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Lifting heavy weights is not the only way to get stronger. Especially as you get older, it’s important to choose exercise modalities that strengthen your muscles without putting too much pressure on your joints, as well as target both large and small muscle groups to support your balance and mobility. Working out with resistance bands can do all this and more, which is why we asked trainers and fitness experts to share the best resistance band exercises for legs.
“Resistance bands are great because you can bring them with you anywhere, and there are varying degrees to make it more challenging or scale it back,” said Betina Gozo, C.P.T., Nike global trainer and ACE-certified personal trainer. There are also different types of resistance bands that you can use for different exercises. The lower-body moves below all utilize a loop band, which you can place around your legs at different locations to increase the resistance, stability, and burn you feel in the exercises.
Meet the Experts: Marisa Golan, a certified personal trainer and owner of e(M)powered personal training; Betina Gozo, C.P.T., Nike global trainer and ACE-certified personal trainer; Jonathan Tylicki, NASM certified personal trainer and director of education for AKT; Alex Germano, P.T., D.P.T., G.C.S., CF-L2, a physical therapist, fitness coach, and clinician with FOX Rehabilitation; Maurice Williams, a personal trainer and assistant professor of kinesiology at Freed-Hardeman University.
Read on to discover how to do the best beginner-friendly resistance band workouts for legs, along with what muscles each one is targeting, plus more info on exercising with resistance bands. All you need to get started is one medium to heavy loop band and a yoga mat.
Resistance band leg exercises
How to add resistance band workouts into your routine
Resistance bands are an easy, inexpensive way to intensify your fitness routine, Williams said. “I recommend blending them into the core section of a workout or using them as a warm-up for a lower body-focused workout,” he added. Or, if you’re going to work your lower body more than once a week, you could use resistance bands one day and weights (or just your bodyweight) another day.
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What benefits can you get from resistance bands?
Resistance bands force you to move with better form and produce power from the right muscles, Gozo said. If you suffer from knee pain, they’re especially handy for strengthening the muscles around the joint. When you contract a muscle while using a resistance band, it helps distribute tension equally, limiting strain and potential injury, added Jonathan Tylicki, NASM-certified personal trainer and director of education for AKT. Using resistance bands can elicit the same strength benefits as using machines or free weights, but with more efficiency and control. “You get constant tension in all phases of the exercise—the concentric contraction, the eccentric lengthening and isometric isolation,” he explained.
Plus, resistance bands are a great option for anyone. Beginners can benefit from the extra form support and more advanced athletes can easily increase the difficulty by adding resistance, said Marisa Golan, a certified personal trainer and owner of e(M)powered personal training.
“The external feedback of the resistance can help you adjust your stance or think about activating certain muscles to get the most out of the exercise,” Gozo agreed. “For example, if you’re someone that tends to let their knees cave in when you squat, placing a resistance band above your knees is a good reminder to drive your knees out.”
Prevention
How to choose the right resistance band for your workout
A resistance band is an elastic band that applies force and resistance to muscles as it is elongated, said Tylicki. They come in flat- and tube-form. They can be one piece or be looped in a circle, and may or may not have handles—each work a little differently.
Loop bands, both large and small, can work all muscle groups, said Tylicki. But large loop bands are ideal for leg workouts “because they’re easier to use for big muscle group exercises, like squats where you stand on the band and loop it over your shoulders,” he says. If you have a large loop band, you can also double it up or tie it at a point to make it smaller and use more like a mini band. “Mini bands are great for smaller range of motion exercises because they have a close loop of tension,” Tylicki added.
Here are some bands that our experts recommend adding to your collection:
Women’s Best Resistance Band. Choose from light, medium, or heavy resistance with Golan’s go-to looped cloth band. This option stays in place and is great for those who don’t love the feel of rubber material.
A mini loop band is most widely used for lower body exercises, hence the nickname “booty band,” said Tylicki. “Theraband is one of the most reputable and durable brands of resistance band, boasting a large array of resistance levels.”
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Are resistance bands as effective as weights?
“Resistance bands are found to be as effective as weights for building strength,” said Alex Germano, P.T., D.P.T., G.C.S., CF-L2, a physical therapist and clinician with FOX Rehabilitation. “They are also more portable than traditional weights and are more cost-friendly.”
Prevention
Can you work out with resistance bands every day?
“There is no inherent problem with training daily with resistance bands,” Germano explained. “I would recommend targeting different muscle groups and actions if you plan to use resistance bands on a daily basis in order to avoid excessive muscle soreness. I do think incorporating resistance bands into an exercise program alongside free weights is the best idea to get the best variety.”
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How quickly can you see results with resistance bands?
“If you are newer to exercise, you may see results such as increased strength and better coordination more quickly, just within a few weeks,” Germano said. “If you are a more advanced exerciser, it may take longer to see results as long as you are following a consistent routine with progressive overload—think six to 12 weeks.”
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