The ultimate small-spaces, on-the-cheap home gym: A resistance band. One standard looped resistance band is all you need to instantly create a challenging full-body workout. It lets you add challenge to basic bodyweight motions like pushups and squats, and it allows you to do other moves too.

Loop a resistance band around a railing bannister, bedpost, or pillar, and you can do rows, curls, or other moves. Hang it from an awning or tree branch outside, and you can do pulldowns for your back and triceps pressdowns.

The options are endless. Heres your resistance band primer.

Why Resistance Bands Work

Even if you have dumbbells and kettlebells at home, or even if youre fine doing basic bodyweight motions, having a resistance band around can bring serious value to your workouts.

Why? Two words: Accommodating resistance. Essentially, the farther you pull a resistance band, the more it quite literally resists you. Thats a different brand of resistance than say a dumbbell.

Take a biceps curl. Curl the dumbbell upwards, and there comes a point where the curl actually gets easy for your biceps, near the top of the motion. The length of the lever that challenges your biceps decreases as you finish the exercise, meaning gravity can no longer create challenge with the dumbbell (and your muscle no longer needs to create as much force to fight that challenge).

Do the same curl with a resistance band and as you near the top, it doesnt get easier; instead, you have to work to earn the squeeze at the top of the curl. The stretched band is fighting you more, forcing you to accelerate through the entire range of motion and challenging your muscle fibers in a different way. Youll have to squeeze your muscles extra-hard to fight banded resistance, a habit that will improve your dumbbell training, too.

Does that make bands better than dumbbells? No. But both tools can have a place in your training, and in the grand workout scheme, both tools can complement each other. One tool (hint: not the dumbbell), however, is so tiny that you can easily fit it in your backpack for any and every road trip.

The Best Ways to Use Bands

That all makes resistance bands a quality option for any workout. But in much the same way you might mix barbells, dumbbells, and cables at the gym, you ideally want to mix up your training with resistance bands too. Try these approaches with bands (and know that there are many more too).

Full Workout: Yes, you can use resistance bands for an entire full-body workout; theyll challenge and push your body. Depending on the size of your resistance band, you might not be able to go incredibly heavy on some of the motions where youll want more challenge, such as deadlifts and squats, so if youre doing a bands-only full-body session, consider doing this as a circuit. Aim for one pull move (a row or pulldown or curl), one push move (a pushup, overhead press, or triceps pressdown-style motion) and one leg move (squat, deadlift, or lunge) in every full-body session.

Finishers: If you have access to dumbbells and barbells, or if youre advanced enough with your bodyweight to create unilateral challenges (think: pistol squats and post pushups), consider using bands near the end of your workout. Theyre a great way to promote an active and aggressive chest squeeze on a pushup.

Dropsets: One great way to use bands at home is to use them in dropsets. A dropset has you starting with a heavier weight (or a more challenging version of a move), then dropping into a lighter weight or more basic version of an exercise. Because youre fatigued from the initial work you put in on the harder move, the easier move feels, well, harder. Try it with squats. Do 10 resistance band squats, holding the band under your feet and with your hands at your shoulders. Immediately release the band and do 10 standard squats. Do 3 sets. Enjoy the burn.

The Moves

Mix-and-match these moves to create resistance band workouts that you can do anytime, anywhere. And when in doubt, remember to think full-body (one pull move, one push move, one leg move):

19 Starter Moves

Start with these 19 moves from David Jack, creator of MH's Muscle After 40 program. They'll hit your entire body in all directions. The list is highlighted by a host of critical back moves: The split-stance row, the reverse fly, the single-arm reverse fly, and the classic bent-over row.