7 Resistance Band Training for Legs

Your legs support you in life. Think, for example, of how they propel stair climbs and daily walks with your dog. Strong thighs are essential for most sports, from running to tennis to cycling. And powerful 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.

Free weights like dumbbells provide constant resistance, meaning the amount of resistance your muscles must overcome doesn’t change throughout the exercise — the weight remains the same whether you’re lowering into a squat or pushing back up to standing.

Meanwhile, resistance bands provide variable resistance, which means that the resistance level changes at various phases of an exercise. The more you stretch the band, the more tension you’ll encounter and the harder your muscles will have to work, which enables you to strengthen the leg muscles through their entire range of motion.

Resistance Band Exercises for Stronger Legs

The following routine from Haley utilizes 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 commence. Increase the resistance with heavier bands when you’re ready.

Perform the exercises one right after the other, resting as required. Once you complete 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, commence with this brief warm-up using the mini band.

Place the band around your quadriceps just above your knees and do 10 squats. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes forward, and bow your knees to lower your hips until they’re parallel (or almost parallel) with the floor. Keep your chest lifted and press outward against the band with your thighs as you squat down. Push through your feet to return to upright.

Then, Position The Mini Band Around Your Calves And Do The Following

• 10 alternating hamstring curls: From a standing position, bend one knee and propel your heel toward your hamstring. Return your foot to the floor and repeat with the other limb.

• 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 heels. Repeat with the opposite limb.

• 10 monstrous walks: Stand with feet hip-width apart; press your pelvis 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 posture wide to maintain tension on the band. Follow with the other foot, stepping as far forward as you can. Keep your torso, shoulders, and hip squared forward the entire time.

This workout is for novice and advanced exercisers alike who are interested in strengthening their legs with a resistance band. Check with your doctor if you’re injured, recuperating 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

Start standing. Place the mini band around your legs above your ankles. Step your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees and lower your thighs until they’re almost parallel with the floor (or as close to parallel as you can get while keeping the upper body erect or slightly leaned forward). In this squat position, step your right foot to the right, and then follow with the left foot so your feet are hip-width apart again. Continue in the same direction for four steps total, keeping tension on the band at all times. Reverse directions and take four steps to the left. That’s 1 repetition. Do 5 repetitions.

2. Balancing Leg Lift

From a standing position, place the micro band around your calves. Step your feet hip-width apart. Shift your weight onto your left foot and elevate your right foot off the floor in front of you, toe pointed downward. Keeping both legs straight, elevate your right foot as high as your mobility and the band allow (the move could range anywhere from a few inches to hip height). Pause briefly, and then return to start, allowing your right foot touch the floor. Do 8 repetitions before exchanging sides and repeating. If you’re struggling to balance on one leg, grasp onto a chair for support.

3. Balancing Calf Raise

From a standing position, place the micro band around your calves. Step your feet hip-width apart. Shift your weight onto your right foot and bend your left leg to elevate your left foot off the floor, toe pointed downward.

From this position, lift your right heel to rise onto the sole of your right foot. Squeeze your right calf muscles at the apex before lowering your right heel to the floor. Do 8 repetitions, keeping your left foot elevated the whole time. Switch sides and repeat. If you’re struggling to balance on one leg, grasp onto a chair for support.

Read Also: How Does Running Improve Your Health?

4. 3-Tap Stationary Lunge

From a standing position, place the micro band around your calves. Step your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly, and transfer your weight onto your left foot. Keeping your knees slightly bent, step the right foot to the right side as far as you’re able, striking the floor with your toes. Return your right foot to the beginning position. Then, step the right foot back, crossing it behind your left foot and striking the floor to your left side with your toes as far as you’re able, knees slightly bent. Return your right foot to the beginning position. Then, step the right foot straight behind you and touch the floor with your toes as far as you’re able, knees slightly bent. That’s 1 repetition. Do 6 repetitions before exchanging legs and repeating.

5. Plié Squat Press-Backs

From a standing position, place the micro band around your calves. Stand with your feet a slightly wider than shoulder-distance apart, toes turned out at a 45-degree angle. Bend your knees to lower your quadriceps into a quarter-squat, making sure your knees are pointing toward your toes. Holding this squat position and keeping your upper body upright and your back straight, slightly push your knees back toward your pinkie toes before letting your knees return to the beginning position. Continue making tiny pulsing motions. Complete 25 repetitions.

6. Prone Butt Kicks

Sit on the floor and position the mini band around the arches of your feet. Lie face-down on the floor, your legs extended strait behind you. Flex your feet to press your heels into the floor. Fold your arms on top of each other and rest your cranium on them. From this position, kick your left heel toward your butt, while driving your hips into the floor. Release and repeat. Do 10 repetitions before exchanging sides and repeating.

7. 3-in-1 Exercise

• Lie on the floor on your right side with your hips and legs bent so that your shins and thighs form a 90-degree angle. Place the mini band around your quadriceps just above your knees. Place your right elbow on the floor below under your right shoulder to hold up your upper body. For balance and stability, rest your left hand on the ground in front of your chest. Lift your left knee and extend your left foot in front of your body until it’s upright. Reverse the movement and lower your knee to the beginning position. Do 10 repetitions.

• Stay in the same position: Lie on the floor on your right side with your hips and knees bent so that your shins and quadriceps form a 90-degree angle. Place the band around your right thigh just above the knee and the arch of your left foot. (You’ll need to draw your left knee in toward your torso to reach the position and pull the band over the top of your foot until it’s around the arch of your left foot.) From here, press your left foot away from your body so it’s in line with your spine. Release to commence and repeat. Do 10 repetitions.

• Stay in the same position: Lie on the floor on your right side with your hips and knees bent so that your shins and quadriceps form a 90-degree angle. Keep the band around your right thigh and the arch of your left foot. Extend your left foot away from your body in line with your spine as you did in the previous phase. Keeping the left foot flexed and parallel to the floor, raise your leg up and down, touching the floor with your toes. Do 10 repetitions.