Level-Up Your Workout with Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are underestimated and underutilized in the world of fitness.

Yet, they can add variety to your workout.

They can strengthen and tone your muscles in a new way. They can assist you during certain exercises, like pull-ups. And they are entirely affordable - no gym membership required! Plus, unlike dumbbells or heavy gym equipment, you can take them with you almost anywhere.

So, are you ready to amp up your workouts?

It’s time to try out resistance band workouts. But - wait - what resistance band workouts should you try?

Below, we offer up a variety of resistance band exercises you can do at home (and virtually, in any space). Then, we’ll provide you with workouts you can do with these exercises - ones that are anything but boring.

Get ready to sweat and get ready to work. Don’t let these resistance bands fool you - they’re still a challenge. And hey, maybe you need that challenge to get yourself to the next level. Let’s dive in!

Exercises Using Resistance Bands:

The Glute Bridge

Make those buns of steel burn. And strong glutes aren’t just about aesthetics. Strong gluteal muscles help prevent low back injuries, provide stability to the spine, pelvis, and core, and aid in hip extension. Here’s how you perform the glute bridge:

• Lie face up.
• Bend your knees and plant your feet on the ground or on your mat.
• Scoot your feet as close to your buttocks as you can get.
• Wrap a resistance band around the front of your hips and underneath your feet. This will provide resistance throughout the exercise.
• Squeeze your glutes and slowly lift your hips and buttocks up and off the ground.
• Slowly lower, and repeat.

Challenge Yourself: When you get to the top of the exercise, push your knee outward against the resistance band even further. Then, bring them back in and lower.

The Squat & Curl

Squats really are the king of all exercises. They are functional - which means these babies will help you out in your daily life, such as bending down to pick up a heavy object. Throw a bicep curl into the mix and you’ve got almost a full-body compound exercise. Here’s how you do it:

• Step on the resistance band with both feet, and hold the ends of the resistance band in each hand.
• Position your feet so they are hip-width apart. Begin with your arms relaxed at your sides.
• Lower into a squat. Make sure to keep your back straight and your core engaged. At the same time, bend your elbows at 90 degrees, performing a bicep curl.
• Push back up through your heels and at the same time, straighten your arms back down at your sides, and repeat.

The Side Shuffle Band Walk

The human body is fairly good at stabilizing front and back. Side-to-side balance, on the other hand, takes work. It doesn’t come naturally - at least not for most of us. This side shuffle band walk helps you strengthen those lateral-sometimes-neglected muscles. Here’s how you do it:

• If you have loop resistance bands, put one around your mid-thighs. If not, hold each end of the resistance band in each hand and wrap it underneath your feet.
• Position your feet hip-width apart.
• Slightly squat down, bending your knees.
• Step your right foot out to your right side, and then bring your left foot to follow.
• Perform 5 steps to the right (if room allows), then 5 steps to your left, and repeat.

Challenge Yourself: Squat down low if you really want to feel the burn on this one!

Plank Jacks

The plank is the ultimate core exercise. And it becomes even more challenging when you throw in some plank jacks and resistance bands. Here’s how you do it:

• Wrap a band around your ankles.
• Position yourself in a full plank. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders. Your back should be straight, creating a straight line from your head to your toes.
• Jump both legs out against the resistance of the band.
• Jump both your legs back together, and repeat.

Challenge Yourself: In between each plank jack, lower down to your forearms then back up. Work that core!

Putting It All Together: Your Resistance Band Workouts

So now you’ve got a few exercises to ease into. Let’s put it all together. What workouts can you do? Try these.

The 20-Minute Quick HIIT

Perform each exercise for 30-45 seconds, with a 15-30 second break. Give 110% during those working seconds. Do 4 rounds to make it a 20-minute workout in total.

The Bodyweight Workout

Do a 5 minute warm-up, such as running on the spot or jumping rope (even without a jump rope). Then do 10-12 reps of one of the 4 exercises above. In between each exercise, perform 5 jumping jacks or 5 jump squats, then move onto the next exercise. Aim to do 2-4 rounds.

The 5X5 Workout

Some people claim this helps them tone up and build muscle fast. Basically, you do 5 reps of 5 sets of each exercise. It’s fairly straight-forward. Blast some tunes for motivation and get to it!

The Challenge Workout

For most of the 4 exercises above, we have a tip to challenge yourself below. If you’re ready to move to the next level, perform one set of 10-15 reps of the regular exercise, then one set of 10-15 reps of the challenge yourself version. For the exercises that don’t have a challenge yourself option, repeat the basic exercise a second time.

What Kind of Resistance Bands Should You Use?

Peach Bands have the perfect resistance bands for any workout. And they also have other fun and small workout equipment pieces and add-ons you may want to try out. A lot of these items you can easily fit in a suitcase if you travel a lot or are even heading off on vacation.

Get Into Resistance Band Workouts Today!

What do you have to lose? Mix it up. The same old can get boring. We’ve all been there. Continue to keep things interesting by throwing in some resistance band training. Throw your excuses out the window with the exercises outlined above. You don’t need a gym membership. Hey, you don’t even need to leave your house for these workouts. Become stronger than you ever thought possible! You deserve a healthy body you love. Work to get it.

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