Whether you’re traveling, pinched for time or space, or looking for an affordable piece of equipment to strength train at home, resistance bands are a great, accessible tool.
In addition to being convenient and portable, they also work your muscles in a unique way: Since there is resistance during the concentric and eccentric motion of the exercise, you’re constantly being challenged to maintain proper form and your stabilizing muscles are recruited.
There are a few different types of resistance bands. For this workout you will utilize the bands with handles and also the shorter loop bands. As a personal trainer, I prefer using the longer bands with handles to work the back and arms, and the shorter bands with more tension for legs and glutes. We are not using the thicker resistance bands in this workout — those are usually used for rehabilitation exercises and stretching.
In this full-body resistance band workout, we’ll start with the lower body, get down on the ground for a core move, and then stand back up for the upper body.
You can do this routine every other day, as you would with other strength-training workouts. Perform each exercise in the circuit 10 times and repeat the circuit for a total of three rounds. Remember to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth during this routine.
The lower body exercises work the quads, hamstrings, glutes, stabilizing muscles of the lower body, and the core. Pull the naval in toward the spine to support the low back and to help maintain your balance.
Standing side taps
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the resistance band around your ankles. Shift your weight so that you are standing on your right leg; press down through the heel. Slightly bend your knees. Then, lift the left leg out to the side so that it is completely straight, tapping the toe on the ground. Bring it back to center. Repeat 10 times and then switch to the right side.
Standing glute kickbacks
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and…
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