With just a few resistance bands, you can work out and strengthen your legs more easily than you ever thought from the comfort of your own home. Resistance bands are great for leg workouts because they help build strength and overall function.
Doing lower body exercises can also help with balance and joint movement. Here’s more information about leg resistance band exercises, their benefits, and how to do them.
Exercise Overview
You can do resistance band workouts anywhere. You’ll do exercises for your quadriceps, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs, and calves. These exercises include:
- Squats
- Lunge
- Side steps
- Thigh extension
The Benefits of Resistance Bands and Lower Body Exercises
There are some benefits to using elastic bands, such as resistance bands, during your workouts. One review found that training with these bands can lead to the following:
Advantage:
- Improve a person’s level of functioning, body composition, and quality of life
- Increased strength and endurance due to more active muscles
- Provide a low-cost, practical way to exercise on the go
In addition, there are benefits to doing general lower body exercises. Exercises that exercise the lower limbs can help:
- Balance
- Joint movements
- Alleviate stiffness
How to Choose the Right Resistance Band
To determine the right resistance band for your workout, start with the lightest resistance band possible. Resistance bands are all elastic but often have different strengths.
If you’ve never used a resistance band, try to do the exercises you’re interested in without using them. You can also try using light strips for practice. Then, as you become more familiar with the forms and movements, upgrade to a stronger elastic band or add another elastic band.
Exercise
Here are four resistance band exercises for a full-body leg workout. You’ll work your quadriceps, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs, and calves. Start warming up your body with larger muscle groups. You want to finish the move with a smaller muscle group, such as a calf, to complete the move.
1. Squats
In this exercise, you will feel tension in your quadriceps and surrounding muscle groups as you descend and ascend. Quadriceps muscles help you with daily activities, such as getting up from a sitting position or climbing stairs. Try the following steps to get a good quadriceps workout:
- Hold one of the handles on your shoulders in each hand and stand shoulder-width apart on the elastic band.
- Lower your body into a squat position, being careful not to move your knees in front of your toes to reduce pressure on your knees.
- Squat backwards leaning back – imagine you’re going to sit down – and hold the lowest position for a count of three before standing up again.
- Do a set of 12 to 15 squats.
To increase the difficulty: Hold the handle above your shoulders and switch to a heavier elastic band, or double the elastic band.
2. Lunges
This elastic band exercise will target your hamstring muscles. Hamstrings are important to help you bend your knees and straighten your hips. Here’s how to do it:
- Place the elastic band underneath your front feet in a lunge position.
- Hold the strap handles on either side of the shoulder.
- Up and down lunges 12 times;
- Continue alternately with a series of three sets.
To increase the difficulty: change the elastic bands for more tension, or raise the handle to a shoulder or higher position.
3. Side step
The inner and outer thigh muscles, including hip adductors and abductors, help strengthen hip and thigh flexibility. The following exercises focus on activating and strengthening the hip abductor muscles (lateral thigh muscles):
- Stand with your feet on the elastic strap while holding the handle at your waist.
- Take a step to the right, hold the pose, and then meet your left foot with your right foot, then reverse.
- Complete six times in each direction, then repeat three sets.
To increase the difficulty, switch to a more tense elastic band and raise your hands over your shoulders.
4. Ankle pump
This type of exercise focuses on the calves. The calf muscles are important for the flexibility of the feet and ankles and are used when running or jumping. To do this exercise:
- In a seated position, place the center of the resistance band under your feet with your legs straight in front of you.
- Hold the handle at your thighs while bending your feet forward and backward as far as you can.
- Do three sets of 12 reps.
To increase the difficulty: pull the handle behind you for added tension, or remove the handle completely and grasp the strap for better control.
Tips
To get the most out of this resistance band workout or other resistance band workouts, keep these tips in mind:
- Be sure to exhale when your strap tension is at its highest, and inhale when tension is at its lightest.
- Stretch the elastic band to increase resistance, but only in a safe position.
- Add a second strap when you’re ready or replace with a heavier strap for added tension.
- If you don’t have a stronger elastic band or a second elastic band, increase the number of repetitions for added strength.
Conclusion
Squats, lunges, side steps, and calf stretches are all great lower body exercises. However, you can get more benefits by adding resistance bands to these exercises. Remember to start slowly and use the strap safely. It’s also a good idea to talk to a healthcare provider before starting any exercise regimen.
