It might seem as though it’s not possible to get a solid workout with just a band, but building a stronger physique doesn’t always require heavy dumbbells or a gym membership. Your band workout will be as intense as you want it to be.
While there’s no training method that can spot-reduce specific areas of fat on your body, high-intensity interval training is known for shedding off unwanted fat, overall. According to Tiffany Lee Gaston, an author and fitness expert with more than 25 years of experience, “HIIT is extremely beneficial at tapping into the body’s fat reserves because while we do not ‘spot reduce,’ the overall result benefits the body in entirety; as it does not discriminate.”
This is the result of the effect that HIIT has on the body as a whole, both during and after training. “One reason HIIT is of utmost value is due to the “afterburn” by which we continue to annihilate fat and calories far after the training has ended,” says Gaston. This is due to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. “This response allows us to continue to burn calories as it regulates you back into your bodies’ normal resting state,” she adds. Once again, giving you more bang for your buck!
Build it all with bands
Build endurance, lean muscle, lung power, and more with resistance bands. No, really, they are that good! Here’s how: Resistance bands place constant tension on your muscles throughout the entire range of motion of an exercise, as where free weights don’t due to the lack of gravity.
Not only is there more time under tension when using bands, which is fantastic for building lean muscle, when heading directly into a body-weight move without much rest in between moves, is a surefire way to take your training up a notch. “Less rest and more work during the movement leads to greater strength and conditioning gains overall,” adds Gaston.
In addition, the constant tension from resistance bands offer an element of required stabilization from your body to maintain form during each exercise, working not only the targeted muscle group, but your entire core as well. Top it off with a lesser chance of injury due to the lower amount of force on the joints, which means more stimulus is provided to the muscles which means less chance of injury.
One resistance band! Choose a level band in which you can accomplish a higher rep range but one that doesn’t feel easy. You want to feel the “burn” and have to work for the last few reps.
(Tip to finding the right band resistance: By the 20th rep, you will definitely feel the burn.)
Exercise Mat – for padding when needed
HOW TO:
Perform 15 to 20 reps for each upper-body and abdominal exercise. Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Repeat each circuit twice, then rest for 1 minute.
MODIFICATIONS:
To make this workout more intense, simply shorten the rest times or add more reps. To lessen the intensity, either lengthen the rest times or aim for one set of exercises instead of two.
Circuit 1
Maridav / Shutterstock
Resisted pushup with a band (modify by placing knees on the floor)
