What is a Resistance Band Leg Workout?
Would you like to have leg workouts? You can create a stronger lower body virtually with the help of these resistance band leg workouts.
The largest muscles in your body, those in your legs, need a lot of blood and oxygen to function properly. As a result, leg day will also work your heart and lungs. Here, you’ll find our selection of the top exercises with resistance bands.
How to Use Resistance Bands on Your Legs
Understanding how to use a resistance band for your legs is crucial. You should wrap a resistance band around your ankles as you stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Tense the band as much as you can without moving your hips, lift your left leg to the side, tighten your glutes and thighs, and balance your weight on your right leg.
Bring your left foot back to the beginning position slowly and deliberately without letting your foot touch the floor. Before swapping sides, perform ten reps on this side.
The Benefits of Working Out With Bands
Resistance bands are incredibly practical pieces of home exercise gear. First off, they are pretty affordable, especially in comparison to other components of exercise gear like dumbbells or kettlebells, which may be rather pricey.
They are also lightweight, making it much simpler to transport them to the gym, business, park, or even when traveling. Resistance bands are available in several sizes and intensity levels to accommodate various goals, skills, demands, and workouts.
Do Leg Resistance Bands Work?
Resistance bands are among the best weight training equipment to increase strength, power, and endurance while gaining muscle. Resistance bands, as opposed to dumbbells and kettlebells, are easier on the joints and may work for both minor and major muscle groups simultaneously.
You can operate with various levels of resistance, from low to heavy. Total body fitness under 20 minutes resistance bands is fantastic since you can use them anywhere and adjust the difficulty level.
Resistance bands are beneficial for working out the lower body, including the legs and glutes, because they make you move with better form and engage the proper muscles to generate power. Resistance bands are particularly useful for strengthening the knee muscles to withstand a higher load if you have knee pain.
Additionally, resistance bands are a fantastic choice for everyone, from novices to experts. More experienced athletes can quickly and effectively increase the difficulty of their movement by adding more resistance. At the same time, beginners can benefit from the extra support with their form.
Our Favorite Resistance Band Leg Workouts
Banded Kickbacks: 10 to 20 Reps per Leg
Because you can concentrate on training only one leg at a time, with a tiny band around your ankles, stand. For support, hold onto a door, banister, or countertop. Pick up your left foot off the ground and balance yourself on your right leg.
As far back as you can without arching your back, kick your left leg straight back. Go for another rep by controlling your left leg back to the starting position.
Banded Front Squat
The banded front squat is a good quadriceps workout. With a more vertical squat technique, like the front squat, you can target the quads more directly because the loads and tension are frequently lower than weights.
The Banded Front Squat Technique
If you want to focus on the quads, adopt a squat wide stance with the heels raised. Put one end of the resistance band under your midfoot, and hold the other in your hands with elbows and wrists.
Banded Overhead Squat
The banded overhead squat is a fantastic resistance band leg exercise for strengthening back tension and appropriate squatting technique (neutral spine).
To achieve this, follow the same procedures as with the banded front squat, except that you will raise your hands above your head, which will make your upper back more active and your posture more upright while you squat.
The Banded Overhead Squat Technique
If you want to focus on the quads, adopt a squat wide stance with the heels raised slightly. You should place the resistance band with one end beneath the midfoot (not the toes) and the other in your hands, which you should space about three feet (0.9 meters) apart overhead. If your shoulders are having trouble moving, you can expand them.
The band ought to be parallel to your upper back and traps. When viewed from the side, the band should be exactly 90 degrees from the ground (a vertical line directly above the midfoot).
Ensure the band remains vertical and the arms stay upright when you squat down (not angled too far forward or backward). As you squat, ensure that both your knees are inside the bands.
Bulgarian Split Squat with Bands
This unilateral leg exercise is an excellent technique to work on lower body strength, build muscle, and enhance balance and stability on one leg. Additionally, unilateral workouts are a fantastic alternative when you may limit access to high loads or when bilateral movements are too simple.
How to Perform the Bulgarian Split Squat with Bands
Position yourself in a normal Bulgarian split squat with the back foot up. With your toes and heels firmly planted, position your front foot in front of you. Your back knee should be on the ground when you can lower yourself into a kneeling position.
Pull the resistance band across your body from underneath your front foot and over your head. Your head should be in the middle of the band, fastened beneath the forward foot and draped over the opposite shoulder.
Keep your torso upright and your front heel planted as you descend. As the front leg should support most of your weight, allow the back knee to flex.
Banded Romanian Deadlift
The banded Romanian deadlift, often known as the RDL, is a fantastic exercise for hamstring and glute development. As people maintain a stationary, slightly bent knee and flat back, their hips flex and extend (hinge), similar to the Romanian deadlift performed with weights.
Since the load is relatively moderate compared to heavy-weight training, you’ll want to use the widest range of motion; therefore, standing on a raised platform is best if you have the option.
The Banded Romanian Deadlift Technique
Standing on the resistance band will place both ends of the band on the sides of your feet, roughly hip-width apart. Keep the band firmly and securely underneath the midfoot while grasping both ends with one in each hand, like a handle.
With the knees only slightly bent and the back flat (they should be perpendicular to the floor, so think knees above the ankles). Using your hamstrings, pull the leg bands upward while pushing the hips to the top in a neutral posture.
Push your hips back while maintaining the initial position of your knees as you descend, being sure to experience a strong hamstring stretch. Better stretches are those that are longer.
Banded Hamstring Curl
You can perform this single-joint exercise while standing, sitting, or lying flat on the floor (however, seating can be tricky to set up). The hamstring curl targets the muscle at the insertion site instead of hinging workouts that target the hamstring at the origin. You can fully exercise the hamstrings by practicing knee flexion and hinge exercises.
The Banded Hamstring Curl Technique (Lying)
Start by wrapping the resistance band around a stationary object, such as a pole or frame. Make a slipknot by wrapping the band’s ends around one another. Grab the band’s one end, which should still be in a loop, and go a short distance from the anchor point before lying down on your chest.
As you wrap the band around your ankles, keep your feet apart just a little to keep the band taut. Pull the heels of the hips while keeping the legs as straight as possible, feeling the hamstrings contract. Reposition the legs slowly while maintaining tension in the muscle.
Clamshell: 10 to 20 Reps per Leg
The clamshell exercise challenges your ability to maintain control and concentrate on good form while working your inner and outer thigh muscles. Before bringing your knee back down, spread your thighs as much as possible so the band extends as high as possible.
Put a resistance band around your thighs slightly above the knees to perform clamshells. Kneel on a yoga mat while lying on your right side. Put your left hand on your hip and your head on your right. Squeeze your glutes and thigh muscles while resisting the band to press your left thigh.
At the top, pause carefully before returning your left thigh to the starting position. One rep equals this. After completing ten repetitions, switch sides.
Complete Leg Day Band Workout
For all skill levels, try this comprehensive resistance leg band workout. Resistance bands can’t load strong people with much external loading; thus, advanced lifters will need to aim for more repetitions than beginners to build up adequate volume and induce enough muscle exhaustion in a session.
To increase muscle tension and increase training effectiveness without additional weight, you should perform all exercises slowly, with control, and with an eccentric phase.
Warm Up
Banded overhead squat: 1 to 2 sets of 10 repetitions, slow eccentric, deep squat pause, elbows remain locked out overhead. Use this as a model for a more vertical squat to better target the quads.
Banded hip thrust: Perform two to three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of gradual eccentric, forceful hip extension with a maximal contraction of the glutes at the top.
Quads
Banded front squat: 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps with slow, eccentric, and aggressive hip extension at the top.
Banded Bulgarian split squat: 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps, a quick and aggressive eccentric hip extension, and a maximal glute contraction at the top.
Hamstrings
Banded Romanian deadlift: 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps with slow, eccentric, and aggressive hip extension at the top.
Banded pull through 70 to 100 reps with a medium band tension or your body weight. Only 20 to 30 total reps should be possible before you have to stop. If you decide to pause, take only brief breaks—no more than 10 to 20 seconds—and continue adding reps until you reach 100.
Diagonal Band Walks
You can increase hip mobility by switching up the orientations of your band walks. The trick here is to keep the band taut the entire time, just like in the exercise above. Place a resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-distance apart and your knees slightly bent. This is how to perform a diagonal band walk.
Keep the band tight around your ankles and take a broad step up to the right side with your right foot. Then, take a wide step up to the left side with your left foot. After a few repetitions, keep going and walk back to the beginning by going in the opposite direction.
Fire Hydrant
The gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in your glutes, receives the majority of focus when it comes to butt exercises, but boosting your abduction movements—which include extending your legs away from the midline—can help you target the smaller muscles.
This fire hydrant exercise works the gluteus medius and minimus by having the user move against the band’s resistance.
Put yourself in a tabletop position with a resistance band above your knee and your shoulders over your wrists to perform fire hydrants. By tensing your glutes and outer thighs, raise your left knee to the side while keeping your hips still.
Make sure your core is tight so that your upper body stays solid. Your left knee should now be back where it was. You should complete ten reps on one side before switching.
Glute Bridge Pulses: 15 to 20 Reps
Glute bridges are a great method to loosen up the hips and strengthen the pelvic floor. As demonstrated below, when you place a resistance band directly above your knees, your outer thigh muscles are also used to push your knees out. Just be careful to avoid overriding the low back by lifting your hips too high.
Put a tension band on your thighs above your knees to perform glute bridge pulses. Legs bent, feet flat on the ground, and arms at your sides as you lie face up on a yoga mat.
Never let your butt touch the ground while pressing your hips up and down while tightening your glutes and pelvic muscles. Continue for 15 to 20 repetitions. Make it a single-leg glute bridge by raising one leg off the floor for a more difficult version.
Glute Kickbacks
These standing glute kickbacks are a wonderful technique to work your posterior if you’re tired of squats. Make sure to clench your glutes and firmly plant the opposing foot on the ground to aid your balance before kicking your foot behind you.
Put a resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-distance apart to perform glute kickbacks. Kick your left leg behind until the band is tight while tightening your glutes and tucking your pelvis in. Bring your left foot back to the starting position after pausing at the top. Perform ten reps on this side.
Glute Bridge With Alternating Leg Raise
This glute bridge workout may test your body’s stability and lower abs. With a resistance band around your thighs, you can lift one leg at a time, offsetting your balance and taxing your glutes to keep them up.
How to perform alternating leg lifts and a glute bridge: Just above your knees, wrap a resistance band over your thighs. With your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground, lie face up on a yoga mat.
By contracting your glutes and pelvic muscles, lift your hips upwards. Kick your left foot before you and set it back to the ground while maintaining high hips and thrusting your knees against the band’s resistance.
To keep your body steady, firmly plant your right foot on the ground. Then, with your left foot firmly planted, kick your right foot out and set it back down. You should perform 15 to 20 reps of switching you should perform sides.
Hamstring-Focused Band Workout
Here is an all-level band exercise focusing on the hamstrings. This workout is an excellent addition to a weekly program that includes the quad-focused program because it has more hamstring and glute-focused movements than the quad workout.
Hamstrings
Hip thrust with bands: 70 to 100 reps with body weight or light band tension. Only 20 to 30 total reps should be possible before you have to stop. If you decide to pause, take only brief breaks—no more than 10 to 20 seconds—and continue adding reps until you reach 100.
Banded hamstring curls: Perform four sets of 20 repetitions with a difficult tension for ten to15 reps, and complete the remaining reps by pausing for 5 to 10 seconds as necessary. Reps must be challenging and cause extreme amounts of muscle strain and burn.
Banded Pull Through Slow eccentric, aggressive hip extension with maximum glute contraction at the top. Four sets of 15 to 20 reps.
Quads
70 to 100 reps of banded front squats with either bodyweight or soft band tension. Only 20 to 30 total reps should be possible before you have to stop. If you decide to pause, take only brief breaks—no more than 10 to 20 seconds—and continue adding reps until you reach 100.
Knee-Banded Squats: 10 to 20 Reps
Squats are fantastic since they work every leg part, particularly your thighs. Your glute muscles will work harder as a result of adding the band.
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and wrap the band around your legs slightly above the knees. Step out a little on your toes. Simultaneously, you bend your hips and push your knees against the band to track squarely over your feet.
Maintain a straightforward gaze and maintain your chest up as you squat. Pushing your legs out against the band, squat as low as you can, then stand up to complete the squat.
Knee-Banded Hip Thrusts: 10 to 20 Reps
Hip thrusts emphasize the glutes, strengthening the posterior and opening up the front of your hips. Place your upper back on a chair or sofa while the band is still around your knees. You should bend your knees and hips as you stand with your feet flat and hip-width apart.
While keeping your knees pushed outside toward the band, lift your hips to the ceiling by driving through your heels and pushing your knees outwards toward the band. Before going back to the bottom, hold for a 2-second count at the top.
Lateral Band Walk: 10 to 20 Reps
Although it might seem easy, this resistance band exercise will make your inner and outer thighs burn. Here, you want to step your feet far enough out and in to keep the band taut the entire time.
Place a resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-distance apart and your knees slightly bent. This is how to perform a lateral band walk. Step your left foot to the side, so your feet are shoulder-distance apart while tightening your outer thighs and slightly hunching at the hips.
Step your right foot to the left while maintaining a tight band when your feet are hip-distance apart. Step your feet out alternately for about ten repetitions on each side.
Monster Walk: 10 to 15 Reps per Leg
The monster walk is a great exercise for strengthening the muscles on the sides of the hips and improving knee and hip control.
With the opposite end of the resistance band in your hands, stand with your feet hip-width apart on the band. Hold the band at about waist level, crossing it over to create an X. Step to the right, bringing your left to follow the right, then get your feet back to hip-width apart while maintaining proper tension in the band.
Resistance Band Squats: 10 to 15 Reps
The resistance band will make it harder as you rise, working your entire leg, especially your thigh muscles. Like the previous exercise, stand on the band and wrap the other end around your shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your toes slightly pointed outward.
Push your knees out, so they are directly over your feet by simultaneously bending your hips and knees. Maintain a straightforward gaze and maintain your chest up as you squat. To perform the squat, crouch as low as you can and then rise.
Once you’ve mastered the bodyweight squat, you can add a resistance band to the exercise to increase its difficulty. Think about driving your knees out to prevent them from giving way, as Gozo previously advised. Keep in mind to contract your abdominals to maintain a high chest.
Put a resistance band around your thighs slightly above the knees to perform squats. Your arms should be in front of you as you stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Sit into a squat while engaging your glutes and core, pushing your butt back and down. Drive out your knees by battling the band’s resistance.
To get back up, firmly plant your heels on the ground while maintaining your weight in them. One rep equals this.
Resistance Band Split Squats: 8 to 12 Reps per Leg
Split squats allow you to concentrate entirely on the muscles of one leg because they work just one leg at a time.
Place one foot in front of the resistance band as you stand, and the other should be about two feet behind you. Hold the band’s ends or wrap them around your shoulders for added resistance. As you push with your front foot to stand back up, bend both knees until your rear knee touches the floor while maintaining a vertical torso.
Resistance Band Deadlift: 10 to 15 Reps
The deadlift is a hip-centered exercise that also strengthens the back by targeting the glutes and the back of the thighs. Standing on the band with your feet hip-width apart, grasp the ends with either hand as if you were carrying groceries.
You should stoop as low as possible, keep your back flat and your shins about vertical, and then stand up while hanging on to the band. You should do each deadlift slowly and carefully, and after you’re standing tall at the top of the exercise, bend at the hips to get back to the starting position.
Resistance Band Leg Lifts: 10 to 15 Reps
As we already discussed, hip abduction is a terrific exercise for your glutes’ smaller muscles. In addition to lifting your legs with the resistance bands, you are also actively pushing your thighs to the sides. Ensure you are using the appropriate muscles. Gozo advises placing your hands on your hips to feel the muscles contract.
To execute resistance band leg raises, place a resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Tense the band as much as you can without moving your hips, lift your left leg to the side, tighten your glutes and thighs, and balance your weight on your right leg.
Bring your left foot back to the beginning position slowly and deliberately without letting your foot touch the floor. Before swapping sides, perform ten reps on this side.
Resistance Band Narrow Squats: 10 to 15 Reps
The muscles at the front of your thighs emphasize this squat variation, which should truly burn following the deadlifts and kickbacks. You should wrap the other end of the band over your shoulders while you stand on it with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointed forward.
Keep your knees in line with your toes, and bend your hips and knees as if sitting on a chair beneath you. Maintain a straightforward gaze and maintain your chest up as you squat. Pushing up against the band, crouch as low as you can, then finish by standing up.
Are you looking for additional motivation to work out? We’ve discovered the finest resistance band exercises for legs and glutes. These are the best ab exercises you can do for no money, an activity that works your glutes more effectively than squats, and one of the best ab exercises for sculpting a smaller waistline.
Tabletop Glute Kickbacks: 10 to 20 Reps
This kickback variant engages your glutes while tightening your core. Maintaining a square and steady upper body and hips will be difficult. Consider pushing the wall behind you with your heel for helpful imagery.
Your glutes are clearly in motion. Although the lower body is the main target of this exercise, keeping your shoulders in a neutral position is crucial by pressing your hands firmly into the ground.
To perform tabletop glute kickbacks, get into a tabletop position with your shoulders above your wrists and a resistance band around the arches of your feet. Kick your left foot squarely behind you, creating a straight line from your heel to the top of your head while contracting your glutes and core. Before swapping sides, perform ten reps on this side.
Quad-Focused Band Workout
Here is an all-levels band exercise with a quad focus. Increased duration under tension and additional training to induce muscular exhaustion need to bring about changes because band tension is frequently insufficient external loading for persons.
Warm Up
Banded overhead squat: 1 to 2 sets of 10 repetitions, slow eccentric, deep squat pause, elbows remain locked out overhead. Use this as a model for a more vertical squat to better target the quads.
Banded pull through 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps of slow eccentric, forceful hip extension, and maximum glute contraction.
Quads
Front squats with a banded tempo pause: 50 to 70 total reps. Three seconds of lowering, one second of pause, then a quick ascent with full knee extension and a swift descent. If you need to rest, do so for a maximum of 10 seconds; if you rest any longer, you may lessen the benefit of light squats on growing muscle.
Banded Bulgarian split squat: 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions, no rest in between sets, 3 seconds of descending, a pause at the bottom, and an explosive ascent. Between sets, take as much time as necessary to rest, usually 2 minutes.
Hamstrings
Banded hamstring curls: Perform four sets of 20 repetitions with a difficult tension for 10-15 reps, and complete the remaining reps by pausing for 5 to 10 seconds as necessary. Reps must be challenging and cause extreme amounts of muscle strain and burn.
Who Should do Resistance Band Training?
Leg exercises using resistance bands are a terrific option for folks who lift weights at home or want to give their lower body workouts new stimulation and those in the martial arts industry. One of the main drawbacks of resistance band workouts is that the stronger you are, it might be challenging to apply enough mechanical loading and stress to the muscles.
If you fall into this category, using these exercises later in a workout after performing more compound movements with larger loads may be the best option.
The Final Say
Leg resistance band workouts are a terrific approach to improve bodyweight exercises and add a new training stimulus when you don’t have access to weights. For most people, it is ideal to prioritize full ranges of motion, controlled eccentrics, and tempos to enhance duration under tension and exercise the muscle to complete failure due to the lesser loading potential of bands.