At the height of the first lockdown, when gyms were shuttered and we all had to ration our hour of daily exercise, many of us rediscovered the power of the resistance band. These humble strips of rubber don't get much play when you've got a full set of weights and machines to get stuck into, but it turns out they can actually provide a punishing workout, from the (dis)comfort of your own living room.
Now that gyms have been forced to close again, it's time to dust them back off. According to Nike trainer and PT, Luke Worthington, a well-deployed set of exercise bands can work your entire body, from legs to shoulders. Which makes them perfect for home workouts if you don't want to fill your living room with lumps of heavy metal, or for taking to the park for when you get bored of running round the same bit of weirdly busy. “With a bit of creativity you can cover the fundamental movements all with just a resistance band,” he says.
Worthington's six-move workout is exactly that – and will prove just how hard basic moves get when you've got a rubber band to work against. If you're finding it too hard, loosen your band up, or invest in one with more stretch. If it's too easy, add some extra sets, or get a tighter resistance band (you can loop it over itself, too, to make it tougher to work against). Perhaps if we learn nothing else from lockdown, it will be that you don't need a wall of dumbbells to build a stronger body.
The Workout
Worthington's muscle-building resistance band workout is built around the big six lifts – squat, deadlift, bench press, row, pull-up, shoulder press – only instead of queuing for the most popular equipment, you'll hit every major muscle group with just a strip of elastic.
The key when working with resistance bands is tempo. Unlike weights, which are as heavy at the bottom of the move as at the top, resistance bands get harder to stretch the further apart you pull them. That means slow and steady will provide a bigger pump than anything explosive. For this workout, you'll do all your sets and reps of each move, with a minute's rest between each set, before moving onto the next. If it's too easy, add more reps or increase the resistance. If it's too hard, try the move with just your bodyweight before adding in the band.
Band-resisted squat
Sets: 3
Reps: 8
Rest: 60s
With your feet shoulder-width apart, place a resistance band under your heels and pull the loop up over your head so it rests across the back of your shoulders and upper back. Grab the band with each hand at shoulder level and stretch it upwards a few inches. Hold this position and perform the squat: push your hips back and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Press your feet into the ground and push back up to starting position. That’s one rep.
Banded hip hinge
Sets: 4
Reps: 10
Rest: 60s
Take a resistance band and stand on it with the balls of your feet, about shoulder-width apart. Pull the band up across your back and around the shoulders so it creates a cross between your glutes and your lats. Keep your chest up, shoulder blades pulled back (imagine you're holding a tennis ball between them) and head up and facing forward. As you pull the band down, brace your abs and focus on hingeing your hips back. Don't try to sit down – keep your legs straight and instead focus on pushing your glutes back.
Banded press-up
Sets: 3
Reps: 8
Rest: 60s
Hook your thumbs through a resistance band and loop the band behind your back. Assume a plank position with your hands on the floor, slightly wider than your shoulders. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs as you lower your body, until your chest nearly touches the floor. Pause at the bottom, then push yourself back to the starting position.
Banded seated row
Sets: 4
Reps: 12
Rest: 60s
Wrap the resistance band under your feet (or if you’d like to make it a bit more difficult, attach it around something a little further away) and sit back on your tailbone while grasping an end of each side of the band in your hands. With your arms extended forward, pull the band back as far as you can toward your abdomen. Hold and squeeze your shoulder blades together before releasing back to fully extended arms.
Kneeling banded overhead press
Sets: 3
Reps: 8
Rest: 60s
Get into a half-kneeling position and place the band under your knees. Hold the band at shoulder height and press straight up, making sure the arms are fully extended. To prevent the band from rubbing on the back of the arm, hold it in front with the handles hooked on the thumb.
Seated banded pull down
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 60s
Grab the band and sit down on the ground with your legs straight and slightly spread. With your hands outside your shoulders, pull the band down to your chest – focus on pulling with your lats, rather than just your biceps. Keeping yourself in an upright position, slowly straighten your arms, and repeat.
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