Exercise Bands: The MOST Ideal Home Gym Equipment
It’s a shame that for years people have disregarded home workouts as a vital way to stay in shape. Then came along COVID-19, and EVERYONE was forced to utilize home workouts if they wanted to stay in shape. During that time, if you were to go online and look for home gym equipment, you would quickly find that everyone was sold out. Everything from exercise bands, to full home gym stations, to dumbbells, barbells, weight plates, pull-up bars, medicine balls, kettlebells, you name it.
Yet there is one piece of equipment that I recommend everyone has, regardless of if you have a gym membership or not, and that is exercise bands. Now, you may have one eyebrow raised, wondering how exactly you’re supposed to get in a good workout at home with those tiny little bands. Well, let me be the first to tell you that when used correctly, those “tiny little bands” will whoop your ass and have you sore for days.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
What Exercise Bands Should You Consider?
There are two types of bands that I would consider. The first are the ones that look like giant rubber bands, and then there are exercise bands that look like rubber tubing with handles on either end. Which do you choose? It honestly doesn’t matter.
With so many brands selling exercise bands, how do you know which are good and which are junk? That’s actually difficult to do when you’re shopping online. I’m always of the mindset “buy once, cry once,” but I’m sure there are plenty of terrible quality bands out there being sold for over $100.
What you need to do is look for exercise bands that have several bands in a kit. Generally, the good sets will contain around five bands that have varying resistance (weight) levels.
Something else you want to look for would be sets of exercise bands that include a carrying case or bag. This will make storing your bands and even traveling with your exercise bands much easier. Which brings up a great selling point that we’ll touch on in a second.
If you are a beginner and just getting into working out, you may find the bands that have the handles to be easier to use. Heck, you could be an advanced lifter and still prefer the exercise bands with handles. Regardless of the type of bands you decide to purchase, I would recommend buying the highest quality that you can. The last thing you want to do is buy a cheap set and have it break after a few uses, which causes you to go out and buy a new set.
As a ballpark figure, you can purchase some really good sets of exercise bands for around $100. So, when you’re looking online or in retail locations, expect to spend around that dollar amount.
Why Would You Want Exercise Bands Over Dumbbells?
This is a great question and one I’m asked all the time. One would think that if the gym has dumbbells, that would be the most ideal piece of home gym equipment to fit your needs. And sure, that may be. However, have you ever priced out dumbbells? Let’s just say they are WAY more expensive when you compare them to exercise bands – not to mention exercise bands take up a lot less space. You’d have to dedicate an entire area just to store your dumbbells (not exactly an ideal situation). With exercise bands, you put them in the bag and toss them in a closet or under the bed.
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Exercise bands provide you with varying resistance levels. Some sets will go up to around 100 pounds, while others will get you upwards of around 250 pounds. That’s more than enough to great in a great workout at home and see significant progress from your efforts.
Something else that I touched on above that I want to go into a little more detail about is the fact that exercise bands that come with a case or bag become incredibly compact and portable. Because of this, it makes exercise bands an ideal piece of gear to throw in your suitcase when you’re going out of town for business or pleasure.
Thanks to its compact size, you’ll never have an excuse to skip or miss a workout, no matter where you are in the world. I’ve learned from experience that I can’t count on hotel gyms to have any sort of weight training equipment. In fact, many didn’t, and if it did, the dumbbells didn’t go up very high. The bulk of what you’ll find in hotels are pieces of cardio machines. Therefore, having your exercise bands with you becomes extremely advantageous.
Can You Get in A Full Body Workout?
Full body, specific muscle groups, bro splits, circuit training, push/pull, it doesn’t matter what type of workouts you prefer, exercise bands can handle whatever you throw at them. You have the ability to work every single muscle group effectively with exercise bands.
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They aren’t noisy, they don’t need to be maintained with oil, grease, paint, etc., and you don’t need a lot of room to execute your exercises and workouts. Depending on the layout of something like a hotel room, you can probably do your entire workout without even moving anything. So, if you can utilize a small and tight area like a hotel room, you’ll have more than enough room to fit in your workouts at home.
Movements with Exercise Bands
Let’s look at all of the different exercise band exercises you can do at home.
- Crunch
- Twisting Crunch
- Trunk Rotation
- Side Bend
- Various Grip Pull-Down
- Row
- Back Fly
- Straight-Arm Pushdown
- Chest Press
- Incline Press
- Decline Press
- Chest Fly
- Squat
- Leg Extension
- Leg Curl
- Deadlift
- Calf Raise
- Shoulder Press
- Side Lateral
- Front Lateral
- Bent-Over Rear Lateral
- Upright Row
- Biceps Curl
- Concentration Curl
- Hammer Curl
- Triceps Kickback
- Triceps Pushdown
- Triceps Extension
And this is a short list! You can get creative and complete just about any exercise you would in a gym by using your exercise bands.
Below is a quick and straightforward full-body workout you can complete anywhere. Depending on your fitness level, you can complete as little as one set of each exercise, or you can do as many as four or more if you wish.
| Exercise | Reps |
|---|---|
| Squat | 10-15 |
| Deadlift | 10-15 |
| Calf Raise | 10-15 |
| Pull-Down | 10-15 |
| Row | 10-15 |
| Chest Press | 10-15 |
| Chest Fly | 10-15 |
| Shoulder Press | 10-15 |
| Side Lateral | 10-15 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 10-15 |
| Biceps Curl | 10-15 |
| Crunch | 10-15 |
| Side Bend | 10-15 |
Overall, you can’t go wrong with investing in a good set of exercise bands. They’ll last you years and allow you to fit in a workout anywhere and at any time. With exercise bands, there are zero excuses why you can’t fit in your workouts!
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