If you are starting on a fitness journey in the new year and aren’t sure where to begin, one thing is for certain—you should make strength training a priority, especially your leg and glute muscles. Your legs have the most dense muscles in the body. When you work on making them stronger, it makes almost all forms of physical activity easier. If you don’t want to go to a gym, there are still ways to build strength at home. Resistance bands are one of the best—not only are they cheap and easy to come by, but they don’t require much space for storage or use. We asked Aimee Nicotera MS, a health and fitness coach, what her favorite resistance band exercises are for a more sculpted butt.
Carefully place the resistance band around your feet, so that it’s in the middle of the sole of your shoes. Start the exercise on all fours, your wrists directly below your shoulder blades and your knees below your hips. Carefully kick back with your left leg, extending so that it’s straight and in line with your back. It’s important to make sure the foot you’re extending is flat and that you’re keeping your core tight. Repeat on the other side.
Start with the resistance band around your ankles. Keeping your feet planted on the ground and spread just far enough to create a little resistance, take your left leg and do a sideways lunge to the left side. Push your bottom out and squeeze as you lunge. Make sure you’re maintaining control as you come in and out of the exercise, remain slow and steady so that you keep proper form.
Start on all fours with the resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. Keeping your wrists parallel with your shoulders and your hips parallel with your knees, kick your left knee up and out, keeping the leg bent. You want to keep the rest of your body steady and square, so don’t focus on kicking your kee up to a full 90 degree angle. Rather, move it up about halfway, as high as you can while keeping the rest of your body steady. When you come back to center, brush your knee down on the floor as lightly as possible before going back up. Repeat on the other side.
Banded Squat with Hip Abduction
Start out with your feet planted on the ground and the resistance band around your ankles. Keep your feet just far enough apart so that you feel a little resistance. Go into a regular squat, focusing the pressure on your heels and pushing your bottom far back. As you come up, kick your left leg out to the side, squeezing your glutes as you do. Bring your leg back in, and go immediately into a squat. Repeat on the other side.
