Resistance bands are compact, easily stored devices designed to target smaller muscles efficiently. Their constant resistance also provides added challenge during any movement – perfect for those suffering from knee pain or looking to up their glute training regimen.
Loop a band around your thighs just above the knees and hinge from your hips to lower your torso while simultaneously lifting one leg behind you.
1. Glute Bridge
Glute bridges are an essential exercise for strengthening glutes and hamstrings. You don’t need any equipment – making it perfect for travel workouts or home sessions without equipment! Incorporating bridges into your routine will strengthen both glutes and hamstrings, target the erector spinae which controls posture and core stability, as well as increase reps or elevate feet or knees for added challenge! As your strength and ability grows you can add difficulty by increasing reps or elevating feet/knees by elevating feet/knees or elevating feet/knees – challenge yourself further as your abilities improve!
To perform a standard glute bridge, lie on your back with bent knees and feet placed hip-width apart on the floor hip-width apart. Be sure that your body forms an inverted straight line from knees through hips, buttocks, shoulders and neck. Engage your muscles by squeezing glutes as you lift hips off ground while simultaneously engaging glute muscles by raising hips off floor – hold bridged position briefly before returning back down again.
Common bridge errors involve rushing through multiple repetitions quickly without paying enough attention to each repetition’s quality. Your aim should be to lift your hips as high as possible without arching your back and hold them in that bridged position for several seconds before repeating this series of bridge reps.
Add to this exercise’s difficulty by positioning your feet further apart or adding a band. A band will help increase tension, and help your feel a greater contraction in both glutes and hamstrings – however it requires greater coordination to use.
As an interesting variation of a standard glute bridge exercise, consider performing a single-leg glute bridge. This version can help target your gluteus maximus while targeting running-specific gluteus maximus muscles more directly than with other variations. To perform one, just straighten one leg and place it on the floor next to your working leg – then lift your body as usual, pressing outward with resistance band against knees for increased tension as you come into bridged position.
No matter the method you select for performing glute bridges, aim to complete two sets of ten repetitions each (or as many as necessary for you to meet your strength goals). Add these exercises into larger bodyweight sessions or perform them as an isometric hold to work both your glutes and hamstrings simultaneously.
2. Seated Abduction
If you want to strengthen your hips, thighs, outer glutes and overall lower body strength while simultaneously improving mobility and decreasing hip pain, add Resistance Band Seated Abduction exercises into your routine. It can strengthen gluteus adductor muscles as well as increase hip mobility by relieving hip pain while improving overall mobility.
The seated abduction exercise involves spreading or squeezing your legs apart under tension, similar to Glute Bridge but done while sitting. This movement will help you feel and see the difference in your hips as well as making your backside rounder.
Although there are many exercises designed to target hip abductors and adductors, seated abduction is an ideal exercise for beginner exercisers. It’s simple and requires no equipment – plus, it works your hip abductors and adductors in ways similar to movements you use daily (ie side-to-side walking).
Strengthen the outer muscles of your hips to increase lower body stability, aiding movement during daily activities and sports like running or catching fly balls in ultimate frisbee, as well as improve balance. This exercise may even increase overall flexibility!
A seated abduction exercise targets your gluteus medius – one of two outer hip muscles on either side – according to Hinge Health physical therapist James Escalante, MS, CPT. This muscle is essential for lateral movement such as sliding along with someone you are guarding on a basketball court, or running after long throws during ultimate frisbee matches.
Leigha VandenToorn, C.S.C.S, an NASM-certified personal trainer and founder of The VandenToorn Method suggests to understand its benefits, it’s essential to recognize the difference between abduction and adduction exercises – and their respective benefits – before trying this movement out yourself. Think of your hips as being straight down the center of your body with two limbs either side that act like legs; she suggests moving adduction exercises towards this midline of your body while abduction exercises move limbs away from this midline of your body whereas adduction exercises work by moving limbs closer towards or further away from this midline of your body depending on which exercises you do best!
3. Fire Hydrant
The Fire Hydrant Exercise is a favorite among fitness professionals and average people alike, and for good reason: It strengthens glutes and core while training hip movement patterns essential for functional movements like walking, going up/down stairs and sitting. Not to mention how it helps improve posture!
This movement activates your gluteus maximus, the largest and strongest glute muscle in your body, as well as lesser-known glute muscles such as medius and minimus that play equally significant roles. Furthermore, hip abductors – responsible for moving legs outward from your center body – are trained and hip mobility is improved, thus decreasing back pain. Finally, hips participate in this movement to further increase mobility while alleviating back pain.
Fire Hydrant Repetitions require hip stability, core balance, and wrist strength – if you have any hip, shoulder or neck injuries it would be prudent to consult your physician or physical therapist prior to beginning this exercise.
Though the fire hydrant exercise itself is already challenging enough, you can add resistance by looping a resistance band around your legs just above the knees and looping one to three sets with maximum 10 reps per side before switching sides. If necessary, hands on a chair may provide support as an aid when performing this movement.
If you want to increase the difficulty of the exercise, add resistance with weighted ankle weights for added resistance during movement and increased challenge on your side glutes.
The Fire Hydrant exercise can be performed independently or as part of a dynamic warm-up routine before engaging in lower body exercises such as squats, lunges and other lower body workouts. Furthermore, it’s an excellent way to build hip stability and avoid injury.
As you perform this exercise, take care not to lock your knees or lift the leg too high; doing so could put too much strain on your back and lead to injuries. Instead, keep legs hip-width apart while engaging core muscles for maximum effectiveness.
4. Single-Leg Deadlift
The Single-Leg Deadlift is an intermediate to advanced exercise requiring balance, stability and unilateral leg strength in equal measures. This exercise targets glutes, hamstrings and core muscles while placing significantly less stress on spine compared to two-legged deadlift. As such it may reduce injury risks while improving hip mechanics, decelerative movement capacities as well as deceleration capacities.
This exercise should be added to your routine if you’re experiencing hip mobility issues or imbalances that make conventional deadlifts impossible for you. When starting, start slowly and work up gradually as you get more acclimated with the movement; rushes through can cause instability and pain in the working leg and lead to instability as a result; strive to complete each rep at a controlled tempo to avoid compensations such as lower-back rotation or imbalance.
Resistance band deadlifting can be an excellent way to introduce beginners to this exercise, particularly those who may struggle with balance issues. Simply attach the bands to a squat rack or place them beneath your standing leg with their ends in your hands – when leaning forward they will pull your arms back slightly as an added challenge for balance purposes. Once comfortable with this movement you can add weight gradually until progressing to barbell versions of Single-Leg Deadlift.
When it comes to unilateral leg training, the Single-Leg Deadlift is an essential exercise. Not only is it powerful and effective; it can help develop balance, leg strength, hip mobility and core stability simultaneously. Furthermore, adding it as an accessory exercise after bilateral strength training will build stronger legs capable of handling greater loads than their bilateral deadlift counterparts – as well as creating more powerful yet smooth pedal strokes when riding your bike!
