Friday, February 22, 2013

Top 10: Resistance Bands

Resistance Bands are inexpensive, light, and can be used everywhere! They are a great tool
for at-home workouts or stroller groups! I use them occasionally in my sculpting classes
too because they are a great way to make your muscles work differently!
Here are 10 great moves you can do anywhere to attack your body!
(I conveniently used a bunch of these moves in my class last night, so I added my thoughts! Yay!)

-one-
Front Extensions
Keep your back foot on the center of the band and tighten your core as you lift your
arms straight up to shoulder height. Control the arms back down to start.
(Kat's note: two thumbs way up!)

-two- 
Flutter Kicks
(this picture is no help)
Put your feet in the handles, and hold the band in the center. Scissor your legs, so when the right
one is down, the left is up and switch. Play with the tempo to see what works your legs the best!
(Kat's note: Just eh. If you play with the resistance you can get it to really work your glutes!)

-three-
Standing Row
I like this variation of the row because with the balance challenge you are engaging your core!
Lift one leg up-band under foot-and pull those elbows back, squeezing your shoulder-blades as you do.
Repeat 8-16 times and switch sides.
(Kat's note: I ended up wrapping my band around my foot once to add resistance and holy moly this was hard and a great balance challenge!)

-four-
Lat Pull Downs
I really don't think I could explain this better than the picture. Enjoy!
(Kat's note: I felt this in my upright arm. It's a goody!)

-five-
Triceps Press Up
Keep your arms straight by your sides as you press them to the back, keeping your spine nice and
straight. Press as high as you can and slowly bring back to the start. Can add pulses.
(Kat's note: HARD!)

-six-
Basic Row
Sit tall with the band around your feet and crossed creating an X. Pull the elbows back to perform
the row. Palms in and elbows back or palms down and elbows out and high.

-seven-
X-Raise
Stand with feet hip-width apart, the end of a band under each foot. Hold the other end in the opposite hand so bands crisscross in front of you, hands at sides. Bend knees and squat, extending arms out slightly to sides. As you straighten legs to stand, simultaneously reach up and out (as shown). Return to squat for one rep. Do 12 reps.

-eight-
Outer Thigh Press
Band under feet, band crossed. Open your legs, keeping the resistance on the outer edges of the 
feet, and return to start. Works those forgotten hip flexors and outer thighs.
(Kat's note: BIG fan of this one! I will definitely be using it more often!)

-nine-
 Basic Shoulder Press
Once again, I think the pictures speak for themselves!

-ten-
Biceps Curl
You can change the intensity of this move depending on where you stand on the band.
The closer it is to the other handle, the easier this will be. Repeat 8-16 times on one side then switch.

Thanks for joining me the past 10 days for the Top 10!

1 comment:

  1. Resistance bands are lightweight elastic strips that come in a variety of colors; each color represents a different level of resistance.

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