I swapped the gym for resistance bands for a week – here are my results

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It’s compact As we’ve already established, a resistance band makes a far more travel-savvy training tool than a set of dumbbells or other free weights. open image in gallery A banded biceps curl, performed by fitness writer Harry Bullmore It’s versatile The biggest problem I’ve found with bodyweight training is that, if you don’t have access to a pull-up bar, it’s incredibly difficult to hit the upper-body muscles responsible for pull movement patterns. open image in gallery The Independent’s fitness writer Harry Bullmore performing a banded Bulgarian split squat in a park The verdict: Will I continue training with resistance bands? That’s why the bulk of my strength training efforts continue to centre around dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells, but I still use resistance bands for exercises like banded pull-ups, face pulls and banded crab walks.