Get Sweaty With this 30-Minute Mini-Band Workout

If you’re worried about keeping up with a fitness routine as the holidays draw near, know this: all you need is 30 minutes during your day, your own bodyweight and the mindset that you are strong and capable. The right mindset can go a long way when it comes to the success of a workout.

But if you do need any added “umph” to kickstart your workout mentality, throwing a mini-band in the mix is the simplest way to amp up your workout and leave you sore for days. Sweat With Bec bands are part of our 2016 Healthy Holiday Gift Guide. We’re even giving away a set of them in our Instagram giveaway this week. But whether or not you win this set, mini-bands are easy to come by, take up almost no room wherever your store them and are the start of your best workout of the week.

Take on this 30-minute mini-band workout and let us know what you think by taking this short survey.

Here is your mini-band workout:

There are 11 different exercises to go through in this workout. Perform 15-20 reps of each move. After finishing one round (all 11 exercises), rest for no more than 60 seconds, then repeat the 11 moves again for a total of 3 rounds through.

These are your moves:

  1. Reverse lunge with twist and hop (15-20 reps each side)
  2. Lateral raise with bands (15-20 reps each side)
  3. Triceps pulses behind your back
  4. Single-arm triceps pull down (15-20 reps each side)
  5. Walking plank
  6. Half-superman (legs only)
  7. Plank jacks
  8. Mountain climbers
  9. Low jacks
  10. Adductor lifts (15-20 reps each side)
  11. Reclined Scissor switches

This is what the moves look like:

Reverse lunge with twist and hop: Place the band around your forearms and raise your arms so that elbows are in line with your shoulders, your fingertips will face up with your palms facing each other and your arms are shoulder-width apart. Lunge your left leg back, twist right while keeping your arms in that same alignment. As you untwist drive through your right foot (your base leg) to hop or stand up and bring your left knee into your chest. After 15-20 reps on one leg, switch to the other.
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Lateral raise with bands (Do both the right and left sides to complete 1 rep,  complete 15-20 reps): Hold the band with both hands. While keeping your left hand firmly down in front of you, press your right arm out to the side as far as you can with your arms straight (just a slight bend in your right elbow). Exhale as you press out and inhale as you lower back down. After 15-20 reps on one side switch to raising and lowering your left arm.
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Triceps pulses behind your back: With the band around your forearms, hinge forward and extend your arms behind you. In this position, keep your feet about hip-width distance and a slight bend in your knees. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and begin to press your hands out and away from you (palms facing in). To add to this move, add an additional pulse upward as well as pulsing out.
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Single arm triceps pull down (15-20 reps each side): Hold the band in both hands. Hold your left arm by your right shoulder. Begin with your right arm bent and as you exhale, extend your right arm straight down and back. (If necessary, make a distressed face like that of Image 2.)
asweatlife_minibandworkout_tricepspulldown1 asweatlife_minibandworkout_tricepspulldown

Walking plank (out out in in with band around wrists): With the band around your forearms, set up in a plank with your shoulders, hips and ankles in one long line. Walk your right hand forward, then your left hand so that you’re in a long-lever plank (more work for your core). Then walk your right hand back, followed by your left hand.
asweatlife_minibandworkout_plankwalk asweatlife_minibandworkout_plankwalk2 asweatlife_minibandworkout_plankwalk3
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asweatlife_minibandworkout_plankwalk

Half-superman (legs only): Lie on your stomach and make a pillow with your hands to rest your forehead. With the band around your ankles, alternate raising each leg separately, focusing on just lifting with the working hamstring and glutes and relaxing your upper body. Every time your lift your right and left leg, it counts as one rep.
asweatlife_minibandworkout_halfsuperman1 asweatlife_minibandworkout_halfsuperman3 asweatlife_minibandworkout_halfsuperman2

Plank jacks: From a plank position and with the band around your ankles, hop your feet out wide and back together. Focus on pressing your legs far apart without letting the band snap them back together. You can also tap your right foot out and then your left foot for a low impact version.
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Mountain climbers: Keep the band around your ankles and stack your shoulders over your wrists in a plank. Drive one knee and then the other towards your chest.
asweatlife_minibandworkout_plankjack01 asweatlife_minibandworkout_mountainclimber

Low jacks: From a standing position and with the band around your ankles, hop your feet wide and narrow, keeping your knees bent the whole time and your upper body as level as possible. Your shoulders will stay one height as you hop in and out with your legs.
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Adductor lifts: Lie on your side with your right leg behind your left. Lift and lower your left leg, lifting from your inner left thigh. After 15-20 reps on one side, switch.
asweatlife_minibandworkout_adductor asweatlife_minibandworkout_adductor2

Reclined scissor switches: Lie on your back with the band around your ankles. Alternate lifting and lowering each leg, stretching the band as far as you can while keeping your low back on the ground. For an added challenge, lift your shoulders off the floor.
asweatlife_minibandworkout_scissor1 asweatlife_minibandworkout_scissor2

(Disclaimer: This workout is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor is it a replacement for seeking medical treatment or professional nutrition advice. Do not start any nutrition or physical activity program without first consulting your physician.)

Move Workouts

About Maggie Umberger

Maggie moved to Chicago from North Carolina in 2014 with a degree in Journalism and Spanish, a 200-hour yoga certification, a group fitness cert and a passion to teach and to sweat. It wasn't until she found aSweatLife that she really started to feel at home. Here, she's incorporated her passion for health and wellness into her career as she helps to build the network of Ambassadors, trainers and fitness enthusiasts that exist within the aSweatLife ecosystem. You can also find her coaching at CrossTown Fitness and teaching yoga classes at Bare Feet Power Yoga, Yoga Six and exhale.