This week I shared five lower body exercises you can do using a resistance band.
Without further ado, here are the five exercises I shared this week:
#1) Band Resisted Staggered Stance Deadlifts
This exercise strengthens the posterior chain muscles, and helps improve balance.
Coaching Tips:
- Place your feet so one foot is ahead, and your other foot is slightly behind. Adopt your preferred stance.
- Loop a resistance band under your midfoot (front leg) and hold the band in both hands. There should be tension in the band for 100% of the exercise, and the tension should be even on both sides.
- Form a tripod base by placing your weight on the back portion of your foot, and the base of your big and baby toes. These parts of your foot should remain in contact with the floor for the duration of the exercise. Pretend you are suctioning or screwing your foot to the floor.
- You should be on the forefoot of your back foot.
- Keep your elbows straight, arms rigid, and squeeze them into your sides. Pretend you are trying to crush something in your armpits.
- Before each rep, take a 360 degree breath in, do a 360 degree brace, and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
- Now hinge/push your hips backwards. Pretend a rope is attached around your hips and is pulling them backwards, or that you are trying to push your glutes backwards into a wall that is behind you.
- When you reach your full range, engage your posterior chain muscles and press your body away from the floor and back to the starting position. Lower does not mean better if your form deteriorates.
- Exhale after you have pressed away from the ground and are approaching the top position.
- Perform the lockout by squeezing your glutes and hamstrings and extend your hips, and extend your knee.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knee to fall inside or outside of your foot.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your spine to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
#2) Single Leg Hip Thrusts + Band Resistance
This exercise strengthens the glutes and improves lumbo-pelvic stability.
Coaching Tips:
- Set yourself up so your shoulder blade/upper back area is positioned on a bench.
- Place a resistance band under your midfoot and over your knee. There should be tension in the band for 100% of the exercise.
- Place your shin in a relatively vertical position or else your hamstrings might take over.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
- Now lower your hips to a range where you can maintain proper form, and return to the top position by driving through the mid to back of your foot, and squeezing your glutes, NOT by arching your lower back and flaring your ribcage. In the top position, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to knees.
- When you get to the top position, hold for a count or more and really squeeze your glutes.
- For the duration of the movement, your non-working leg should remain in a fixed position, and should not provide ANY assistance.
- For the duration of the movement, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
- Be sure to engage both the core muscles and glutes on the non-working side. This will help keep your body square, and moving as a single unit.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knee to fall inside or outside of your foot.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
#3) Negative Spanish Squats
To be clear, this is an extremely quad dominant squatting variation. This IS intentional. With Spanish Squats you will keep your shins in a vertical position for 100% of the movement, and there will be little to no movement in your ankles. This can be a very knee friendly option.
Coaching Tips:
- Attach a resistance band around a secure surface, and place it around the back of your knees. There should be enough resistance so you are able to lean back, but not so much that it is pulling your lower legs forward.
- Keep your arms in a goblet style position (whether you are using a weight or bodyweight only). For the duration of the exercise, keep your arms rigid, lats engaged, and pretend you are crushing something in your armpits.
- Adopt your preferred foot width and positioning.
- Form a tripod base by placing your weight on the back portion of your feet, and the base of your big and baby toes. These parts of your feet should remain in contact with the floor for the duration of the exercise. Pretend you are suctioning or screwing your feet to the floor.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
- Now perform a squat and take 3-5 seconds to lower yourself down to a range where you are able to maintain proper form. When you are performing the squat, aim to sit between your heels, and keep your torso in a relatively upright position.
- Exhale after you have pressed away from the ground and are approaching the top position.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knees to fall inside or outside of your feet. In this variation, your knees should remain above your heels.
- For the duration of the movement, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
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#4) Band Assisted Nordic Curls
This exercise improves the eccentric strength in the hamstrings.
Coaching Tips:
- Attach two bands around the top of a squat rack/pull-up bar. Loop each band around your shoulder and under your armpit.
- In terms of anchoring your feet/ankles, you have several options. The easiest would likely be to have a partner hold onto your ankles. As I did not have that option, I anchored a barbell against a squat rack. As the barbell is pretty aggressive, I padded my legs with a mat.
- Get into a tall kneeling stance. Adopt your preferred knee width. Your head, torso, hips, and knees should be in a stacked position.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection), and squeeze your glutes.
- Now, while keeping your body in a stacked position from your head to knees, take 3-5 seconds and use your hamstrings to control the movement as you extend your knees and lower your body down to your full range. Use a range that allows you to maintain proper form. This is extremely important.
- Once you’ve hit the bottom position, use your upper body and press back to the starting position. Aim to keep your arms in a similar position to when you are performing push-ups.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso or hips to rotate, or weight to shift from knee to knee.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
#5) Negative Band Resisted Straight Leg Raises
This exercise improves the eccentric strength in the hamstrings.
Coaching Tips:
- Attach a resistance band around a secure surface and loop it around your ankle (more than once so the band doesn’t slide).
- There should be resistance in the band for 100% of the exercise. You will likely find you won’t need much resistance for the movement to be extremely challenging.
- Lie on your back on a mat. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position.
- Extend your leg so it is in a vertical position. Straighten your knee, and point your foot towards you (dorsiflex). Straighten your other knee and keep your leg flat on the floor.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
- Lower your leg towards the floor. Aside from the moving leg, the rest of your body should remain in a fixed position.
- Once you hit your end range (a range where you are able to maintain proper form), use the hamstring to control the movement and take 3-5 seconds to return your leg to the starting position. This eccentric component is the most important part of the exercise.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
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