If you follow anybody on fitness influencer on Instagram right now, then you are probably familiar with resistance/ booty bands.
Every woman and their dog are using them right now to grow their booty and tone their legs – and there is a good reason why.
Resistance bands, in particular hip circles or booty bands are a cheap and efficient way to burn out your legs and glutes from the comfort of your own home or the gym. As the name suggests, these bands provide extra resistance to regular bodyweight exercises, thus making the exercise harder and activating muscles that might not otherwise have been challenged. They’re lightweight, affordable and easy to sling into a gym bag or into your suitcase when you travel.
Throughout my years of instructing HIIT classes, and in my own training – resistance bands, particularly hip circles, have become a ‘must have’ on my leg day.
These bands come in a few different materials and have improved significantly over the last few years. The most common for a long time were plastic resistance bands, ranging in different weights and thicknesses depending on the resistance you desired. However, these bands are known to roll up your legs, and as such can be somewhat temperamental. For this reason, I would recommend using thick, cotton bands such as the ones from B_ND. Not only are they amazing quality, but they are also sustainable and an ethical brand.
The Ultimate Booty Burn Workout
Do each exercise for 40 seconds and then rest for 20 seconds. Repeat the circuit 4 times for the ultimate booty burn.
- Crab Walks
Place the booty band just above your knees and bend down about halfway into a squat. Rotate the knees outwards and keep the feet outside of your hip width. Take 8 steps in one direction and then 8 steps back, making sure band stays stretched and under tension the entire time.
- Clamshells
This exercise targets the hips, glutes and adductors. The exercise takes its name from its resemblance to – you guessed it – a clam opening and closing its shell. To do this exercise, lie on your right side with your feet and hips stacked on top of eachother. Bend your knees at 90 degrees and engage your abs and obliques as your raise your left knee as far as you can without rotating your hip or lifting your right knee off the floor. Hold for 1 second at the top, and squeeze your glutes together, before slowly lowering your left knee back down to the right.
After 40 seconds on one side, rest for 20 seconds and set yourself up on the other side. Then do the same thing on the other side.
- Hip Thrust with leg pull apart
Set yourself up on your back and walk your feet in towards your bum. The band should be above your knees. To thrust up, push up your hips up by digging your heals into the ground. Squeeze your glutes together at the top, and then push your knees apart. Try and keep your bum up while you do this and feel muscle contraction through the outer part of your bum.
- Fire Hydrants
Despite it’s funny name, this exercise is a killer for targeting and sculpting your glutes, hips and core all at once. To do this exercise, start on all fours, in a tabletop position with your wrists stacked under your elbows and shoulders respectively, and your hips stacked over your knees.
Draw your belly button into your spite and make sure that back is flat and parallel to the floor. With as minimal movement from the hips as possible, keep your core switched on and lift your bent leg out to your right side, stopping at hip height. Then, with control bring the leg back down. For a visual, go back to the exercise’s name. It is meant to look like you are a dog taking a leak on a fire hydrant (yes, you read that correctly).
For an added burn, add the resistance band either just above the knees, or halfway down the shins depending on how tight the band is.
After 40 seconds on one side, rest for 20 seconds and set yourself up on the other side. Then do the same thing on the other side.
- Leg Raises
Stay on all fours, and continue in the tabletop position you were just in for the fire hydrant exercise. Bring your right leg out straight behind you and flex your foot so that your toe is pointed down to the floor. Then, as you keep your foot flex lift your leg up and feel the hamstring lengthen and the glute contract right at the base of your bum.
For an added burn, add the resistance band either just above the knees.
After 40 seconds on one side, rest for 20 seconds and set yourself up on the other side. Then do the same thing on the other side.
BONUS TIP: Use these exercises at the start of any leg day for a glute activation warm up. Don’t worry about repeating them, just go through the whole circuit once. This will ensure that your glutes will have switched on and are ready to go when you start on any other glute/ leg focused exercises.
For more workouts by Tara check out her Instagram
