I truly believe in preparing for success over the holidays, even [especially] if you have to travel. Fortunately, you can turn a would-be obstacle into an opportunity to freshen up your exercise regimen…with the help of a couple of resistance bands! I love resistance bands because they are lightweight (so they pack into a suitcase beautifully), they are inexpensive (~$11/ four-pack on eBay), and they enhance body weight exercises which can be done from the comfort of, well, anywhere!
We regularly use resistance bands in our boot camp classes at Levitation Nation (the boutique aerial fitness studio in Kalispell, Montana). I overheard my clients talking the other day about how toned they are getting thanks to the effectiveness of the bands. So, I asked them to reveal their favorite resistance band moves, and we came up with the workout below.
Full-Body Resistance Band Workout
Whether you are headed home for the holidays or on another adventure, the next time you travel, take this article and your resistance bands with you. I recommend doing 15 repetitions of each exercise, then repeat the entire circuit up to three times! _______________
Mindy is a columnist for "Montana Woman Magazine." Her column "The Real Levitation Experience" shares expertise for elevating health & wellness that she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and life coach. Mindy is also founder of Kalispell’s Levitation Nation Aerial Studio, where the catchphrase “fitness is fun” is embodied alongside a culture of movement & women empowerment. For more about Mindy, visit: https://www.levitationnation.org/mindy.
Photo Credit: Emily Torch Photography A note from the author about the photos:
The photos for this blog post and Montana Woman Magazine article were taken in June 2020 by my dear friend Emily Mohler, who was a photographer for our aerial studio. Tragically, on June 30th, 2020, Emily, her 3 year-old daughter Piper, and her friend Cody Nevins were attacked by her abusive ex-husband and murdered at their home in Olney, Montana. When I heard about what happened, I was utterly stunned and wrought with grief alongside everyone else who knew Emily, Piper or Cody. The photos were literally the last thing on my mind.
As word spread, there were many tears amongst Levitation Nation instructors and clientele. We all understood we would never receive these photos and never would have dreamed of seeking them out from Emily’s family, whose grief is greater than our own.
However, a few weeks later, a friend of Emily’s reached out to say she had been working on the photos from his computer. He had them and he wanted to get them to us. We still wanted to use the photos in the magazine as intended because Emily deserves to have her photos published, but we publish them now with a heavy heart.
Montana Woman Magazine helped us ramp up domestic violence awareness in Emily's honor by publishing this article alongside a tribute article I wrote about Emily, and other several other articles on domestic violence awareness. I would like to thank Montana Woman Magazine for allowing us to use their forum to help spread awareness about this heavy topic that continues to touch so many women's lives, and sadly affected our community deeply.