*Note: This post is not sponsored. I just really bloody love these and think you will too.

I love the gym.

I know that sounds self-indulgent in 2018. I wish my hobby was something cool like poetry or photography, but really my hobby is picking heavy things off the floor and putting them back down.

I mean, I actually like the stair machine.

The other day I bought $10 ‘healthy’ ice cream from Coles and don’t regret it.

My social media feeds are brimming with strangers’ muscles.

I… watch Youtube workout videos in my spare time.

This is all much to the disdain of my boyfriend, who is happy that I’m happy but also convinced that I will start bringing dumbbells into bed.

Too late, buddy.

Mostly I love exercise because it quietens my anxiety and improves my lung function (I’m a chronic asthmatic. Again, I wish I was cooler). It makes me stronger and fitter, which means I’m generally happier, and that’s precisely why I keep going back.

An active me is a sunnier me.

At the moment I go to the gym about four times a week, taking YouTuber Whitney Simmons and her workout videos in my pocket whenever I do. Mostly, it’s pretty easy because I have the luxury of being a millennial with a grand total of zero children. Sometimes, though, things get in the way, and a trip to the gym is impossible.

LISTEN: Robin Bailey and Bec Sparrow discuss the mentality we bring to exercise, on The Well. Post continues after. 

Like a 10-day holiday to Bali, for example (poor me, I know, I sound like an entitled dick) which is how I spent my New Years with friends.

The prospect of a relaxing break from work was delightful, but the ‘how am I going to stay active?’ question did cross my mind more than once. I didn’t want my anxiety to flare up because I was being sedentary by a pool, but how would I take across any equipment? With the exception of a yoga mat, which takes up a lot of space, everything is far too heavy to pack in a suitcase.

Luckily, my dad knows me back to front, and gifted me with the perfect solution on Christmas Day before I left: A PTP PowerTube+ Resistance Band.

These @ptpfit resistance bands saved me over the summer when I couldn’t get to the gym. They make you work just as hard as weights, cost and weigh nothing, and left me in a pool of my own sweat every day (gross but true soz). I had to write about them because anyone who wants to tone up from home/wants their muscles to cry baby tears of fire NEEDS these in their life. Seriously. Link in my bio ????

A post shared by Michelle Andrews (@michelleandrews1) on Jan 26, 2018 at 1:11pm PST

If that sounds like a bunch of jargon, let me explain: resistance bands let you perform strength-based exercises without the weight. Made of strong, thin rubber, resistance bands use the resistance against the muscle to work it – meaning they’re a budget-friendly, light-weight way to exercise.

They are GENIUS.

A bonus is that PTP resistance bands come with a door attachment that allows you to do basically any exercise from hammer press, to resisted lunges and back rows. The box even comes with a full pamphlet on what exercises you can do, demonstrating the correct technique and door placement. Basically, if your hotel room has a door, you have a complete workout ready to go at your fingertips. Bada bing, bada boom.

If you don’t like the pamphlet, no problemo pal – there are some great resistance band workouts on YouTube. My personal favourite is this one right here.

A post shared by PTP (@ptpfit) on Dec 29, 2017 at 12:30pm PST

The bands come in five difficulties; Ultra light, light, medium, heavy and ultimate resistance, meaning there’s one for every fitness level. I used the medium band on every second day of the trip and holy hell I’d finish standing in a pool of my own sweat. Even now that I’ve come back I’ll pack a resistance band in my gym bag and incorporate it into my workout. It might not use any weight, but it’s bloody hard. And if you’re up for an extra challenge? Use two bands at once. (Your muscles will cry baby tears.)

For $29.99, PTP resistance bands are honestly something every travelling exercise junkie, or busy woman who can’t get to the gym, needs to know about.

Thank me when you look like a sweaty, exhausted mess.

We wear exercise clothes all weekend and sometimes even to work. Have we reached peak activewear? The Mamamia Out Loud team discuss.