Written by Sam Coleman | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Resistance bands are easily one of the best fitness tools to have for at home workouts. Not only are resistance bands effective for training your full body for strength, endurance and muscular growth, but they are also the most affordable and space friendly equipment there is. With a set of resistance bands, you essentially have a full gym stuffed into a bag in your closet, ready to go anytime you need to do a home or outdoor workout.
Below, we are going to explain why we think everyone should have a set of bands, what bands are best for people’s homes (and workouts in general) and then we are going to show you one of our favorite full body band and bodyweight workouts that you can do at home or anywhere you please.
Note: The workout is a 5 x 5 x 5 band and bodyweight workout that we call 'The Power of 5'.
WHY EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE RESISTANCE BANDS AT HOME?
Resistance bands are arguably the most ideal training tool you can have in your home. First of all, you can use them for warming up, working out, and cooling down, as you can stretch with bands, work on mobility with bands, and build muscle, strength, endurance and balance with bands. There is no other fitness equipment as versatile as a set of bands.
With one set of bands you will have a wide range of resistance, from 5-150lbs. Because bands cause resistance in the form of elastic tension, one band will have range of resistance (the more you stretch it, the more resistance it provides), and with one set, you have 5 bands. That's why the range of resistance with just one set is so large. It’s like have a whole rack of dumbbells or an olympic barbell with a bunch of plates. Moreover, any exercise that you can do with dumbbells and a barbell can be done with bands, plus much more (i.e. rotational work in the transverse plane).
If you don’t think you can build muscle with resistance bands, then read our post on how you can build muscle with resistance bands.
On top of how effective they are for our warm ups, workouts and cool downs, they also provide the benefits of being space-friendly, affordable, and portable. With a set of bands, you can get a workout in anywhere you please - at home, outdoors or at the gym!
Resistance bands are the best fitness companion you can have. Even if you go to the gym for your workouts or you have a bunch of free weight equipment at home, you will still want a set of bands. Again, you can warm up with them, mobilize your joints, throw them into your workout for supersets, and or pair them with free weights to eliminate strength curves and hit your muscles in new ways (deep tissue stimulus).
All in all, resistance bands are an essential tool for every fitness enthusiast. And if you want a cheap yet effective way to workout at home, bands are the best. You simply can’t go wrong with bands, which is why you are likely seeing bands EVERYWHERE these days.
WHAT KIND OF RESISTANCE BANDS ARE BEST?
Without a doubt, the best resistance bands to buy are the 41” loop resistance bands. They are the most versatile as you can do everything with loop resistance bands that you can with other resistance bands plus more. Pressing, pulling, squatting, hingeing, core/rotation - all the essential movements for fitness - and they are the best for stretching and mobility work. While we think resistance tubes with handles are cool, they are not necessary if you have loop bands, and loop bands can be used for mobility work while the resistance tubes with handles can’t. The point is, if you want a resistance band that can do it all, loop bands are the ones. No questions asked.
If you aren’t sure what you prefer, you can read these two posts to see if loop bands are for you:
Note: We also love hip circle bands. They are very effective for training the hips and glutes. So, if you want to strengthen and build those areas, adding those into the mix would be advantageous. Nevertheless, the 41” loop bands should come first.
BANDS AND BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES
Resistance bands and bodyweight exercises combine very well together. In many cases, you are simply adding the resistance band to a bodyweight exercise to increase the tension on your muscle (i.e. a banded push up). However, you can also isolate muscles and perform exercises like you would a dumbbell (i.e. presses or curls) or do full body compound movements like you would a barbell (squats, deadlifts, etc.) Bands are very versatile in the way that you can integrate them into your workout.
When we do workouts using just resistance bands and bodyweight exercises, we like to use the bands to hit the muscles for hypertrophy and strength and then do explosive or high intensity bodyweight exercises for fat loss and conditioning. This makes for an all around workout that will give you an athletic body.
Another great way to use bands is for explosive exercises. Think box jumps, bear crawls, and sprints. While we don’t use them this way in the resistance band workout below, you can check out some explosive resistance band exercises here.
One of the things we love about resistance band exercises is they are great for doing compound movement patterns without much stress on your joints. You can hit muscle muscle groups with one exercise. For example, a banded thruster, which will work your lower body, core, shoulders and triceps.
All in all, there are tons of exercises that you can do with bands. Here are 24 resistance band exercises for you. If you want to create new workouts, take a few of these and mix in some HIIT bodyweight movements. With that kind of workout, you will be able to burn fat and build muscle at the same time.
Note: You can do full body resistance bands and bodyweight workouts or you can target muscle groups with a weekly split. It’s really up to you and what your goals are. If you want to put on muscle, do splits and really beat down a specific muscle group or two each session. And if you want to burn fat while getting tone, do full body workouts like the one we are about to discuss and show you now.
In the below band and bodyweight workout, we use a 5 x 5 x 5 format.
5 X 5 X 5 WORKOUT
5x5x5 is circuit workout protocol. It involves 5 exercises done for 5 reps done for 5 rounds. After each set, you will rest 20 seconds and then move on to the next exercise. Once all 5 exercises are completed, you will repeat this for 5 total rounds. After each round, your rest will only be 20 seconds, as it is between exercises.
So, it looks like this.
Exercise 1 x 5 reps
Rest 20 seconds
Exercise 2 x 5 reps
Rest 20 seconds
Exercise 3 x 5 reps
Rest 20 seconds
Exercise 4 x 5 reps
Rest 20 seconds
Exercise 5 x reps
Rest 20 seconds
REPEAT for 4 more rounds.
Note: You can control the rest time. If you need more, take it. But push yourself so the workout is challenging. And if you really want to challenge yourself, then you can rest only when a round is complete.
Benefit of the 5 x 5 x 5 circuit workout:
- You are combining strength training with cardio for maximum fitness results, so this means building muscle and endurance while burning a lot of calories.
- Short workout but very effective.
- Increases metabolism.
- The workouts aren’t boring.
This particular resistance band workout is full body. So, you will be targeting all your major muscle groups.
For future workouts, if you plan to do full body workouts, make sure you target each muscle group with 1 to 2 exercises each workout, and do around 4-5 workouts per week.
THE POWER OF 5 - 45 MIN RESISTANCE BAND AND BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT
This resistance band and bodyweight workout is full length, so you can follow along to it. It is 45 mins in total, but that includes warm up, movement prep, and a cool down as well.
If you want to watch the short version, we put it just below. The short version of this resistance band and bodyweight workout just goes over the exercises and main details.
RESISTANCE BAND CIRCUIT WORKOUT (SHORT VERSION)
BAND & BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES THAT MAKE UP THIS WORKOUT
Exercise 1: Hinge to Row
The hinge to row resistance band exercise is a full body compound movement. It is going to work your hamstrings, glutes, low back, back and biceps. If you want a movement that really hammers you entire posterior chain, this is the one.
Exercise 2: Bodyweight Hinge to Two Reverse Lunges
This is another posterior-centric movement, but it doesn’t involve resistance bands. It is going to work your hamstrings, glutes, low-to-mid back, calves and quads. With this one, you are going to want to move more explosively. This exercise is more about burning calories and working your muscles for speed. Be sure to feel the stretch in your hamstring when you do the bodyweight hinge, which is the first part of the movement.
Exercise 3: Squat to Overhead Press
The Squat to Overhead Press is also known as a thruster. It is a power movement that is going to workout your lower body (with emphasis on the quads and glutes), core, shoulders and triceps. If you want an exercise that really takes it out of you, this one will do that without a doubt. It’s taxing on both your energy and muscles, yet easy on the joints.
Exercise 4: 1 Bodyweight Squat to 2 Skiers
This exercise combines to of the best lower body bodyweight movements, the squat and skiers. With this explosive movement, you are going to be burning calories and building muscle strength. It will hit your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, and calves.
Exercise 5: Banded Push Up
This is a very standard exercise taken up a few notches. We all know and love the push up, and it is often enough without the band. But since we are doing only 5 reps, we add the band for resistance to increase the difficulty while promoting hypertrophy as well. As you’d expect, banded push ups are going to work your chest, triceps, and core, as well as secondary muscles such as your lats and low back.
SFS FIVE - Resistance Band Workout Package
If you don’t have a set of resistance bands, it’s time to get one. You can get bands from us at SET FOR SET.
Still not sure you want to get yourself some bands?
Have questions for us? Feel free to contact us!
Sam Coleman
Author