By Jennifer Lesyna Anthony, Health Coach & Personal Trainer

For anyone looking to build a booty and improve glute strength on the go, loop bands are one of my favorite tools to use at home or when I’m traveling to feel the burn and build glute strength.

Loop Bands provide a wonderful, and portable, alternative to free weights or weight machines by providing an external force for your muscles to work against causing your muscles to contract ultimately leading to bone and muscle growth to create that strong booty of your dreams.

And guess what? The importance of  building a strong booty goes way beyond the aesthetic looks, too!

For most of us who sit at desk jobs all day, our gluteus maximus and gluteus medius can become underactive and weak, leading to altered muscle recruitment patterns  and compensation from other muscles that may lead to potential issues such as hamstring strains, lower back pain, and other injuries.

Luckily, you don’t necessarily have to get to the gym to target your glutes, and loop bands provide a great tool for helping you do this!

Why I Love Loop Bands

They’re Cost-Effective – Loop Bands are incredibly cheap and can range anywhere from less than $10 – $40 for a set.  I recommend buying a set that has a variety of tensions from light to heavy so you can scale your exercises as you get stronger and add different movements into your workouts.

They’re Portable & Easy to Use Anywhere – Loop Bands take up virtually no space at all so throw them in your purse or in your suitcase for when you travel to sneak a few of these moves into your day.

Great for any Fitness Level –  Because you are creating the resistance, loop bands are easy to scale for any workout. To make your workout harder, you can add a heavier band or increase the number of reps.

Great for Adding Resistance to Any Exercise – Loop Bands are great for adding resistance to many body weight or weight bearing exercise. Think: Looping the band just above your knees next time you squat at the gym OR putting the band just above your ankles for a jumping jacks for a real burner!

5-Move Booty Workout with Loop Band

Complete the following circuit 1-3 times, Performing each exercise for 25-30 reps on each side before alternating sides.

Clamshells (25-30 each side)

Place loop band just above your knees. Lay on your side, bend both your knees, stacking legs on top of each other. Engage gluteus medius to lift the top leg open, as if you were opening a clamshell. Be sure to rotate only from your hips, not your lower back!

Donkey Kickback (25-30 each side)

Place loop band around your ankles. Kneel on the ground positioning your knees and  feet hip-width apart. Kick back one leg directly behind you as far as you can, engaging glutes.  

Fire Hydrant  (25-30 each side)

Place loop band around your ankles. Kneel on the ground positioning your knees and feet hip-width apart. Raise bent knee to the side and lower.

Leg Curl (25-30 each side)

Place loop band around ankles.  Lay on your stomach, face down, and keep one leg out straight behind you. Bend your knee and raise your foot into a hamstring curl, engaging glutes, and then lower down.

Glute Bridge (25-30 reps)

Place loop band just above your knees. Lay flat on your back.  Push up through your heels and raise your hips into the air, squeezing your glute muscles. At the top, push your legs out against the band while resting on your shoulders, retract, then slowly lower down.  To add a challenge, put your feet on a stability ball while doing this move!