Who would have thought that something as innocent as an elastic band could possibly make an exercise so hard. Having put together a short(ish) home workout session yesterday morning, and now feeling some proper DOMS a day later, I can tell you there is nothing easy about resistance bands!
Happy to share the set with you. Obviously if you choose to do this workout it is completely at your own risk and you should modify it appropriately for your current level of fitness.
As some of you will know I have been on a mission to not have to use a gym and still be able to do effective strength exercises. I have this nailed now at just two resistance bands that I can use with any “public anchor point” (in other words a park bench!) to work any major muscle group that I want.
Yesterday was an “indoor” session so used much more equipment than I really needed (see list below)… But as it was all there anyway.
The Equipment
1 x 1980’s style aerobic step (but this could be a step at the bottom of a stair case or out doors)
1 x 10kg dumbbell (easily replaceable with a long resistance band)
1 x “Heavy” long resistance band
1 x 20LB resistance band with handle attached to a door anchor (this can be replaced with a simple long resistance band).
1 x some imagination (OK you can’t replace this part, but Google is your friend or I can help you!)
The Workout
Lets start with a bit of a cardio warm-up, raise the heart rate and get into the right mindset
4 rounds of the following two exercises (rest for 10 or 20 seconds between rounds):
- 50 steps (25 leading with your right foot then 25 with the left) get the feet flying so you are stepping at pace.
- 25 high knee step ups
4 rounds of
- 25 Mountain Climbers as fast as you can
- On the last (4th) set go for 50 Mountain climbers.
Should be feeling warm by now. Lets move on to some leg specific exercises.
4 rounds of
- 25 regular squats
4 rounds of
- 15 Frog Squats
- 15L / 15R Resisted Reverse Lunges (use the band for resistance)
By the time you get to the last set of Frog Squats… Well suffice to say I was pleased it was the last set! OK, lets press on and do some upper body whilst our legs feel sorry for themselves.
4 rounds of
- 25 Shoulder Press using a resistance band (slow and controlled makes them more effective and harder)
4 rounds of
- 25 Tricep Extensions (I used a door anchor and band – but you can do any form of Tricep extension you like)
- 6R / 6L Bicep Curl. OK everything else is about toning (light weight many reps), for this I went for a hypertrophy range exercise so heavier and less reps. Ideally should have got to about 8 to 10 reps… But I’m just weak!
And finally a quick bit of core… Time to meditate 🙂 I played Sound Of Silence by Disturbed… If you can find a better track then add a comment if you feel inclined.
1 round of 3min Regular Plank
And that’s it folks! Simple and effective. Easy to progress so will update you all with the logical progressions in a week or so. But give it a go and start to discover just how much you can do with virtually no equipment.