Raise your hand if you miss the gym! Yeah… we feel you!

It’s almost been a year since the pandemic took over our lives, and we’ve all been creative with finding ways to stay healthy… and sane. From bake offs, to online challenges and from new hobbies to makeshift gyms, we’ve seen it all.

Keeping our bodies mobile and strong has definitely proved to be a challenge. This has affected everyone differently, some have experienced weight loss, others gained weight, some have been dealing with decreased bone density, and most of us with muscle atrophy.

Regular walks, stretching sessions and bodyweight workouts can go a long way in keeping your body in good shape. But what can you do to bring your workouts up a notch without investing in expensive equipment that takes up your whole living room?

The solution to a simple, yet effective home gym is a set of Resistance Bands. Bands can give your home workouts that extra push to help you build and tone your muscles and increase your mobility and flexibility, while going easy on your joints. On top of that, bands are affordable and take up no space whatsoever. You can even use them to train outdoors, which takes a workout to a whole new level.

We’ve put together a set of easy, impactful exercises you can try anywhere, anytime with a single resistance band to keep you moving. Grab your bands and give this workout a try!

1. Lateral Band Walk:

Start by placing the band over your knees, with your feet slightly wider than hip-width, and your knees slightly bent, as shown in the first picture.

Then, take a big step to your left, with your left foot, always keeping the band stretched. Repeat this for 5 steps, before you switch to the right leg. If it feels too easy, you can increase the steps for both sides.

2. Glute Bridge, with knees in-and-out:

Lie with your back on your workout mat and place the band above your knees. Your feet should be planted on the floor, at shoulder-width.

Once you’re set, perform the bridge pose by lifting your hips up to form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders engaging your abs & glutes by widening your knees slightly, pushing outwards against the band. Keep your hips up at all times and bring your knees together again, before you push them apart again. Repeat this exercise 10 times, without dropping your knees.

3. Biceps, 90-Degree Wide Pulse:

Begin with standing straight and placing the band above your wrists. Now lift both your arms and bend your elbows to create a 90-degree angle.

Keep your arms apart, wide enough to apply tension on the band. Then push outwards to extend the band, and repeat. Carry out this exercise 10 times.

That’s it, easy, quick and effective band exercises!

Perform each exercise for 3 rounds before you move on to the next one. Have short 20-second breaks in between reps, and 1 minute between each set. Listen to your body and adjust the workout to your needs. You can increase the difficulty by increasing the reps and rounds, or decrease it by reducing them.

Make sure you always place the band over the joints, or below for other exercises, but NEVER on the joints. Treat those hard-working knees and wrists with kindness!

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Enjoy, stay safe and always keep moving!