Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

I make a lot of references here to the gym, particularly for strength training. But lots of people don’t have gym memberships, and, the truth is, you can do an effective strength workout at home with resistance bands.

Resistance bands have been referred to as the “fastest way to sculpt.” I don’t know about that, but I do know that resistance bands are cheap (see below), easy to store and transport, and a good way to ease into strength training for the first time.

Generally, you can get a full workout in with only three bands of different lengths and degrees of elasticity. The longer you stretch a band, the greater the resistance and more muscle force exerted. Bands, then, are well-suited for things like chest presses, shoulder presses, squats, seated or standing rows, and pull-downs.

Not familiar with those terms? Not to worry. You can watch video demonstrations of a variety of resistance band exercises here. And the American Council on Exercise has put together whole-body band workout, available as a PDF.

Of course, the first step is to purchase the bands. You can buy them individually or, as shown below, in kits.

FWIW, I have SPRI bands at home, and my gym uses SPRI, also. I’ve also had Nike bands, but one eventually split apart—due to my brute strength, no doubt!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 11:08 pm and is filed under General Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.