Build Muscle at home with Bands: Convenient, Cheap & Versatile Bands are cheap, lightweight, and portable. Unlike dumbbells, you can do pushing and pulling exercise with them. You can also train your legs pretty hard with bands (normally, you'd need a bar and plates for that). Here’s a quick workout you can do at home with bands. While a full set of dumbbells with a bar and plates can cost you $1,000, you can get a full set of bands for as low as $23.99. I’ve used bands with clients, and done a bit of price shopping for this article. Amazon vendors seem to have the best prices, and generous money-back guarantees. I made the workout above simple, so you can easily print it and go. They take time to master, but are worth the investment. If you’re looking for a shortcut, you can try our smart workout app, Dr. Muscle. It tells you what to do when you work out, like a personal trainer. And it applies the above methods automatically, plus 19 more. Enter your name and email to share your thoughts. It's free, fast, and easy. A University of Montréal, London, and Harvard alum, Dr. Juneau is a former trainer for the Canadian Forces with a PhD in Public Health/Epidemiology. Ready to build muscle but stuck at home? Forget the gym. At-home workouts might be all you need. From bodyweight exercises to dumbbell routines, discover how you can get fit and strong without leaving your house. Ready to build some muscle but stuck at home? Forget a gym membership or a fancy home gym, because you don’t actually need ’em. Just the weight of your body or a pair of dumbbells is enough to get your swole on at home.