marsh Studio, I knew she was a genius. Not only is this a super-awesome exercise tool, but tire tubes are <strong>recycled<\/strong> and <strong>free<\/strong>. Good for the environment, good for you! And the tire tubes make a great gift!<\/p>\n<p>You can go up to any bike shop, and they&#8217;ll be happy to give you their used tubes. These are the inner tubes that go <em>inside<\/em> the outer tube, so this part doesn&#8217;t touch the road. Just ask for one that hasn&#8217;t been repaired with slime (a goo that&#8217;s used to fix flats), cut off the valve, use a nail file to shave down the ridge and you&#8217;ve got your new favorite stretch tool.<\/p>\n<p>Tubes come in different sizes. Molly recommends experimentation, but be careful not to overstretch yourself or your tire tube&#8211; the rubber can snap. And just like they say at the beginning of fitness videos, be sure to consult with your doctor before you begin any exercise program.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Stretching with bicycle tire inner tubes<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly demonstrates shoulder exercises with tire tubes\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_shoulder2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Anything you can do with a theraband, you can do with this,&#8221; Molly says. &#8220;There&#8217;s a little more resistance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Shoulder and side stretches<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Shoulder stretch<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Put your hands wide on the doubled tire tube.<\/li>\n<li>Keep shoulders engaged in sockets&#8211; you may need to spread your hands wider across the tube.<\/li>\n<li>Notice if one side is stiffer than the other.<\/li>\n<li>Molly says this a great exercise to do everyday<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Full circle shoulder stretch<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Continuing with the first shoulder stretch above, make a full circle around the back, then to the front<\/li>\n<li>Notice how you breathe<\/li>\n<li>Switch directions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sweeps<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly sweeps the floor in this tire tube shoulder stretch\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_sweep1_0.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep your hands on the folded tire tube as described above, but fold yourself to the floor<\/li>\n<li>Begin to &#8220;sweep&#8221; the floor with the tube, right, then left, then right, and so on.<\/li>\n<li>Begin to sweep higher&#8211; higher right, higher left, etc. You will begin to rise.<\/li>\n<li>Then begin to sweep around and behind<\/li>\n<li>Try the opposite side as well<\/li>\n<li>Have a little dance with the tire tube<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Leg stretches<\/h3>\n<h3><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly shows how she wraps the tire tube around her foot\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_wrap.jpg\" \/><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Hamstrings, calves and hip flexors<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like being able to give yourself an extended arm,&#8221; Molly says.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There are many ways to use the tire tube for leg stretches:\n<ul>\n<li>You could double-up the band and put it on top of your foot<\/li>\n<li>You could just put one loop over your foot.<\/li>\n<li>Molly&#8217;s wrap includes the foot and ankle (see photo).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Wrap the tire tube around your foot and ankle.<\/li>\n<li>Holding the tail of the tube, pull your leg back for a hamstring stretch.<\/li>\n<li>Next, pull it over and across your body.<\/li>\n<li>Then let it go down and out to the other side, making a semi circle.<\/li>\n<li>Switch sides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"With the tire tube wrapped around her foot, Molly pulls her leg back\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_legs_stretch.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Straddle splits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly wraps an end of the tire tube around each foot\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_legs_straddle1.jpg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly carefully extends her tiretubed legs into a straddle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_legs_straddle2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly lies on her back to allow gravity to pull her legs down for a wider straddle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_legs_straddle3_0.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Note: The resistance in your tire tube will vary. To avoid snapping, start with a longer tire tube.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To get into this:\n<ul>\n<li>Sit with your feet together.<\/li>\n<li>Wrap the doubled tire tube across your low back.<\/li>\n<li>Put loop over one foot<\/li>\n<li>Now stretch the tube across your low back so that the other loop end can go over the other foot. There will be some resistance.<\/li>\n<li>Slowly extend one leg, then the other, until you are in a straddle split.\n<ul>\n<li>You may need to adjust the tube across your low back. You should feel pretty relaxed.<\/li>\n<li>Now watch some TV.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>To come out, slowly bring in one foot, then the other, and carefully remove the tube.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Conditioning: another awesome use of tire tubes<\/h2>\n<p>The tubes aren&#8217;t just for stretching; they make a great conditioning tool as well. Molly says you can fill up the tire tubes with sand, knot them up, then wrap them around your waist or ankles during your rope\/fabric climbs. More weight=more strength! You go girl\/boy!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Molly holds a tire tube of sand used for conditioning purposes\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aerialjournal.com\/drupal\/sites\/default\/files\/tubes_molly_sand.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Lauren Blais contributed this article which was originally published at Aerial Journal (www.aerialjournal.com). I(Rebekah) thought this was simply brilliant when I read it. I went to a local bike shop, and sure enough, they had a few tubes to spare. Now, one them snapped on me within an hour of use, so definitely be careful. Next time I won&#8217;t cut off quite so much of the air insert.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Molly Graves brought out her recycled tire tubes during my first retreat to the Marsh Studio, I knew she was a genius. Not only is this a super-awesome exercise tool, but tire tubes are recycled and free. Good for the environment, good for you! And the tire tubes make a great gift! You can &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/recycling-tire-tubes-for-resistance-bands\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Recycling Tire Tubes for Resistance Bands&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-equipment","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}