Home Workout Routine
As gyms are closed here in Taiwan during our first COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve had to adjust my gym routine for workout out with resistance bands at home. It took me a little while to figure out how to do each of my usual exercises with bands, so I thought I’d share what I learned.
The experience of using bands is different from working out with weights at the gym. The greatest tension is at the end of the movement and on the release, not so much at the start of the movement like with weights. It might feel easier at first, but it often hits you harder after, especially if you aren’t used to it, so take it easy till you figure it out. Generally you want to make the early movement explosive and then go slow on the release.
I do a four day workout cycle, in which I mix upper and lower body each day. I generally do these on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and do my exercises for Managing Hip Pain on the other days. (With one day off each week.)
I also cycle through the exercises in a four week cycle, with decreasing reps (15, 12, 8) and higher weight for three weeks, followed by a de-load week where I do half of what I normally do, to allow my body to recover.
I’ve not embedded the videos, so click on the links to see how each exercise is done! As usual, don’t do anything here unless you know what you are doing, or have worked with a personal trainer in the past. Incorrect form can lead to injury!
Note : I use the Cross-Training Elastic Training Bands from Decathlon.
Day One
- Target: Chest, Shoulder, Hamstrings
- Resistance Band Chest Press
- Resistance Band Incline Chest Press
- Resistance Band Overhead Press
- Resistance Band RDL
- Resistance Band Leg Curl
Day Two
- Target: Quads, Lats
- Resistance Band Squats
- Resistance Band Bulgarian Split Squats
- Table Bodyweight Row
- Resistance Band Facepulls
- Resistance Band Bent Over Row
Day Three
- Target: Hamstrings, Shoulder, Chest
- Resistance Band Deadlift
- Resistance Band One Leg Deadlift
- Resistance Band Pushpress
- Traditional Pushups
Day Four
- Target: Middle Back, Lats, Quads
- Table Bodyweight Row
- Resistance Band One Arm Dumbbell Row
- Lat Pulldowns With Resistance Bands - prone position
- Seated row (band)
- Resistance Band Squats