You may think all Chris Hemsworth does is lift heavy weights for hours to achieve his chiselled physique when, in actual fact, he doesn’t. The Hollywood actor has actually shared a full-body resistance band workout he likes to incorporate into his training to build lean muscle. The best bit? It won’t take you hours, just a mere 15 minutes.
So, why is Chris such a big fan of resistance bands? Well, not only can this piece of home gym equipment build muscle the same way a pair of dumbbells can, but they can also improve the quality of your exercises too. According to MiraFit: “Instead of simply lifting a weight, your muscles are under constant tension. This means the actual quality of each rep is significantly improved. And with your muscles working harder, you’ve got better contraction which is the key to getting stronger.”
For this workout Chris uses a set of handle resistance bands and a small loop band (also known as a 'booty band'). You could do the same, or just use a long resistance band. There's eight exercises in total and you're going to do 10 reps for each one, with a 20 seconds rest in between. Once you've completed one round, rest for a minute, then repeat this workout three to four more times. Here's your exercises:
- Squats (loop a long band up over your shoulders and stand on the bottom)
- Bicep curls (stand on the bottom of a long band and curl the other end)
- Prisoner squats (put a booty band above your knees or repeat squats instructions)
- Push-up into spider climbers (loop a booty band around your triceps)
- Snap jumps (loop a booty band above your knees)
- Fire hydrants (loop a booty band above your knees)
- Russian twists (loop a booty band around your wrists and slightly pull apart)
- Bodyweight scissor kicks
Remember, if you only have a long pull-up resistance band and don't have a booty band, just fold it over to make it smaller. You can always adapt your equipment to make it work for you. If you enjoyed this workout, why not also give this 30 minute resistance band workout a go? It uses a long resistance band and is a brilliant full-body burner. If you need something again that's short and snappy, here's another 15 minute workout (this time you've only got six exercises to get through).
