Resistance Band full body workout. Resistance bands offer several benefits for beginners, experienced weightlifters, and those who are recovering from injuries.
The pull-apart, wood chopper, deadlift, overhead pull-apart, chest fly, sumo squat, triceps kickbacks, and bicep curls are full-body resistance band workouts to do from home. Resistance bands can be used up to six times per week, as long as a proper recovery time between workouts is maintained.
Here are full-body resistance workouts you can easily do from home with resistance bands.
Resistance Band Workouts at Home
These exercises are performed with a resistance band with handles. Here are the workouts that work your full body with resistance bands.
Pull apart
The pull-apart exercise is a great way to fix your posture, strengthen your shoulders, and works to prevent injuries. Here is how to do this workout at home.
1. To start, you will stand with your feet hip-width apart, while grabbing one handle of the resistance band with each hand. If your band is too long, let the handles dangle and instead hold onto the actual band.
2. Extend your arms straight out in front of your body, with your palms facing the ground. Make sure you feel the tension in the resistance band. There should be enough resistance that it becomes a challenge, yet not too difficult to pull apart.
3. Pull the band apart until you reach a “T” position with your arms. This means that your hands and arms remain parallel to the ground. Return to the starting position and repeat this ten times. If you perform this just right, there are minimal complications to this exercise.
Woodchopper
Woodchoppers are a great shoulder exercise that works your whole core. To do this, start with one foot placed on the center of the resistance band. Here are the steps to correctly perform the wood chopper.
1. First, grip one of the handles with both of your hands. In this starting position, place your hands holding the handles near your knee. Start by gradually pulling the handle towards your body in a diagonal direction with your arms extended.
2. Make sure your abs and obliques are engaged during this exercise. The stopping point should end over your opposite shoulder. Return to the starting position and repeat for ten repetitions before changing sides.
3. You want the rotation to come into the center of your core. The only rotation that should happen is through your core. Your core muscles work best when together instead of focusing on individual parts of your body. This is what makes the woodchopper a great option for your full-body workout.
Deadlift
Performing the deadlift with a resistance band is a perfect routine that feels like tension throughout the entire exercise. This constant resistance of the band uses your glutes, core, lats, and lower back muscles the entire time.
When engaging your core and keeping your torso upright, your shoulders and traps are also being worked. Here is how to perform the deadlift with a resistance band.
1. Stand on the resistance band with your feet standing shoulder-width apart. Make sure you e\lengthen it and plant your feet even on both sides of the band.
2. Hold the band with a slight grip while looking straight ahead during each repeat.
3. While lowering yourself to the ground, bend your knees and push back with your hips. Make sure to keep your arms straight with your shoulders back. Push out with your chest and keep a neutral spine position by engaging your core. Keeping your torso upright, hips square, and back straight is the way to correctly perform this step.
4. Lower yourself until your hands are close to your ankles. Drive through your heels and hips to return to the starting position.
If the traditional deadlift is too challenging, this is a great way to make improvements while targeting your weaker muscles. If your deadlift technique is good, this exercise is still beneficial to warm up and keep your muscles functioning and healthy.
Overhead pull apart
The overhead pull-apart targets your muscles from the back and shoulders to keep them flexible and strong. This exercise can be done at your desk or standing. Here is how this exercise works.
1. While standing with both feet hip-width apart, grab one handle of the resistance band with both of your hands. If the band is too long, place a firm grip on the actual band to reduce the amount of slack.
2. Keep your arms straight while pointing your palms away from your body. Make sure there is enough resistance in the band to pull your arms apart, without straining your body too much.
3. Keep your arms straight and pull the band apart to your sides until your arms reach a “T” position. Return to your starting position. Repeat for 10 repetitions.
It is a great way to cover the gaps in your upper body workout routine while also working as a warmup no matter where you are.
Chest fly
Chest flies are an upper body exercise that uses resistance bands instead of dumbbells to strengthen your chest muscles. When using the proper technique, chest flies can help your chest to grow stronger, the more you do this. This is how to do chest flies with resistance bands.
1. Stand upright while holding the resistance bands while holding your arms out and your fists facing each other.
2. Stabilize your legs while keeping your core tight. Keep your chest up with your shoulders down.
3. Without locking the elbows, your arms should be straight out, and your fists should face one another. pull your arms slowly away from each other as far back as you can reach.
4. Straighten your arms as much as you can without locking your elbows. Return your arms to the starting position as you squeeze your chest muscles. Perform three to five sets with ten to twelve repetitions.
An alternative way to do this exercise is by performing it on a flat bench using one band looped underneath the bench. Try doing this exercise both ways to see which one is more effective.
Sumo squat
Sumo squats are a great way to strengthen your quadriceps. The sumo squat is often used as a supplementary exercise in strength training programs that focus on building your overall leg size. Here is how this exercise works.
1. Loop the resistance band around your lower thighs. Firmly plant your feet on the floor shoulder-width apart. Keep your feet pointed outward.
2. While looking straight ahead, bend your knees and hips. Make sure your knees are in line with your toes.
3. Keep bending your knees until your upper legs are parallel to the floor. Keep your back between a 45-to-90-degree angle to your hips. Gradually extend your legs to the starting position, pushing through your heels.
Repeat this movement for ten repetitions. This is a great resistance band workout that targets the upper legs, glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
Triceps kickbacks
The triceps are a large muscle group that gives your arms the desired shape, therefore it is important to work these muscles of your body. Triceps kickbacks can relieve back pain, improve posture, as well as giving overall strength to your arms, shoulders, and back. Here is how this works.
1. Step on the resistance band with both feet standing at hip-width apart. Maintain a straight posture while holding the handles in each hand.
2. Bend at the hips and lean your torso in a forward direction. Turn your hands so they are facing your body.
3. While tucking your arms to their sides, bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle. Keep your elbows tucked and push the handles back up until your hands are fully extended.
4. Return to the starting position slowly. Repeat this for ten repetitions to benefit your back, shoulders, and core.
If you only have time for one exercise in your workout, make it triceps kickbacks. These exercises are great for beginners because they work both the triceps and biceps simultaneously.
Bicep curl
Consistently performing the biceps curl helps you to build strength in the upper arms and learn to use your arm muscles correctly, bracing with your core muscles. Here is how to do the bicep curl.
1. Step on the band with both feet, hip distance apart. Hold one handle in each hand with your arms down to your sides. Then slightly bend your knees and pull your abs in.
2. Pull the band up towards your shoulders into a bicep curl and release. Repeat this ten times.
With practice, alternating sides will start to become manageable, and you can try performing the full move with both arms together.
Bent over row
Resistance band rows are a great exercise to build strength and lean muscle in your back. It is more efficient because the band’s resistance strengthens the back muscles. It is great for people with lower back issues. Here is how to do this exercise.
1. Begin the movement by stepping on the resistance band with your feet at shoulder-width apart, with your toes slightly out.
2. Bend your knees slightly at the knees and forward at the hips. Maintain a braced core and a flat back throughout this process.
3. Leading with your elbows, pull the handles of the resistance band back, bringing your shoulder blades closer together. Hold this contraction and slowly release it to the starting position.
Doing this will strengthen the muscles in your back and aid in correcting your posture.
Overhead press
The overhead press is an essential exercise to build and strengthen your shoulders. Since this workout mainly targets the deltoid muscles, it also works your lower and upper trapezius, and triceps, during the lifting stage. Here is how it works.
1. Stand on your resistance band with your feet at shoulder width. Holding both handles, curl your arms upwards until your hands are in line with your shoulders with your elbows facing out to the side and palms facing the forwards.
2. Keep your glutes and your core tight while you press your arms straight overhead against the resistance of the band.
3. Lower your arms until your hands are in line with your shoulders. Repeat this exercise multiple times in a row.
The result is increased strength and muscle hypertrophy throughout your entire upper body, particularly your deltoids, triceps, upper back, core, upper chest, and shoulder stabilizers.
This exercise works the muscles on the side of your hip and the thighs. It has a bit of cardio since going from the other side to the other side is known to increase your heart rate substantially. Here is how to do this exercise.
Standing side taps
1. Step into the resistance band so it is just above your ankles. Pull your navel in towards your spine and bend your knees so your bottom is reaching your back.
2. Tap your right foot out sideways against the resistance of the band and tap it down and back to the center.
3. Repeat with the other foot to the other side and keep alternating between both of your feet.
Do ten to twelve repetitions on each side, or alternate sides every thirty to sixty seconds. To activate your glutes even further, try these resistance bands.
Standing banded squat
Squatting with resistance bands targets the glutes, quadriceps, and hip adductor muscles. The secondary muscles this exercise targets are your back and core, which are needed for balance and stabilization. Here is how to do this exercise.
1. Stand on the band with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the handles next to your shoulders so the band is located behind the back of your arms.
2. Slowly sit down and back into squat position, while keeping your abdominals tight and your chest lifted.
3. Press back up through your heels while squeezing your glutes.
Resistance bands add load and resistance to doing regular squats. This exercise allows you to have greater muscle activation, which is crucial for building strength and muscle.
Banded bridge
The banded glute bridge uses the same techniques and movements as the classic glute bridge exercise. Here is how it works.
1. Place the resistance band around both thighs.
2. Keep your arms at your sides press your knees out against the bands and raise your hips towards the ceiling.
3. Squeeze your muscles tight, hold for two to three seconds, and release. Repeat this exercise for at least ten repetitions.
To make this exercise more challenging, you can slow down the movement, or pause longer at the top. Another thing you can do is use a thicker resistance band. This can allow you to work harder during the same routine.