4 exercises you can do with resistance bands — at home or on the road

Lightweight, inexpensive and portable, resistance bands are the perfect fitness accessory to get you moving, whether you're travelling or at home.

Resistance bands are stretchy plastic bands used in strength-training exercises for your upper and lower body.

• Stretching the latex material provides resistance similar to the effect of weight lifting.
• Grasp the bands so that you feel challenged, rather than strained, by the resistance.

Perform two or three sets of each of these resistance band exercises, doing eight to 12 repetitions per set.

Stand on the centre of the resistance band with your feet hip-distance apart.

• Grasp an end of the band in each hand. Keep your arms down at your sides, palms facing forward.
• Keeping your elbows at your sides, slowly pull your hands up to your shoulders and return them to the starting position.

Stand on the centre of the resistance band with your feet hip-distance apart.

• Grasp an end of the band in each hand.
• Start with your arms down at your sides, palms facing your body.
• Bend at the waist and lower your backside into a squat, but not so far that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
• Keep your chest up, your back straight and your toes farther forward than your knees.
• Now push with your legs to stand straight up, then return to the squatting position.

Start by securing the middle of the band around a fixed object (a door knob or banister, for instance).

• Face the centre of the band and, for stability, stand with one foot a few centimetres (an inch or two) farther forward than the other. Your knees should be bent slightly.
• Grasp an end of the resistance band in each hand. Hold your elbows at your sides, bent at right angles, with your hands in front of you and your palms facing down.
• Slowly push your forearms down until your arms are straight and pointed toward the floor. Then return them to the starting position.

Start by securing the middle of the band around a fixed object (a door knob or banister, for instance).

• Face away from the centre of the band and, for stability, stand with one foot a few centimetres (an inch or two) farther forward than the other and knees slightly bent.
• Hold an end of the band in each hand, and let the band run under your arms.
• Start with your hands slightly forward of your chest, forearms parallel to the ground and just below your shoulder.
• Slowly push your arms forward until they are fully extended, keeping the hands shoulder-width apart, and then return to the starting position.

Exercise is crucial when you're diabetic. Try these four resistance band exercises for a simple way to start building muscle.