I've been getting into strength training again - not to make me SBR any faster, but just for quality of life and looks (yep, even though I'm mid40s.) I'm at the age where doing errant unusual motions like lifting a heavy water jug at work can cause weird muscle strains if I don't strength train, and I'd hate to get injuries from heavy acts of daily lifting.
That said, I used to lift seriously when I was in my 20s, kind of like a bodybuilder approach, free weights, machines, so I'm not going through the motions of weight training.
I've tried a bunch of weight-alternatives, did the cables with handles for quite awhile, which do work great, but I always found attaching/reattaching the handles minorly annoying, and as well I use them at work in my office so the metal clanging of the handles on loops was also annoying.
I recently have done several weeks of training with big loop resistance bands, basically giant-sized rubber bands that you can get on Amazon for around $35 for a pack of 4. I've found they are great for recreating nearly every exercise I need. I even loop them around a locked door handle at work, and I can use that as an anchor for pull exercises and flyes. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a compact, superlightweight, and no-noise weight training alternative that is legit.
Also invest in a pair of lightweight lifting gloves (i just use some thin tool gloves that came in a 4-pack for my bike repair) to make it even nicer.
Key exercises for me:
- Pushups with band resistance
- Shoulder presses
- Biceps curls
- Door-anchored flyes/x-body motions
- Squats/deadlifts with the big band
- Bent-over back rows
- Shoulder shrugs
- One-arm pulls
That gets nearly everything for the upper body I use with machines, it's pretty impressive - and fast. Minimal setup required, which is great.
That said, I used to lift seriously when I was in my 20s, kind of like a bodybuilder approach, free weights, machines, so I'm not going through the motions of weight training.
I've tried a bunch of weight-alternatives, did the cables with handles for quite awhile, which do work great, but I always found attaching/reattaching the handles minorly annoying, and as well I use them at work in my office so the metal clanging of the handles on loops was also annoying.
I recently have done several weeks of training with big loop resistance bands, basically giant-sized rubber bands that you can get on Amazon for around $35 for a pack of 4. I've found they are great for recreating nearly every exercise I need. I even loop them around a locked door handle at work, and I can use that as an anchor for pull exercises and flyes. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a compact, superlightweight, and no-noise weight training alternative that is legit.
Also invest in a pair of lightweight lifting gloves (i just use some thin tool gloves that came in a 4-pack for my bike repair) to make it even nicer.
Key exercises for me:
- Pushups with band resistance
- Shoulder presses
- Biceps curls
- Door-anchored flyes/x-body motions
- Squats/deadlifts with the big band
- Bent-over back rows
- Shoulder shrugs
- One-arm pulls
That gets nearly everything for the upper body I use with machines, it's pretty impressive - and fast. Minimal setup required, which is great.