If you’re someone who loves to workout at home, or somewhere outside the gym, you need to add resistance bands to your box of workout artillery.
Resistance bands may seem simple, but they are perfect piece of equipment for any fitness enthusiast.
Benefits of Resistance Bands:
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- You can train anywhere. Resistance bands are lightweight and take up almost no space at all. They are perfect to take to the park for a workout or to bring with you when you travel. Just pack them in your suitcase and you can workout in your hotel room.
- They provide resistance during the positive and negative movements of each exercise. When done correctly, you will be activating more muscles when using resistance bands than with other pieces of equipment because you need to control the deceleration of the movement.
- They’re extremely cost-effective and inexpensive. Even the heaviest resistance bands are no more than $15, so they’re great to add to a home gym.
- Great for a variety of different fitness levels or those looking to get stronger. Resistance bands come in a variety of resistances, including light, medium and heavy. You can adjust the intensity even further by giving the band more or less slack. You could also use multiple bands at once to increase the challenge.
- Can add variety to exercises and can be used together with other equipment. You can use them with weights, allowing you to get the benefits of two types of exercises at once, or you could even use them with machines (you may have seen others doing this in the gym before)
The Full Body Resistance Band Workout
This total body workout will hit all major muscles with one convenient piece of equipment. Repeat this workout as a circuit moving from one exercise to the next with no rest. Repeat the circuit for a total of 3 to 4 times.
Squat & Overhead Press
This exercise will work the legs as well as the shoulders. Start with the resistance band under the arches of your feet, and your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart with knees and toes turned very slightly out to the side. Hold the handles of the band by your shoulders, with palms facing in, and your elbows in by your sides.
Lower down into a squat, sitting your hips back and keeping your weight in your heels. Engage your glutes and press through your heels to stand up simultaneously pressing your arms overhead. As you lower your arms back to your shoulders, lower into your squat, creating a fluid movement. Complete 15-20 repetitions.
Lunge & Lateral Shoulder Raise
Keep your RIGHT foot on the resistance band and step your LEFT foot behind you into a lunge position. Lower your arms down by your sides with your palms facing in. Lower into a lunge with a 90-degree bend in both of your knees. The band may go slack at the bottom, but when you straighten the legs, pull the bands up out to the side to work the shoulders.
Relax the neck during the lateral raise and make sure to press through the front heel as you work through the lunges. Complete 10 repetitions with the RIGHT foot in front, and then switch the LEFT leg in front and repeat 10 more times.
Glute Kick Back
Come down onto your mat and hold onto the handles of your band. Wrap the band under the arch of your RIGHT foot, engage your abs and obliques as you slightly shift your weight to the LEFT, but keep your hips steady.
Leading with the heel, press the RIGHT leg back so that it is parallel to the floor or just slightly higher. With control, bring the knee back in and repeat 15-20 times. Switch legs once you complete all repetitions on the right.
Upright Row
Position the band under the arches of your feet, with your feet hip-distance apart. Working the shoulders, pull the handles up towards your underarms. Think about drawing your shoulder blades down your back and relaxing your neck. You should feel your shoulders, upper back muscles, and even your biceps working in this exercise. Complete 15-20 repetitions.
Bent Over Row
To focus more on the biceps and the rear delts, we’ll also do a bent over row. Place the band under the arch of your RIGHT foot and step your left foot back into a small lunge. Bend your torso over so that it’s almost parallel to the floor. You may need to choke up on the bands a bit to find the right position, you’ll want them to be taught when your arms are extended straight. Leading with your elbows, squeeze your shoulder blades together to pull the bands up. Lower back down and repeat 15-20 times.
Push-Up
Finally, you need to work the chest and the triceps. You can perform this exercise in two different positions, with a wide hand position to focus more on the chest, or with a narrow position to focus on the triceps. Place the band across your back, right over your shoulder blades, and hoist up on the bands so that you feel resistance when your arms are straight in front of you. Come down to your mat into a full plank on your hands, still with the band across your back. Perform your push-up. The resistance band should be taut at the top of the movement. Perform 15-20 repetitions. (This exercise can also be performed on your knees if you’re a beginner.)
Watch the Video Below!
With this workout and a few resistance bands of your own, you’ll be able to get a great workout in absolutely anywhere. You’ll be building strength and endurance with this workout, so now there are no excuses!
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