Posts Tagged ‘Easy Exercises’
Working out with resistence bands can be confusing, especially if you are not sure how to use them. The key thing to understand is that you can use a resistence band the same way you use free weights and other forms of exercise equipment – you just have to know what to do! The fundamental concept in learning how to use a resistence band is understanding its positioning. Such as, if you stand on a resistence band and grip the handles, you can do biceps curls and overhead presses. If you attach your resistence band to a door knob, you can do lateral pull downs and triceps push downs. By wrapping the resistence band around a pole, you can perform chest exercises and shoulder rotations. So now that we have gotten the fundamentals out of the way, here are some easy exercises to do with a resistence band!
The first resistence band exercise is the chest press. To do this, wrap your resistence band around a pole, rail, or some such like object. Make sure that the resistence band is positioned so that it is just about at chest level. Next, step far enough away from the door that there is constant tension in the band and keep your elbows parallel to the floor throughout the exercise. You should be facing away from the door, of course.
The next exercise you can do with resistence bands is the seated row. For this exercise, the band can stay where you positioned it for the chest press. All you need to do is turn around so that you are facing the door. Now, when you back away from the door, make certain that you are squeezing your back without arching your spine and that you are not pulling your elbows back too far.
Next up are biceps curls. For this exercise, you can either stand on your resistence band with one or both feet. The exercise is easier if you stand on the band with just one foot, so if you are looking for more tension and resistence, definitely stand on it with both feet. Hold the resistence band’s handles in both of your hands and curl your arm up in a typical biceps curl – just like you would with free weights. If you want to make this exercise even harder, you can stand with your feet wide apart.
Lastly, squats are a great exercise with resistence bands. You stand on the band for this exercise as well, and hold the handles up near your shoulders, with your elbows bent – this creates more tension, and more tension is good. Then, proceed as you usually do with squats: knees bent, up and down.
Resistence bands are a great exercise tool, because not only do they travel well, but they can increase your coordination more than you might imagine. This is because of how much more tension they offer your body during exercise. Also, they add a great deal of variety to any exercise regime, which is always good, because it is when we find exercise boring that we are most in danger of slacking off in a work out. Furthermore, they are fantastic for all fitness levels – even if you start out as a beginning, resistence bands will evolve with you.