GRAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES
Muscle & Fitness|April 2020
Fitness entrepreneur James Grage ditched the gym for resistance band workouts to spend more time with his family. Judging by his results, he won’t be returning anytime soon.
JEFF TOMKO
GRAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES

TIME IS OUR MOST valuable resource, and when building your business and spending time with your family are top priorities, wasting precious moments stuck in traffic en route to the gym can no longer be a real-world option.

That scenario became fitness entrepreneur James Grage’s reality several years ago: How can he get as much time as possible with his wife and kids and still be able to knock out a decent workout?

His solution: incorporating resistance bands, those lengthy stretchy contraptions most popular with powerlifting but a mystery to the everyday gymgoer. Grage began using them regularly about three years ago, and after toying around with angles and variations, he incorporated a full-body routine that keeps his dad bod as ripped as it was when he hit the gym. Best of all: He doesn’t have to miss any of his daughter’s T-ball games.

“I was taking time away from my kids,” he says. “If I only see them for a couple of hours every night, the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. Fitness was important to me, but it wasn’t a higher priority than my kids.”

Grage created UnderSun Fitness Products in part to showcase his idea of band-only workouts. Why the obsession? They’re safer on the joints and versatile enough to be taken everywhere, and because bands allow you to hit the smaller stabilizer muscles you may miss using free weights, Grage says that they can help you gain strength.

“Bands open up many possibilities for movements that you can’t mimic with free weights, because they only have that resistance on the vertical planes,” he says. “So there’s a lot more variety that you can create, especially hitting the muscle from different angles.”

This story is from the April 2020 edition of Muscle & Fitness.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2020 edition of Muscle & Fitness.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM MUSCLE & FITNESSView All
7 Things Fitness Insiders Want You To Know
Muscle & Fitness

7 Things Fitness Insiders Want You To Know

We asked seasoned coaches and trainers in the fitness industry for tips and advice that they wish all their clients and social media followers knew. From dispelling myths about training with injuries to assuming all box gyms suck, your training IQ is all but guaranteed to rise a few points after digesting these tidbits.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2020
GRAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES
Muscle & Fitness

GRAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES

Fitness entrepreneur James Grage ditched the gym for resistance band workouts to spend more time with his family. Judging by his results, he won’t be returning anytime soon.

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2020
GO TO BED TIRED
Muscle & Fitness

GO TO BED TIRED

Forget brains, talent, or genetics. For Special Forces operator and former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy, hard work is the most important factor to a rewarding life.

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2020
FINE ART: CHISELING A COMPETITION-QUALITY UPPER BODY
Muscle & Fitness

FINE ART: CHISELING A COMPETITION-QUALITY UPPER BODY

How physique competitor Osamoje Imoohi shaped his mind and impressive body through fitness.

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2020
Light Up Your Legs
Muscle & Fitness

Light Up Your Legs

Juan Morel’s continued quest for bodybuilding’s top prize begins with his killer leg workout.

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2020
ROMAN'S SECOND REIGN
Muscle & Fitness

ROMAN'S SECOND REIGN

After being sidelined with leukemia in 2018, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns returned bigger and stronger—both inside and outside the ring.

time-read
7 mins  |
April 2020
COOL RUNNINGS
Muscle & Fitness

COOL RUNNINGS

To break out of his fitness funk, M&F ’s chief content officer, Zack Zeigler, challenged himself to complete a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon, and a 24-hour, 30-mile Spartan Race all in a week’s time.

time-read
1 min  |
April 2020
THE FUTURE OF STEROIDS
Muscle & Fitness

THE FUTURE OF STEROIDS

M&F explores the advancements being made to PEDs, emerging drugs, and what this all means for the future of bodybuilding and other sports

time-read
9 mins  |
April 2020
BRAIN FOOD
Muscle & Fitness

BRAIN FOOD

These seven foods will nourish your body and sharpen your mind.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2020
THE MODERN RUNNING SHOE...DISSECTED
Muscle & Fitness

THE MODERN RUNNING SHOE...DISSECTED

More innovations have been made in the past decade to the running shoe than ever before, resulting in a product so efficient it was almost banned from all running events. Here are the major changes that have led us to the pinnacle of performance footwear.

time-read
5 mins  |
April 2020