10 Best Resistance Band Leg Workouts to Tone Your Legs and Fire Up Your Glutes
Here’s how to use your resistance band to feel the most burn.
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If you want to build muscle and improve power and endurance, resistance bands are some of the best strength training equipment items you can use. Unlike dumbbells and kettlebells, resistance bands put less pressure on the joints and can target small and large muscle groups at once. So when it comes to leg day, let’s dive into the resistance band leg workouts that will fire up those glutes in a flash.
“Resistance bands are great because you can bring them with you anywhere, and there are varying degrees to make it more challenging, or scale it back,” says Betina Gozo, Nike master trainer and creator of STRONG With Betina Gozo: Total-Body Fitness in Under 20 Minutes.
Meet the Experts: Marisa Golan, a certified personal trainer, Base Ops Fitness Coach at Fort Athletic Club, and owner of e(M)powered personal training; Betina Gozo, Nike master trainer and creator of STRONG With Betina Gozo: Total-Body Fitness in Under 20 Minutes; Jonathan Tylicki, NASM certified personal trainer and director of education for AKT.
So, if you want to find the best resistance band workout for leg day, look no further. Here, our experts explain why resistance bands should have a place in your regular fitness routine and how to use them to tone up your legs and fire up those glutes!
What are resistance bands good for?
Resistance bands are particularly useful for lower body workouts, including the legs and glutes, because they force you to move with better form and produce power from the right muscles, Gozo says. If you suffer from knee pain, resistance bands are especially handy for strengthening the muscles around the joint so they can stand up to a heavier load.
Using resistance bands can elicit the same strength benefits as using machines or free weights, says Jonathan Tylicki, NASM certified personal trainer and director of education for AKT. “Where resistance bands stand out is that they require additional muscle recruitment to stabilize during an exercise, so instead of being focused on one main muscle, you get the benefit of working more of the muscles that surround and stabilize the joint,” he explains.
Different from weights which can exert a lot of force on the end points of a muscle, a resistance band distributes tension equally throughout the muscle contraction, limiting potential for strain or injury, Tylicki continues. “You get constant tension in all phases of the exercise—the concentric contraction, the eccentric lengthening and isometric isolation,” he explains. A lot of the momentum that people use to lift weights is eliminated when you use a resistance band, so you have consistent control over the movement and improved efficiency, he adds.
Plus, resistance bands are a great option for anyone, from beginners to those who are more advanced. Beginners can benefit from the extra support with their form and more advanced athletes can quickly and efficiently increase the difficulty of their movement by adding more resistance, says Marisa Golan, a certified personal trainer, Base Ops Fitness Coach at Fort Athletic Club, and owner of e(M)powered personal training.
“The external feedback of the resistance can help you adjust your stance or think about activating certain muscles to get the most out of the exercise,” Gozo agrees. “For example, if you’re someone that tends to let their knees cave in when you squat, placing a resistance band above your knees is a good reminder to drive your knees out,” she says.
Types of resistance bands to have in your routine
A resistance band is an elastic band that applies force and resistance to muscles as it is elongated, says Tylicki. “There are different varieties including those that are flat as well as those that are a tube.” They can be one piece or be looped in a circle, and may or may not have handles—and each of these work a little differently.
Loop bands, both large and small, can work all muscle groups, says Tylicki. “Large loop bands are a bit more versatile because they are easier to use for big muscle group exercises, like squats where you stand on the band and loop it over your shoulders,” he says. If you have a large loop band, you can also double it up or tie it at a point to make it smaller and use more like a mini band. “Mini bands are great for smaller range of motion exercises because they have a close loop of tension,” Tylicki adds.
Resistance bands with handles are ideal for pushing and pulling exercises, typically focusing more on the upper body, says Tylicki. “The band can be anchored to a fixed point, like a wall or door, or you can stand on the band or loop it under your foot to create tension,” he explains. Having a handle gives more control when holding the band, and you also get the benefit of engaging additional muscles within the hand and forearm, he adds.
Here are some bands that our experts recommend adding to your collection:
- The X Bands. For lower body movements, Golan likes to use a grippy looped resistance band so they don’t ride up. She likes X Bands for their quality, and they come in packs of multiple bands, so you can choose how much resistance you want to use.
- Women’s Best Resistance Band. Choose from light, medium, or heavy resistance with Golan’s go-to looped cloth band. This option stays in place and is a great option for those who don’t love rubber material when performing lower-body movements.
- Black Mountain Products Resistance Bands. Golan suggests investing in a set of bands with handles to complete different exercises–especially upper body stretch training or rehabilitation exercises. You’ll get a variety of options to choose from and feel like you have a full set of weights at your fingertips.
- A mini loop band is most widely used for lower body exercises, hence the nickname “booty band,” says Tylicki. “Theraband is one of the most reputable and durable brands of resistance band, boasting a large array of resistance levels.” There are also more modern and chic options like the Bala Band, he adds.
Not sure how to get started? Gozo designed this resistance band leg workout below.
Reps: 15 to 20 reps for two to three rounds
Equipment: One medium to heavy resistance band and a yoga mat.
Arielle Weg is the associate editor at Prevention and loves to share her favorite wellness and nutrition obsessions. She previously managed content at The Vitamin Shoppe, and her work has also appeared in Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Cooking Light, MyRecipes, and more. You can usually find her taking an online workout class or making a mess in the kitchen, creating something delicious she found in her cookbook collection or saved on Instagram.
Madeleine, Prevention’s assistant editor, has a history with health writing from her experience as an editorial assistant at WebMD, and from her personal research at university. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience—and she helps strategize for success across Prevention’s social media platforms.
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