I’m on vacation! I decided to try to fit in a workout this morning so I did Caroline Girvan‘s 15 Min Full Body Resistance Band Workout at Home. I think it is her only band workout I haven’t tried yet. Well, I didn’t love it. There were a couple really good exercises but for the most part, I did not feel like I got a thorough total body strength workout. My favorite move in this workout was the lat pull down. I used a door anchor to secure my band and I really felt that move in my upper back muscles. It isn’t a bad workout but if you have been working out hard with Caroline then this will not give you the kind of strength work you will feel that you need. I know it didn’t satisfy my muscles. I finished this off with Caroline’s 20 Minute Intense Glute Workout. That workout did give my glutes an excellent workout. My next strength workout I think I will combine Caroline’s Back & Bicep Resistance Band Workout + her 20 Minute Upper Body Workout. Those two together should give my upper body the kind of strength work I am looking for.
This workout is done interval fashion: 50 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the upper left hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery Caroline previews the next exercise. I was in an unfamiliar house so I had to pause the video a few times to secure (or unsecure) my band or move my laptop around so I could see it during the move. Working out in someone else’s house using a laptop and wearing bluetooth earbuds is very different from the way I workout at home.
Caroline is using a large loop band. The success of this band workout is contingent on two things: the strength of your band and hand/body placement. When the band is anchored on something, the further you are from the anchor the more resistance you create. In addition, choking up on the band will increase the resistance. You can do that by gripping it lower and/or wrapping the end around your hands. Bands come in many different strengths. The band(s) you use should be appropriate not only to your fitness level but to the exercise you are performing. For instance, for a back or lower body exercise you can use a heavier/strong resistance band than you can for shoulder exercises.
15 Min Full Body Resistance Band Workout at Home is 19:22 minutes; 1:30 minute intro, no warm up and 2:15 minute stretch. Equipment: resistance band(s), fitness mat, a chair or bench for hip thrusts and a chair or other heavy object to anchor the band. I used a door anchor to secure my band. I also used a heavy large loop resistance band and a lighter large loop resistance band.
- Single leg hamstring curl (band is looped around a stable object (or anchored in a door) and also looped around one foot, lay on stomach, bend knee, bringing foot/band to glutes)
- Repeat #1 on other leg
- Double leg hamstring curl (same position/exercise as #1 & 2 but band is looped around both feet)
- Static/stationary lunge (hold one end of band in each hand, middle of band is under foot of front leg, choke up on band)
- Repeat #4 on other side of body
- Slow hip thrusts (lean back against your bench or step, the band is looped across hips and under each foot, raise and lower hips)
- Repeat #6 but to a faster tempo
- Shoulder press (band is looped under one foot, part of the band in each hand (or a handle in each hand), push band from shoulder level to overhead)
- Bent over row (band is under feet with one end of band in each hand, hinge torso forward and do bent over rows)
- Chest press (lay on mat, band is under back with one end of band in each hand, push arms/band to ceiling)
- Diamond press (same as #10 but hold both ends of the band together in both hands)
- Frontal raise (band is looped under one foot, part of the band in each hand (or a handle in each hand), raise band from approximately waist level to shoulder level)
- Rear delt raise (hold one end of band in each hand, open arms wide in out to sides in a T, pulling band against chest then release tension bringing hands/arms closer together)
- Palm up bicep curls (stand on band with both feet, one end of the band in each hand, do bicep curls with palms facing ceiling)
- Lat pull down (band is looped around stable object, lay on stomach on mat, one end of the band in each hand, pull bands, bringing elbows to ribs)
For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
