A 10-Move Resistance Band Butt Workout You Can Do Anywhere
A resistance band is one of the most inexpensive, convenient pieces of workout equipment you can own. You can get a pack of multiple online for $30 or less, and they take up essentially no space—perfect for anyone whose "home gym" is the sliver of space between their sofa and TV.
While there are a million ways to use resistance bands, they're especially great for the glutes. Lena Marti, a NASM-certified personal trainer in New York City, tells SELF that bands are great for activating the muscles in the butt, which basically means getting them ready to work.
It's common for your quads to take over in exercises like squats and lunges, when you really want your butt to be doing the majority of the work—part of the reason is because many people are quad-dominant, meaning that you tend to overuse your quad muscles during workouts that aren't meant to target them. There are a few things that can cause it, but one of the big culprits is tight hips. When your hips are tight, you're more likely to initiate movements like squats from your knees instead of your hips, putting the pressure on your legs instead of your butt.
Band workouts are really great for targeting the muscles in the butt—the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. That's great if you just want to do a butt-focused workout, but it's helpful if you want to prime your glutes for an all-encompassing workout, too. Isolated glute exercises, like the ones Marti demos below, will warm up your glutes and get them ready to work so that you "turn on the right muscles," Marti says.
Here's how to do this workout:
- Ankle Jumping Jacks — 20 reps
- Lateral Band Walks — 20 reps
- Standing Glute Kicks — 20 reps each side
- Banded Walks — 20 reps
- Squat to Lateral Leg Lifts — 20 reps
- Clamshells — 20 reps
- Hip Bridge Pulses — 20 reps
- Fire Hydrants — 20 reps
- Hip Bridges With Alternating Leg Extensions — 20 reps
- Donkey Kicks— 20 reps
- Do this circuit two times.
Marti recommends doing this workout two or three times per week. She also suggests just picking two moves to do before every lower-body workout to warm up and activate your glutes. "I do this before leg day," Marti says. "I'm working with the bands first, every single time."
Here's how to do each move:
Ankle Jumping Jacks — 20 reps
- Place the band around your ankles.
- Stand in a quarter-squat position (a shallower squat), with your feet about hip-width apart, hands at your chest.
- Jump your feet out and in for 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps.
Try not to let your body pop up too high, and land with your weight mostly in your heels, not your toes, Marti says.
Lateral Band Walks — 20 reps
- Place the band around your ankles.
- Stand in a quarter-squat position (a shallower squat), with your feet about hip-width apart, hands at your chest or on your hips.
- Take a step to the right with your right foot, so that your feet are shoulder-width apart. Then, follow with your left so that your feet are hip-width apart again.
- Take three steps to the right, and then three back to the left. That's 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps.
"Try to keep your weight in the center, keep your core engaged, and keep constant tension in the band," Marti says.
Standing Glute Kickbacks — 20 reps
- Place the band around your ankles.
- With your hands at your chest or on your hips, shift all your weight into your left leg and place your right toes on the ground about an inch diagonally behind your left heel, so there is tension in the band.
- Squeeze your abs and tuck your pelvis under as you kick your right leg back about 6 inches. Keep the knee straight.
- Return your right foot to the ground, keeping tension in the band, for 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat.
"This is not a big movement," Marti says. If you feel your lower back arching when you kick, make the movement smaller. Try not to put any weight in the leg that's kicking as it comes back down to the ground.
Banded Walks — 20 reps
- Place the band around your ankles.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees a few inches and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your abs engaged and glutes tight.
- Take 10 steps forward.
- Take 10 steps backward. That's 20 reps.
Be sure to keep your back flat and shoulders back so you're not hunching over, Marti says.
Squat to Lateral Leg Lifts — 20 reps
- Place the band just above your knees.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your hands at your chest or on your hips.
- Bend your knees and push your butt back to lower into a squat.
- Stand back up and lift your right leg out to the side, keeping your knee straight.
- Return your right leg to the floor.
- Squat again. This time when you stand back up, lift your left leg out to the side, keeping your knee straight.
- Return your left leg to floor. That's 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps, alternating sides.
"Keep your core engaged," Marti says, and make sure your chest is lifted and that you're not rounding or arching your back.
Clamshells — 20 reps
- Place the band above your knees.
- Lie on your side, with your head resting on your bottom hand. Elevate your feet to hip height (if you can), keeping your knees touching the floor.
- Keep your feet together as you lift your top knee toward the ceiling.
- Slowly lower the top knee down to hover right above the bottom knee. That's 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat.
If it's too difficult to open up your knees with your feet in the air, leave them on the ground and do the same movement. "This is a good activation exercise to do before any lunges or squats," Marti says.
Hip Bride Pulses — 20 reps
- Place the band just above your knees.
- Lie on your back with your hands at your sides, knees bent, and feet flat on floor hip-width apart.
- Squeeze your glutes and abs and lift your hips a few inches off the floor. Walk your feet together.
- Hold the bridge, and push your knees out to the sides, keeping your feet touching.
- Slowly return your knees to touch for 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps.
Keep your pelvis tucked under, with no arch in your back, and pull your belly button to your spine to maintain correct form, Marti says.
Fire Hydrants — 20 reps
- Place the band just above your knees.
- Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Without shifting your hips, left your left knee out to the side.
- Slowly return to starting position for 1 rep.
- Do 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat.
"Keep your core engaged, so you're stabilized and not shifting [your hips]," Marti notes. You also want to try and keep constant resistance in the band, so if that means you don't come all the way back down to the ground, that's OK.
Hip Bridges With Alternating Leg Extension — 20 reps
- Place the band just above your knees.
- Lie on your back with your hands at your sides, knees bent, and feet flat on floor hip-width apart.
- Squeeze your glutes and abs and lift your hips a few inches off the floor.
- Extend your right leg until it's straight, keeping your knees in line.
- Return your right leg to starting position. Bring your hips back down to the floor.
- Lift your hips up again. Then, extend your left leg until it's straight.
- Return your left leg to starting position. Bring your hips back down to the floor. That's 1 rep.
- Continue, alternating sides for 20 reps.
Focus on touching your heels on the floor each time, not your toes, Marti says.
Donkey Kicks — 20 reps
- Loop the band around the bottom of your left foot and right ankle.
- Start on all fours with your knees under your hips and hands under your shoulders.
- Kick your left leg up, keeping your foot flexed and knees bent. Hold for 2 seconds at the top.
- Return your left leg to floor for 1 rep.
- Continue on the same side for 20 reps.
- Switch sides and repeat.
"The more time you spend holding at the top, the longer the muscle is under tension—which forces your glute to work harder," Marti says. "The biggest booty burners are when you're holding [the move]."