5 Resistance Band Exercises For Legs

5 Resistance Band Exercises For Legs

The exercises that I'm going to show in this poste use these loop bands.

You can get them in a set of five that come from extra light resistance to extra heavy resistance.

You can also vary the resistance with these bands based on how much you stretch them.

At their resting length, they're pretty easy to stretch. As you stretch them farther, they get harder to stretch, thus increasing the resistance.

In this post, I'll show you resistance band exercises to strengthen four major muscle groups in your legs: the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glute muscles.

Exercise 1 - Quad Strengthening With Resistance Band

The first exercise is a quadricep strengthening exercise.

Sit in a chair and place the band under one foot and around the opposite ankle.

Straighten the working leg while the other leg steps on the band.

For more resistance, stretch the band more, or use a stiffer resistance band.

Resistance band exercises are more for helpful for toning your legs than building true strength.  Therefore use higher repetitions (15-20 reps).

Exercise 2 - Calf Strengthening With Resistance Band

The next exercise is for your calves.

Put the band around your foot and push your toes up and down.

While bands work for people with really weak calves, weight-bearing calf raises are better.

Exercise 3 - Hamstring Strengthening With Resistance Band

Next, let's focus on the hamstrings. You'll do this exercises in a standing position.

Place the band around one ankle and step on it with the other foot.

To do the exercise, bend your knee to stretch the resistance band.

Remember, your hamstrings are also hip extensors, so if you need more resistance, you can pre-stretch the band by extending your thigh backward before bending your knee.

Exercise 4 - Glute Strengthening With Resistance Band

This exercise works on your hip abductors: you gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.

Sit in a chair and put the band around your knees.

Push your knees out to the sides into the resistance band.

Again repeat for 15-20 repetitions.

Exercise 5 - Combined Resistance Band Leg Strengthening

For a combined weightbearing exercises, keep the band around your knees as in the previous exercise.

Turn your knees out into the band and then do a squat while keeping you knees pushed out into the band throughout the exercise.

If you need additional resistance, step on 2 more resistance bands (1 under each foot).

Hold onto those bands with your hands as you squat. For more resistance, choke up farther on the bands.

Conclusion

Those were the 5 resistance band exercises for your legs.

Again, there are definitely better exercises to do to strengthen your legs.  Weight bearing exercises such as squats and lunges are by far better for your legs, either with or without weights.

However, if you're recovering from an injury or surgery and you aren't allowed to bear weight on your legs for a period of time, resistance bands can be helpful.

If you are recovering from an injury and live in the St. Louis area, we'd be happy to help you get back to full function as quickly as possible.

Just tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our specialist physical therapists.

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