Victoria Beckham's former personal trainer on the one piece of kit you need in your at-home workout
Former professional dancer Louisa Drake knows how to sculpt and hone physiques. She has trained the likes of Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow and has brought her A-list worthy Louisa Drake Method to London via her intimate boutique studio on Mortimer Street.
Her LDM method combines strength training, conditioning and dance cardio, with added influences from barre and stretch. The result is long, lean and remarkably toned limbs.
With more and more of us choosing to exercise at home, we asked Drake for an effective workout you can do anywhere, anytime. And the good news is all it requires is one piece of affordable kit – a long flat resistance band (she uses the LDM band).
Resistance bands are a good place to start as they are kind on joints yet hard on muscle, Drake explains.
"They are so versatile, you can just pop one in your bag and take it anywhere to get a great workout, you'll hit a full range of motion, work more places and more muscle for that satisfying burn," she says, adding that this piece of kit is ideal for sculpting, defining and improve your posture.
"[The band] can also be tied around the legs or onto an anchor point such as a park bench for more exercise variations. You can wrap the band around a pole or door handle for chest and shoulder exercises, or a number of exercises on the floor to strengthen and stretch out the body," she adds.
Always wanted more defined shoulders? Trying to build up the strength to master the push up? Or looking for a way to intensify it?
This killer upper-body workout wil do all three.
1. Band pull apart
This activates the muscles in your upper back and shoulders.
"It’s an ideal exercise to warm up with prior to your upper body workout. This will help combat desk-bound posture and reduce neck pain. By including this simple exercise into your practice you will be on your way to happier (and more defined) shoulders," she says.
Stand with knees slightly bent, feet shoulder-width apart
Grip the middle section of the band with both hands at shoulder height, palms facing down
Keeping your arms straight, pull the band out and back until your shoulder blades contract
Slowly return to starting position and stretch, squeeze and release for 30-60 seconds
2. Standing chest press
"Chest exercises are the best way to provide an extra lift to your bust," says Drake, adding that this exercise, which uses resistance bands to work the same muscle groups as the push-up (including chest, triceps, shoulders and core), makes a good starting point for building the strength necessary to do perform one correctly.
Play around with the grip on the band: the closer the hands are to the middle of the band, the tougher it will be.
Stand with knees slightly bent, feet shoulder-width apart. Grip the middle section of the band with both hands at shoulder height, palms facing down
Pull the band to your chest, bending at the elbows, and squeeze the shoulder blades together
Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for 30-60 seconds
Variation: Consider adding in push-ups for an extra challenge. Push-ups are of course effective on their own, but with the addition of a resistance band, it’s a game changer. Try wrapping the resistance band around your upper back and arms and pin the ends of the band onto the floor as you perform a push up. The added pressure on top of your body weight means your chest is trained under a lot of resistance.
3. Lat pulldown
This move strengthens the largest muscle in your back, your latissimus dorsi, Drake explains. "The broad muscle covers the back of the ribs and wraps partially around your lower waist."
You can begin a pulldown with a resistance band by taking hold of the middle of the band with both of your hands
Your palms face away from your body as you hold the band over your head with your arms straight
Perform a pulldown by bending your elbows and separating your hands as you lower the band toward your chest
Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for 30-60 seconds
Variation: This same movement can be completed by attaching the middle of the band to an overhead base or anchor point, holding one end of the band in each hand and then bending your elbows to pull down your hands in line with your chest. Both variations can be performed standing or kneeling.
4. Incline Row
The row is great for toning up your back and shoulders.
Standing with feet hip-width apart, place the resistance band under your feet
Cross the band in front of you and hold in each hand, palms facing your thighs
Incline the spine, chest open and core engaged, pull your elbows up to hips or slightly higher, bending your elbows out to the sides
Lower back to start position and repeat for 30-60 seconds
5. Standing Bicep Curl
"This is a particularly important exercise if you want to tone your arms. Your biceps are major, highly visible muscles, so the training that you do for your biceps will have a significant impact on the appearance of your arms. Working your biceps can help contribute to a tighter, more defined look," she explains.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with your feet placed over the middle of the band. Grab an end in each hand, starting with your arms down at your sides
With palms facing in front of you, pull your arms towards your shoulders by bending at the elbow until you get a good bicep contraction
Slowly lower back down and repeat 30-60 seconds
6. Overhead Triceps Extension
"This isolation exercise is fantastic at building your tricep muscles. Create long, lean muscles that give your arms some gorgeous definition."
Standing with feet hip-width apart, place the resistance band in one hand and extend to ceiling. With the other hand, grasp the band behind your back
Keeping the top arm extended with tension on the band and the other arm bent at the elbow, start to bend and extend the top arm to target the tricep muscle as the arm moves up
Repeat for 30-60 seconds before switching sides
7. Bow & Arrow
This exercise targets your back, shoulders and arms.
Stand with feet feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, holding the band with both hands extended just below chest level
Keeping the left arm straight, pull the right fist towards the rib cage. Straighten the right arm to match the left for one rep. Imagine you are aiming a bow and arrow
Engage your abdominals, keep your hips still and draw your shoulders down and back during the entire movement
Repeat for 30-60 seconds
Read more
A choreographed sculpting session: we review the Louisa Drake Method