You just can't wish for great muscles, you need to work for it. Only the hardest version working of yourself can build muscles. Hours in the gym spent lifting dumbells, bench press, pull-ups and all sort of exercises, one would try doing to build strong muscles. So you think, only heavy workouts can help you in pumping muscles. Well, not exactly. There is a much easier and cheaper way to gain that muscular body and that is with resistance bands.

It is a feasible method. Though you cannot grow the same amount of muscles as other strength training exercises, however, if you are a beginner, resistance bands can be of great help. Researchers have said that resistance bands have shown effective results in muscle building and is definitely recommended as handy equipment for muscle growth.

For the advanced muscle builders, heavyweights can be the only love for you to gain muscle strength but for beginners or average exercisers starting with exercise bands could be just easy and beneficial.

So if you are convinced with using resistance bands for muscle building then here are few tips and exercise types we would recommend:

How to choose a band?

First, check the brand of the resistance band. Check out some well-known brand which has good ratings. Choose the band with a tension level that matches your fitness level. If you are not sure, then it is safe to pick less tension resistance band.

Since every band is designed differently, it is better to refer users guide before using it. And also after weeks of exercising with the band, you will get an idea that what tension level suits you. You can then move to advanced level resistance bands.

Exercise routine

You can perform muscle-building exercises with resistance band at least 2 to 3 days in a week. The count of exercise depends upon the type of exercise.

You can do at least 3 to 4 exercises for strengthening the lower body and 3 to 4 exercises for the upper body. This way your whole body will stay fit and you can slowly pump up your muscles.

Exercises include:

Squats:

Hold each end of the resistance bands with two straight arms at the chest level and perform squats.

Count - Do complete squats at least 20 to 30 reps.

Oblique twists:

Widen your legs, hold the resistance bands with two arms at the chest and twist your body from side to side.

Count - Repeat this exercise for 20 to 30 reps.

Abdominal curls:

Sit on the centre of the mat, hold the resistance band with two arms at chest level. Now steadily curl the body down by feeling the pressure on the abdominal. Twist side to side with variations.

Count - Repeat this exercise for 20 to 30 reps.

Other such muscle building exercises which you can perform with resistance bands are bicep circles, leg lunges, tricep kickbacks, hamstring curls, leg abduction and rowing sequence.

Once you have trained your body with muscle training, you can move to the next level of advanced muscle building. Along with resistance bands, you can also start exercising with dumbells, weight machines or barbells.