Upper Body Band Workout

Who is a fan of home workouts? ME! Because honestly, I spend so much time at my job, then doing chores, and of course GAMING. It's super hard for me to leave the house once I am back home. Also time is a huge factor. In fact, the number one reason people claim they don't exercise is LACK OF TIME. But really, to improve your general health, it does not take a huge time commitment. I mean, how can I say that I played 5 hours of World of Warcraft after work, but I did not have 20 minutes for self-improvement?

You do NOT need a huge fancy gym to work out your muscles. Some simple, cheap, portable equipment will do just fine! You might not become the next great body builder, but you will still improve your strength, bones, flexibility, muscle definition, metabolism, and physique. This is why a good, simple band workout is amazing!

Resistance bands are awesome! They are super cheap, you can bring them with you to work, or school, or wherever. You can keep them at your desk at home, or in your car. Its pretty much an excuse-free piece of equipment. They come in a variety of different sizes, strengths, with so many handles or attachments to do a multitude of exercises. You can even adjust your own resistance yourself depending on where you hold on to the band!

Resistance Bands are suitable for both beginning exercisers and more advanced training. You can start with simple moves (which I will show you today), and progress to heavier bands, more complex movements, and adjust rest time or add cardio bursts for that challenge! It's just like leveling up a character. You gotta get through the simple stuff before you get to the hard stuff, but it makes it all worth it!

Upper body strength training gives you nice muscles!

Ok, lol. But in reality, yes it does. But what does that mean? That makes certain activities of daily living easier. Unloading your car and putting groceries away, carrying your kids, or grand kids, even carrying a backpack for school or a purse for work gets easier. All these activities can cause fatigue if you are not trained, but they can also cause balance and posture issues. Do you carry a heavy bag on one shoulder only? Did you know that can actually change your posture? Which can cause back problems, hip problems, knee problems, etc. Do you have a desk job, or spend a lot of time on the computer (raises hand vigorously)? That can cause tightness in your chest, and cause problems with posture, shoulders, and of course, your back. Everything causes back problems!

By strength training your upper body, you are correcting these overuse problems, and helping your posture. This leads to pain management, and generally a more comfortable lifestyle! Tasks become easier, pain becomes less, and you are preventing a lot of the problems that might happen naturally with age. And its never too late to start!

Nice muscles is a good side-effect as well! So lets get going on this band workout!

To get the most of your workout, pick a rep range that makes you really FEEL it by those last few reps! If its easy, its not doing much for you (I mean, its better than just sitting all day) but to get the most benefit. Make it BURN. If you have a very light resistance band (or you are just too strong for the one you have) and you cannot adjust how you hold it to increase the resistance, you might have to add reps (go to 20!). Then invest in a heavier band, you Hulkmaster.
Circuit the exercises by going right from one to the next within one Round. Take a 1 minute rest (water!) after you finish it one time, then do a second round. If you feel good, do a 3rd!
If you are unsure or are a beginner, start with 2 sets of 10 reps. If that is easy, add some! Don't overdo it your first time! Start light, and progress to more intense.
If you need more of a challenge, or want to amp up your calorie burn, do sets of 25-50 jumping jacks after each full round. Your working muscles will be resting, but your heart rate will stay high! Burn baby burn!
There are many exercises that involve stepping on the band. To reduce resistance, step on it with one foot. To increase resistance, step on it with two. To further increase resistance, widen your feet.

Do this workout once or twice per week and stay tuned in the next few days for an additional lower body resistance band workout, and a total body band workout, available to Patreon users only!

In addition, you should strive to take more steps daily to increase your calorie burn, or make some time for cardiovascular exercise. Check out this article about what is NEAT, and how to add more activity in your day to increase your total caloric burn!

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