Earlier this month I chatted about why I love resistance bands so much! They are cheap, portable and easy to use! Resistance bands are truly a great piece of equipment to have on hand.

I originally wrote this blog for Mommy Confessionals, so if you haven't checked the site out yet.. get on it!

And with that, I thought I'd provide you all with a few of my favorite go-to exercises using said bands! Below are four exercises I think just about everyone should have in their programs. And if you haven't already... get on the BAND wagon! ;)

Bentover Band Row

Without equipment it can get quite challenging to properly work your back muscles. Most people instead keep the focus on push ups which unfortunately isn't great. As females, and especially as mamas, our backs tend to be weaker and our chests tight. This is due to a number of reasons like sitting at a computer, having big breasts or carrying around a babe. Regardless, we need much more back work than we do chest work - and this exercise does just that! Help improve your posture by adding in some more rows to your program, your body will thank you.

Band Shoulder Press & Pull Apart

This combo move is a necessary one and a fun one! I like it because it gets the arms up overhead, something we don't do nearly enough (and if you don't use it you lose it!) and it also targets the back muscles with the pull apart. So basically, it's a win win. It does require some focus though to get the proper areas firing so don't rush through it. Take your time and reap the benefits.

Banded Squat

Just about everyone should be squatting on a regular basis, after all, we squat every single day getting in and out of things.. or we should! One of the problems many females have though is that their knees cave in. This is partially due to muscular imbalance (hips widen pushing in our knees) but much of the time it is because we aren't firing our glutes! Placing the band around the knees requires you to push out against it thus using your backside to help you out. This type of squat helps improve strength and basic function.

Resistance Band Deadlift

Every mama should know how to hip hinge. I wrote about this a while ago. But not just mamas, EVERYONE should understand how to break at the hips and most people don't. The result is a lot of sore backs and under-activated muscles.  Learning how to properly perform this (low impact) deadlift will not only help train the movement pattern but also get your posterior chain firing and strong!

And there they are! My top four resistance band exercises. When done correctly these exercises are a great boost to your program and your muscles.

Happy training!

Ps. In case you missed it.. click here to watch a breakdown of the exercises!