The craze of having a rounder, firmer booty doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Here are 15 resistance band exercises for legs and glutes to give your backside a little lift.
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I’m not a huge fan of trends or crazes that are happening in the health and fitness industry. From waist trainers to fad diets, I really try to avoid them.
But, the bigger booty trend has been ongoing for quite some time now. And it’s no secret why. Having a toned and firm backside can make you feel good in and out of clothes. It can make you more confident, and if you’ve been working those muscles, it means you have good strength that helps to hold you upright, stabilize your upper body, and assist you in walking every day.
Obviously, another reason round bums are in is due to the popularity of celebrities like the Kardashians, Nikki Minaj, and Cardi B.
I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer when I say this, but the possibility of growing your glute muscles to the size of the women’s rears mentioned above is highly unlikely. And I’m sharing that information because there are still articles spread around that make it seem like you can achieve that physique with a month of 50 air squats every day.
Kind of like the Pins on Pinterest that claim you can burn 1000 calories in ten minutes with their workout. It’s a big fat lie to get views, clicks, and shares. We aren’t about that business here.
Unfortunately, there is a lot more to building a booty than squats. You have to nail down your nutrition, being sure to get plenty of protein, do heavy lifting that targets the glutes, change up your workouts, and be sure you are training your glutes frequently.
That’s a lot of work for a booty, huh?
That’s not to say that you can’t build your dream booty over time. You most certainly can. Stay dedicated, do your research, and put in the work.
Don’t have a gym membership? That’s okay. You can use resistance bands to start building strength and muscles in your legs and glutes.
I love resistance bands because they can be used alone to get a good workout or to activate your glutes prior to lifting, or they can be combined with lifting exercises for increased burn and targeted muscle activation.
The following 10 resistance band exercises for legs and glutes are great for activating your these muscles prior to a lifting session or you can do multiple sets of these exercises for a full booty workout at home.
Why You Need Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are by far one of my favorite pieces of workout equipment. They are so versatile and can be used for a variety of exercises to target different muscle groups throughout the body.
Another huge benefit of resistance bands is the price point. Compared to dumbells, barbells, or actual cable machines, they are by far the least expensive piece of fitness equipment. You can the set I have with 5 resistance bands on Amazon for around $10.
For that $10 you can do tons of exercises that work the glutes, legs, arms, back, and even the core.
The other benefits of having and using resistance bands include:
- Can work for any fitness level. With a variety of different resistance levels, you can pick and choose the right resistance for you and what exercise you are doing.
- Lightweight and compact. They are perfect for traveling with and require very little space to store on the road or at home.
- Safely perform strength training alone. You don’t need a spotter to use resistance bands.
- Ability to mix up pre-established workout routines so that muscles don’t get used to doing the same thing over and over.
10 Resistance Band Exercises to Build a Booty
Squatted Side Steps
Place the band around both your thighs, just above the knees. Squat down, keeping your back flat and the weight in your heels. Now, step your right foot out to the right, staying in a squatted position. Then follow with the left foot, bringing both thighs to touch and remaining squatted down.
Do 2-3 steps to one side and then go back in the opposite direction. Try to do this without standing up straight, staying in your low quat. Back and forth is one rep. Complete 8-10 reps.
Lying Side Leg Lift
Put the resistance band around both thighs, just above the knees. Lay on your left side with your left knee bent and your right leg out straight. Make sure your body is in a straight line. Place left hand under your head and your right hand on the ground in front of your stomach.
Without rotating your body backward and keeping your right foot flexed and pointing straight in front of you, lift your right leg as high as you can. Pause briefly at the top and then slowly lower your leg back down, hovering it just above the left knee. Repeat 10-15 reps and then switch sides and complete on your right side.
Clamshell
Put the resistance band around both thighs, just above the knees. Lay on your left side with your knees bent slightly and your legs stacked on top of one another in front of your body. Place your left hand under your head. Place your right hand on the ground in front of your stomach.
From here, open your right leg up while keeping your feet touching. Think of creating an open diamond shape between your legs. Try not to rotate your body backward or use your arms to assist. Once at the top of the movement, pause and squeeze your butt then release slowly back to the start position.
Do 10-15 reps on one side and then switch to the opposite side.
Seated Abduction
Place the resistance band around both thighs, just above the knee. Sit on the floor and place your hands behind your body, slightly leaning back. Bend your left knee and place your foot on the floor. Then, extend your right leg out in front of you with your foot flexed.
Slowly, keeping your left foot on the ground and hands behind your body, lift your right foot about an inch off the ground and extend your leg out to the side as far as you can. Keeping the movement slow, return your leg back to the center, keeping your foot floating off the ground.
Do 10-15 reps on one side and then repeat on the opposite leg.
Resistance Band Deadlift
This resistance band exercise imitates a standard straight-leg deadlift. Start by standing on the band with both feet placed about hip-distance apart. Grab the top of the band with both hands in front of your body.
Keeping your back flat and not rounded over, hinging at the hips, straighten your legs as much as you can. Now, stand up straight while holding onto the band. Keep your shoulders rolled back and push through your heels. At the top of the movement, squeeze your butt muscles. Then, hinging at the hips, keeping your back flat and legs as straight as possible, bend forward, bringing your hands closer to your feet.
Hinging forward and then pushing back up to an erect body position in one rep. Do 10-12 reps.
Glute Bridge Abduction
Place the resistance band around both things, just above the knees. Lay flat on your back, bend your knees and bring your feet as close to your butt as you can. Place your feet on the ground. Extend your arms down your sides, keeping them flat on the ground.
Use your heels to push your hips and lower back off the ground as high as you can. Your weight will be in your heels and your shoulder blades. Squeezing your glutes and keeping your hips high, push your knees apart slowly and pause. Then, slowly bring them back to the center. This is one rep. Complete 10-15 reps.
Reverse Leg Raise
Standing up tall, place the resistance band around your shins. You might want something to hold on to for this like a wall, chair, or table. Slightly bend forward. Keeping your left leg straight and stabilized on the floor, lift your right leg up behind your body, keeping it straight and not opening your hip to the side. Pause at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes, then slowly release back to the floor.
Do 10-15 reps on one leg and then repeat on the opposite leg.
Fire Hydrant
Place the resistance band around your thighs, just about the knees. Get down into a tabletop position. Keep your shoulders stacked above your wrists, your hips above your knees, and your back in a neutral position.
From here, keeping your leg bent, lift your right leg out to the side of your body without rotating your trunk. Slowly, return the leg to the starting position.
Do 10-15 reps on one leg and then switch to the opposite leg.
Squat with Side Leg Raise
Place the resistance band around your thighs, just above the knees. Standing with your feet hip-width apart or where the band is taut across the front and back of your legs, squat down. Remember to keep your back flat and chest up.
Push back up through your heels. At the top of the motion, shift your weight to balance on your left leg. Keeping your right leg straight, lift it out to the side in a controlled motion. Return to where your feet are hip-width apart. Squat down again and then repeat the leg lift on the opposite leg.
A leg lift on each side equals one rep. Do a total of 10 reps, the equivalent of 10 leg lifts per side.
Diamond Glute Bridge
Place the resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. Lay flat on your back with arms at your sides. Bend your knees and bring your feet to touch with knees out to the side.
Pushing through your feet, lift your hips high and squeeze your butt through the movement. Slowly, lower your hips back to the ground. Do 10-15 reps.
Complete Booty Workout with Bands
There are 7 groups of 2 exercises and a burnout round. Each exercise will be repeated 2 times in an ABAB format. If you are a beginner, start with 10 reps per exercise. If you want to challenge yourself, try for 12-15 reps per exercise.
Remember to choose a band that challenges you and makes your butt muscles scream by the last 3-4 reps.
Group 1
- Lying side leg lift, Right
- Lying side leg lift, Left
Group 2
- Glute bridge adduction
- Banded deadlift
Group 3
- Clamshell, Right
- Clamshell, Left
Group 4
- Reverse leg raise, Right
- Reverse leg raise, Left
Group 5
- Fire hydrant, Right
- Fire hydrant, Left
Group 6
- Squat with side leg raise
- Diamon glute bridge
Group 7
- Seated adduction, Right
- Seated adduction, Left
Burnout
- Squatted Side Step (as many as you can without standing up straight)
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Check out this low impact full-body workout with resistance bands. It’s perfect to do at home or while staying in a hotel room.
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