List of Resistance Band Exercises by Muscle Group (2024)

FAQs

What muscle groups do resistance bands work out? ›

Joyner, an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer and the founder of Incremental Fitness in San Diego. Use them correctly and you can hit all the major muscle groups in your body, including your chest, back, shoulders, arms, glutes (buttocks), legs, and core, he says.

Bent over row

This exercise works your arms and back. Begin by standing on your resistance band. Keeping your core engaged, bend both knees and then hinge forward slightly at the waist, holding a handle in each hand and keeping your hands near your knees.

Do resistance bands build muscle? Absolutely. In fact, a 2019 study shows that training using resistance bands provides similar strength gains to using conventional gym equipment. “Resistance bands might not look like much, but they can strengthen your muscles as effectively as more traditional weights,” says Travers.

Resistance bands are versatile fitness tools that can be used to target every muscle group in your body and are ideal for full-body workouts.

“It's hard to know exactly how much resistance you're pulling with,” Mundinger says, so people who really want to be scientific about the amount of weight they're lifting won't be able to do that. They're also not as helpful for training power moves like Olympic lifts, she adds.

Resistance bands make it more challenging to overextend the joints than free weights, so the risk of injury is relatively low. The elastic tension naturally limits the range of motion, making it safer for home use. Also, there is no risk of dropping a heavy weight on your foot.

It may be technically okay to use resistance bands every day, however, most trainers wouldn't recommend it. Instead, I would suggest always taking a break between your training sessions. This is to help you avoid a fitness plateau and allow your muscles some time to recover and grow.

One study showed that among participants with a weight loss goal, resistance bands may be more effective than free weights and bodyweight exercises. Other studies have found that elderly people with joint issues (such as arthritis) can benefit from resistance band training as a way to build strength and reduce pain.

They'll give you the most efficient workout while engaging more muscle groups. In turn, you will recruit more muscle fibers and increase your calorie burn. Here are the 10 best resistance band exercises for belly fat.

Generally, some may start noticing strength improvements within a few weeks, while visible muscle gains might take several weeks to a few months. Results can include increased muscle tone, strength, and endurance with regular use of these tools in a well-designed exercise routine.

Can you get shredded with just resistance bands? ›

Not a Full Workout On Their Own

But you're not going to get a chiseled all-over body just from using resistance bands on their own. It is absolutely possible to build muscle with resistance bands – especially if you are a beginning weightlifter.

Resistance bands are a sneaky good tool to help you transform your physique, which is why we have 10 of the best resistance band exercises to tone your body. But why are resistance bands "sneaky good?" They're an extremely underrated (and unassuming) tool to help you sculpt an amazing body and change your physique.

Resistance bands are effective in losing that belly fat and strengthening the core. Strengthening the core and burning excess fat helps boost your confidence and improves the shape of your body, along with bodily balance and mobility.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends strength training be performed two to three days per week on non-consecutive days (not back to back). Here are a few full-body strengthening exercises that you can do with your band to get started.

You can build a bigger upper chest by using resistance bands heavy enough to perform this amazing exercise. Build muscle at home with NO equipment.

There are no specific exercises to tone your muscles. Free weight training and machine weight training have some advantages in muscle hypertrophy (growth of muscle volume) and muscle activation, but resistance bands are not far from it!

Research shows that resistance training with exercise bands can lead to the same kind of strength gains as conventional resistance training with weights. They can also help people lower their blood pressure, lose weight, and improve brain function. Strength training with resistance bands offers many conveniences.

Resistance bands—also known as booty bands, glute bands, butt bands, and hip bands—are fitness tools that totally up the ante on your strength workouts. Those looped mini bands work wonders for firing up your glutes and strengthening your lower body.