I haven’t really worked out since high school, so I’ve forgotten most exercises and how to properly use dumbbells and weights. For now, I’m using resistance bands. As a truck driver, I try to set aside 15 minutes each day for arm exercises and then walk around my trailer for 5-10 minutes each time I stop. Since mid-April, I’ve lost 54 pounds. I’d like to start doing push-ups, but my arm strength isn’t there yet. Sometimes it feels like the bands aren’t doing much, but I know this is a marathon, not a sprint. Am I off to a good start? Are resistance bands effective? I want to eventually go to the gym, but anxiety and negative posts online make it hard. I’m currently struggling with a 30-pound resistance band. I do 1 set of 25-30 single-arm curls, followed by 2 sets of 15. For a bench press-like exercise, I anchor the band at waist height and aim for 2 sets of 15-20 reps. This is my first full week (4 days in) of doing this routine. Do you have any tips or thoughts?
Resistance bands are ideal for travelers and for home workouts. I’ve been exercising at home exclusively with PowerBands for the past two years.
In my opinion, as a beginner, you should aim for 6 sets per week per muscle group, taking each set to technical failure. Focus on isolation exercises to ensure you’re effectively targeting the muscle (compound exercises count primarily for the main muscle they fatigue first). Doing this in a circuit style takes about 30 minutes, three times a week, if you focus on either the upper or lower body. An hour for a full-body workout is usually too much for most people. Make sure to allow at least 48 hours of rest between workouts that target the same muscle groups. This approach helped me gain 14 kg (about 31 lbs) in 1.5 years while maintaining a similar body fat percentage. The Weller Bands app offers good circuit workouts, and their bands are of high quality.
Research shows that resistance bands can be just as effective as weights source.
Nutrition is also crucial: prioritize high animal protein, avoid vegetable oils, and adjust your carb intake based on your goals—use them to build muscle, but limit them if you’re focusing on weight loss. It’s best to focus on one goal at a time.
As someone who has gradually worked towards doing “real” pushups, here’s my advice: If you can do pushups from your feet at all, go down as far as you can. If that’s too difficult, try doing them from your knees. If knee pushups are still too challenging, start with wall pushups. It takes time to build strength. I still can’t go all the way down from my feet, but a year ago, I couldn’t even go all the way down from my knees. (I’m 45, in case you’re wondering).
Resistance bands are actually great, and there are some excellent workout videos for them on YouTube.
Congrats on your weight loss so far!
You’ve already made amazing progress since April!
I’m also working on improving my full push-ups. I’m following a calisthenics program three times a week, which had us begin with inclined push-ups. I started using a box and have now progressed to doing them on the floor.