Butt & Thigh Exercises With Bands
Get a great workout for your glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps with just a few types of resistance bands.
If you think you can't get a great butt and thigh workout at home, think again. Lightweight and portable, resistance bands erase your excuses for not training your muscles. With a variety of styles and levels of resistance, you can do a wide range of exercises to target the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, abductors and adductors. Continue to increase the challenge of exercises by increasing the resistance.
Squats
Squats are, hands-down, the best exercise for toning the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. Make them the staple of your butt and thigh workout, and continue to increase the resistance of the bands you use. You'll need a long band with handles on either end for this exercise.
Stand on the center of the band with a handle in either hand. Separate your feet about hip-distance apart. Raise your hands up to your shoulders with your palms facing out. Contract your core muscles and expand through your chest. Keep your torso erect as you lower down, sending your hips out behind you as if sitting down into a chair. Come down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Pause for a second, then push through your feet to rise back to standing. Squeeze your glutes at the top.
Read more: The Ultimate Full-Body Resistance Band Workout
Side Lunges
Side lunges primarily target the glutes, but they also work the inner thighs, quadriceps and hamstrings. They're a great all-in-one exercise for building butt and thigh strength and definition. Reach for your long resistance band with handles, and step on the middle of the band with your right foot. Hold the handles with an overhand grip at shoulder height. Keeping your torso erect, take a big step to the left, keeping your right leg stationary. As you land, bend both knees and come down into a deep squat -- thighs parallel to the ground. Pause at the bottom, then press through your left foot to rise up, bringing it back to center. Perform all your reps on one side, then switch to the other.
Lateral Band Walk
Activate your glute medius -- the largest muscle in your butt -- with this easy exercise. Lateral band walks also help strengthen the abductor muscles which run along the sides of your thighs. You'll need a smaller loop band for this exercise. Place the band around your ankles, and stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Bend your knees slightly, coming into an athletic stance. Contract your core muscles, pull your shoulders back and keep your torso erect. Take a big step to the right, landing your right foot parallel with your left foot. Pause, then step your left foot in, hip-distance from your right foot. Continue side stepping in one direction for the desired number of reps, then switch directions.
Lying Hamstring Curl
Hamstring curls are the best exercise for isolating and activating the large hamstring muscle on the back of your thigh. Grab a resistance band with an ankle attachment for this move. Anchor one end of the resistance band by hooking it to a sturdy object or under a door. Put the ankle strap on your right ankle and lie down on your stomach facing away from the band. Keeping both thighs on the floor, draw the right foot in toward your glute as far as you can, squeezing the hamstring muscle. Pause for a second, then slowly lower the foot back to the ground. Complete all your reps on one side, then switch to the other leg.
Glute Kickbacks
Sometimes called "donkey kicks" or "butt blasters," you need this exercise in your life if you want a firm, toned booty. Equip yourself with a long resistance band with handles and get on all fours on an exercise mat. Loop the middle of the band around the sole of your right foot, and grasp the handles of the bands under your palms. Contract your core muscles. Keeping your right foot flexed, extend the leg out and up behind you. Squeeze the glute at the top. With control, bend the right knee and bring it back in under your hip without touching it to the ground before your next rep. Complete all your reps on one side, then switch to the other leg.
Read more: 10 Resistance Band Exercises to Tone and Tighten