7 Best Resistance Band Exercises for the Legs
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Your legs support you in life. Think, for example, of how they power stair climbs and daily walks with your dog. Strong legs are essential for most sports, from running to tennis to cycling. And strong leg muscles set you up to keep doing these activities throughout your life.
Adding resistance bands can make your lower-body workouts more efficient.
“The resistance of the bands helps burn out the muscles quicker so you can work more in less time,” explains Sara Haley, an American Council on Exercise (ACE)–certified personal trainer and pre- and postnatal exercise specialist in Santa Monica, California.
And they provide a novel stimulus. “Resistance bands provide a specific form of mechanical stress unlike other exercise modalities like dumbbells and bodyweight exercises,” says Marty Miller, a doctor of health sciences, a National Athletic Trainers Association–certified athletic trainer, and the vice president of education and training at Technogym North America in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
RELATED: How to Get Started With Resistance Bands: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide
7 Resistance Band Exercises for Stronger Legs
The following routine from Haley uses a mini loop band to target all of your lower body muscles, including the quadriceps (the muscles in front of the thighs), hamstrings (the muscles in the back of the thighs), glutes (buttocks), inner and outer thighs, and calves.
Choose the lightest band available to start. Increase the resistance with heavier bands when you’re ready.
Perform the exercises one right after the other, resting as needed. Once you finish the last exercise, return to the start. Complete two rounds in total.
If you’re doing this as a standalone routine or your muscles are cold, start with this brief warm-up using the mini band.
Place the band around your thighs just above your knees and do 10 squats. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes forward, and bend your knees to lower your hips until they’re parallel (or almost parallel) with the floor. Keep your chest lifted and push outward against the band with your thighs as you squat down. Push through your feet to return to standing.
Then, place the mini band around your calves and do the following:
- 10 alternating hamstring curls: From a standing position, bend one knee and kick your heel toward your hamstring. Return your foot to the floor and repeat with the other leg.
- 10 alternating backward toe taps: From a standing position, keep your knees soft and step one foot behind you as far as you can, tapping the floor with your toes. Repeat with the opposite leg.
- 10 monster walks: Stand with feet hip-width apart; press your hips back and bend your knees slightly to lower into a quarter squat. From this position, step one foot as far forward as far as you can, keeping your stance wide to maintain tension on the band. Follow with the other foot, stepping as far forward as you can. Keep your chest, shoulders, and hip squared forward the entire time.
This workout is for beginners and advanced exercisers alike who are interested in strengthening their legs with a resistance band. Check with your doctor if you’re injured, recovering from injury, or have a chronic health condition (like heart disease or diabetes) that may make specific exercises risky.
Haley recommends doing this workout two to three times a week.
1. Banded Side Shuffle
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