About this routine
A full body workout built around one long flat band: seated rows, overhead presses, pull aparts and lying leg abductions, plus bodyweight squats and bird dogs. Do it 3 times a week on non-consecutive days.
For beginners, travellers and anyone training at home who wants more than bodyweight but has no room for weights. In the full body workout you stand on the band, loop it around your feet or legs, or hold it in both hands, so you need no handles and nothing to tie it to.
The week
3 days a week
A day off between sessions lets your muscles recover. A walk on rest days helps.
- MFull body
- TRest
- WFull body
- TRest
- FFull body
- SRest
- SRest
The workout
Before you start
If you have a medical condition or an injury, check with a doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
Stop any exercise that causes pain, dizziness, or strain somewhere you don't expect it.
Warm-up, about 5 minSee moves
- Spot jog45 seconds
- Jumping jacks30 seconds
- Arm circles10 each way
- Hip circles8 each way
- Bodyweight squat10 reps
- Light practice set of Bodyweight Squat1 to 2 sets
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1
Bodyweight Squat
3 × 12 to 15 repsQuadriceps
How to do it
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly, arms in front of you.
- Sit your hips back and down, letting your knees follow your toes.
- Go down until your thighs are level with the floor, or lower if your heels stay down and your chest stays up.
- Push the floor away to stand back up.
- Stand fully tall at the top before the next rep.
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2
Resistance Band Seated Row
3 × 12 to 15 repsMiddle back
How to do it
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight and a long flat band looped around the soles of your feet.
- Hold one end of the band in each hand, arms straight, back tall.
- Pull your hands toward your lower ribs, elbows close to your sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Let your arms straighten slowly.
- Sit tall. Do not lean back to pull. Hold the band nearer your feet to make it harder.
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3
Resistance Band Overhead Shoulder Press
3 × 12 to 15 repsShoulders
How to do it
- Stand on the middle of a long flat band, feet shoulder-width apart, holding the band at shoulder height.
- Tighten your stomach and squeeze your bottom.
- Press your hands straight up until your arms are almost straight.
- Lower slowly back to your shoulders.
- Do not lean back to push higher.
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4
Resistance Band Pull Apart
3 × 12 to 15 repsShoulders
How to do it
- Hold a flat band in front of you at shoulder height, hands about shoulder-width apart, arms straight.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows.
- Pull the band apart by moving your hands out to the sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Let it come back slowly. Hold the band with your hands closer together to make it harder.
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5
Resistance Band Lying Abduction
3 × 12 to 15 repsGlutes
How to do it
- Lie on your back with a flat band looped around your legs just above the ankles.
- Lift your legs toward the ceiling, knees slightly bent, arms by your sides.
- Tighten your stomach and open your legs out to the sides as wide as is comfortable.
- Bring them back together slowly.
- Stop if you feel it in your lower back.
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6
Bird Dog
3 × 15 secAbdominals
How to do it
- Start on your hands and knees, hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Brace: tighten your stomach as if someone is about to poke it, and keep breathing.
- Reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back. Lift the leg only to hip height. Higher than that moves the work into your lower back.
- Hold for a second or two with your hips level, then come back to the start.
- Switch sides every rep, so each side gets a short rest.
- Stop if you feel it in your lower back.
Cool-down, about 3 minSee moves
- Easy walk1 minute
- Chest stretch30 seconds
- Quad stretch30 seconds each leg
- Child's pose30 seconds
Rest and progress
Rest between sets
- Rest 60 seconds between sets. If you are out of breath, take 90.
- Move from one exercise to the next once you have caught your breath.
How to progress
- Pick a band you can pull for the bottom of the rep range with two or three reps left.
- Add reps each session. When every set reaches the top of the range, make the band harder: hold it nearer your feet on rows, and with your hands closer together on pull aparts.
- When the hardest grip gets easy, move up to a stronger band. Long flat bands are sold in sets of several strengths.
Swaps
- Bodyweight squat too easy
- Stand on the band and hold it at your shoulders as you squat, or slow the lowering.
- Lying abduction bothers your lower back
- Lie on your side and lift the top leg, with the band still looped above your ankles.
- Bird dog wobbles
- Move only the leg and keep both hands on the floor until you can hold still.
- Band Y Raise
- The demo ties the band to a post. With nothing to tie it to, stand on the middle of the band and raise your arms in a Y.
- Only have a tube band with handles
- Most moves still work, but the routine is written for a long flat band, which you can loop around your feet and legs.
Two more band days
An upper body day that adds push ups and chair dips to the band moves, and a shoulder day with four band exercises. Swap one in for a full body session, or add one once 3 full body days feel easy.
Upper · about 20 min
| Push up | 3 × 8 to 12 reps |
| Resistance Band Seated Row | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
| Resistance Band Overhead Shoulder Press | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
| Dip Bent Knees with Chair | 3 × 8 to 12 reps |
| Resistance Band Pull Apart | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
Shoulders · about 15 min
| Band Y Raise | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
| Resistance Band Lateral Raise | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
| Resistance Band Pull Apart | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
| Resistance Band Overhead Shoulder Press | 3 × 12 to 15 reps |
In the Akhada app: Upper, Shoulders · Home.
Questions
Can you build muscle with resistance bands?
Yes. A review of eight studies found band training built strength about as well as machines and dumbbells, for both arms and legs. What matters is that the last reps of each set are hard.
What kind of band do I need?
One long flat band, the kind without handles. You stand on it for presses, loop it around your feet for rows and around your legs for abductions. A medium strength band is a good start.
How long does the workout take?
About 25 minutes, plus a 5 minute warm-up.
How often should I do it?
Three times a week with a day off in between, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Will this help me lose weight?
It can help. Training builds and keeps muscle, and nutrition is the other big factor in weight loss, so it is worth looking at too.
More routines
Sources
The Akhada team picked these exercises from our catalog of 7,000+ demonstrated movements. A strength coach reviewed the step-by-step cues for every exercise in our starter routines. The schedule and the case for bands follow the research below.
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Across eight studies, training with elastic bands built about as much arm and leg strength as weight machines and dumbbells.
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Muscle growth was similar with light and heavy loads when every set was taken to failure. That is why a band works, as long as the last reps are hard.
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Adults should do muscle-strengthening work for all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week. Three full body sessions cover that.