Resistance Band Exercises

The big advantage to setting up a strength training program based upon resistance band exercises is that you can do it anywhere. Not only is it an ideal training tool to be used at home, but you can bring the bands with you anywhere. Whether at work, traveling or at home, you now can do resistance band exercises anywhere and bring your gym with you.

I have mentioned in other articles, such as the shoulder workout routine, tricep workout routines and bicep workouts how to use resistance band exercises to do the same types of exercises as you would find at the gym.

Now, I want to expand upon those exercises to give you enough options to create your own workout program featuring resistance band exercises you can do at home.

I won’t repeat myself by going over these exercises again, but to see how to use resistance band exercises for your biceps, triceps, shoulders and back, just click on the links below:

• Bicep workouts
• Tricep workout routines
• Shoulder workout routines
• Back strengthening exercises

These exercises hit your arms, shoulders and back. Now, let me show you how to work your chest and legs.

Chest

Standing Chest Press

The tried and true exercise at the gym for strengthening and defining your chest is the bench press. So, if you don’t have a bench at home or dumbbells, how do you do it?

You can do a standing chest press. Attach your resistance band to any door in your house at about chest level. Stand with your back to the attachment. Grabbing the handles to the resistance bands, walk forward until the slack is gone, your hands are near your shoulders and the bands are under your armpits.

Now that you are in position, push forward as if you would doing a bench press at the gym, straightening your arms and then slowly return to the starting position.

Standing Chest Fly

Assume the same position as the standing chest press, except this time your arms are straight and put to your sides, parallel to the floor. While holding the grips to the resistance bands, move your hands together in front of you while you keep your arms and elbows as straight as possible.

Legs

When you speak with professional sports and weight trainers, it is universally agreed that this is the best overall exercise for you because it activates the most muscles.

Yet most books or websites you read show this exercise being performed only with free weights. However when properly done it can be one of the great resistance band exercises.

Stand by making a loop of the resistance band on the floor, standing on them with your feet shoulder width apart so that the handles, when you kneel down to grab them, are only a 4-6” off the floor.

Make sure to keep your back straight and then stand up. You will feel the resistance increase as you stand.

As I said earlier, you must keep your back absolutely straight through the entire exercise or you run the risk of injury.

Squat

If you are looking for more resistance than a bodyweight squat can provide, use the resistance bands to increase the difficulty of the exercises. Stand on the center of the band , bend your knees, and bring the handles up to your shoulders. Then, stand up straight keeping your back straight for safety and to reduce the stress of your lower back. Return slowly to the starting position. That is one rep.

Calf Raises

The calf raise employs the same principal. Your bodyweight doesn’t offer enough resistance and you want to increase the difficulty.

Stand on the center of the band (make sure the band is under your toes) and bring the handles up to your shoulders so the band has no slack in it and is tense. Then stand up on your toes, hold and lower yourself down. That is one rep.

Are there disadvantages to using resistance bands? I believe there are, but there is also a way to compensate.

I have found that I don’t get the same ‘pump’ from using a resistance band as opposed to using a dumbbell. The way that I counter this is with an isometric hold. Let me explain what I mean.

Let’s say I am doing a bicep curl. I have the handles to the bands at my sides and curl up. On my way down to the starting position, I stop halfway and hold for a count of 3 or a count of 5, depending on the exercise and the strength of the band. My doing this, I get the same ‘pump’ I would feel from using a dumbbell.