Ditch the weights and build full-body muscle with this resistance band workout
Master these resistance band moves and you'll be able to blast through a 35-minute workout where you are
It's always useful to have an at-home workout in your arsenal for days when you can't make it to the gym. This 35-minute session only requires a resistance band and a sturdy bannister or pole, so it's ideal for home-based sweat sessions.
The carefully-planned routine from trainer DanielPT fitness features no repeated moves; instead, you'll work through a series of different exercises, performing each one for 45 seconds before taking a 20-second rest.
Want to make the workout a little more challenging? You can increase the tension in your band by shortening the amount of slack.
If you pick up a multipack of the best resistance bands, you'll also find there are different 'resistance' options to choose from. For this session, use a band that will challenge you for the full 45 seconds of exercising—it should feel difficult, but not impossible, to get through the last few seconds of a move.
We'd recommend watching the trainer perform the moves in the video below before you try them out, to make sure you know the correct form and how to maintain tension in the band.
Watch DanielPT Fitness' full-body resistance band workout
This is a full-body strength training session, targeting muscles in your chest, back, shoulders, legs, arms and core. Cleverly, there are never more than two exercises in a row targeting the same part of your body, so your muscles have the chance to recover slightly mid-workout. This allows you to hit each movement with renewed strength and intensity.
As this workout is designed to build strength using resistance exercises, it could leave you feeling a little sore, so we recommend factoring in a rest day following the session. If you want to stay active, you could try doing some gentle yoga beginner exercises the next day, but we'd steer clear of another full-body blast.
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
If you love the workout and decide to return to it on a regular basis, remember to adhere to the progressive overload principle. This means making the session a bit harder for yourself each time you complete it. You can achieve this by increasing the amount of time spent working on an exercise or opting for a 'stronger' resistance band to make the movements more challenging.
Ruth Gaukrodger is the deputy editor for Fit&Well. She’s a NASM-certified trainer, whose favorite forms of exercise include running and strength training.
Originally a print journalist, Ruth worked for national newspapers and popular tech sites before coming to Future, the publisher of Fit&Well.
She writes, edits and commissions online pieces, interviewing experts and making sure that all the advice we publish is accurate and accessible. She also oversees a lot of the helpful how-to videos published across our social channels.