JOIN THE RESISTANCE

Studios may be shuttered, but bands can give you the benefits of machines at home—for less than $10.

- Jeanine Detz

USING BANDS IN LIEU OF HAND WEIGHTS, LIKE PATRICIA FRIBERG DEMOS HERE, CAN MAKE STRENGTH MOVES LIKE ALTERNATING ARM CURLS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO HOME EXERCISERS.

THREE YEARS AGO, THE L AKE AUS TIN SPA RESORT IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNVEILED A NEW GROUP-FITNESS CLASS TAUGHT ENTIRELY ON THE DA VINCI BODYBOARD, A WOODEN BOARD THE SIZE OF A YOGA MAT. During the 30-minute sessions, participants performed a mix of strength exercises, quickly flowing from one move to the next to keep their heart rates high. “It’s by far one of our most popular classes,” says Cindy Present, the resort’s longtime fitness director. “It’s a full-body session that recruits all muscle groups, big and small, and can be done with low to no impact.” So what makes the BodyBoard so effective? Resistance bands. The simple tools attach to the board, allowing participants to train together at their own level.

Long a mainstay of physical therapy, resistance bands have become a group fitness fixture in the past decade. Soon stand-alone studios like the Board30 franchises popped up, specializing in classes like those taught on the BodyBoard. Yet despite the omnipresence of resistance bands, no one could have predicted the peak their popularity would reach this spring, when home workouts became the only workouts. Suddenly bands became harder to get than a bottle of hand sanitizer. And for good reason: When it comes to building strength anywhere (and on a budget) there’s no equal to this humble rubber tool.

BAND BENEFITS