Good Morning everyone and Happy Tuesday!
I hope everyones week started off on a positive note!
Late last week my AFAA study materials were finally delivered. So, I've had my nose in the text book/study guide all weekend, all day yesterday and today. However, the studying that I am doing does not feel forced. I am actually enjoying learning all of this new material which tells me that this was the right decision for me to make.
I plan on doing a big recap of my experience preparing for and (hopefully) passing the AFAA Primary Group Exercise Certification as soon as it's all said and done.
Moving right along, I wanted to pop in real quick today to share a workout that you can do in the comfort of your own home! I know that not everyone is able to make it to the gym because their schedule simply does not allow for it sometimes. However, if you have a set of inexpensive resistance bands, you can do this workout in your living room, in your garage, anywhere really!
We have a set of 3 resistance bands that come with only one set of handles so you can easily switch them out as needed.
Get ready for some goofy Melissa pictures! As I stated last week, I attempted (and failed) taking pictures of myself doing these exercises. So on Sunday afternoon, I enlisted the help of my hubby to be my photographer. We took these photos right before I jetted out the door to take my first Orange Theory class (I'll be talking about that more on Friday!) and in my haste, I forgot to take pictures of the hip thrusters. However, under the visual cues there are written explanations of how to do each exercise. Here we go!
Visual Cues
Bicep Curls
Tricep Kickbacks
Seated Rows
Good Mornings
Bent Over Rows
Squat to Overhead Press
Band Pull Aparts
Push Ups
Crunch
Bicep Curls: Stand with your feet on the resistance band, about shoulder width apart and keep a soft bend in your knees. Start with your hands down by yours sides, holding the handles of the resistance band with your palms facing out. Curl the handles up towards your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Tricep Kickbacks: Stand with your feet on the resistance band with your feet right under your hips. Hinge at your hips to bend forward, with your knees slightly bent. Start with your hands by the sides of your body holding the resistance band, palms facing behind you. Squeeze your triceps and press the band back behind you, straightening out your arms. Make sure your elbows are hugged tightly against your torso during the move to really target your triceps. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Hip Thrusters (not pictured above): Lay flat on your back with the resistance band laying across the bottom part of your hips. Place you hands on either side of your body, palms facing down securing the resistance band to the floor. The closer your hands are to your body, the more tension you will have on the bands, the further away your hands are from your body, the less amount of tension you will have on the bands. Drive your hips up into the air, keeping the weight on the balls of your feet. Pause at the top of this movement and make sure you squeeze your glutes. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Seated Rows: Sit on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you. Hook the middle of the resistance band around your feet. Grab the resistance band (you will most likely need to grab the rubber tubing of the band like I did in the picture above unless you have a very short band) so your arms are parallel with your legs. Drive your elbows back (keeping them close to your sides) and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Good Mornings: Place the band behind your neck and stand on the resistance band handles (cloth part not the rubber) with your feet spread shoulder width apart. Hinge from the hips, keeping a very slight bend in your knees, so your torso becomes parallel with the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Bent Over Rows: Stand on the resistance band with your feet right under your hips. Hinge at your hips to bend forward and bend your knees. Hold the handles with your palms facing each other and your arms straight. Draw your elbows straight up behind you while keeping your arms hugged next to your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of this move to really target your back. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Squat to Overhead Press: Stand on the band with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Bring the handles of the resistance band up to your shoulders, with your pals facing away from your face. With your hands at your shoulders, squat down so your thighs are parallel to the ground. As you drive up from your squat, press the band up and above you head to straighten your arms. Make sure to keep your chest up, shoulders back and core engaged during this movement. This is a compound movement that will work both the lower and upper body.
Band Pull Aparts: Hold the resistance band by the rubber tubing out in front of your body so your arms are parallel with the floor. Pull the band apart, while keeping your arms parallel with the floor. Make sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Push Ups: Loop the resistance band around your shoulder blades and then under your arms. You will need to adjust where your hands are on the band to get the desired about of tension. Your hands will most likely be on the tube of the band rather than the handles. Perform a regular push up with the band around the body.
Crunch: To do this exercise, I anchored the resistance band around the railing of our staircase. I laid down flat on my back so the resistance band handles were at either side of my body. Make sure to scoot away from where you have anchored the band to ensure you have enough resistance. Grab the handles so your palms are facing the ground. Crunch up until your shoulder blades come off of the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Labels: Workouts
