# Hips and Glutes With a Band

Three ways to load the glutes at home: a hinge, a single-leg hinge, and side hip work.

- URL: https://formaroutines.com/routines/hips-and-glutes-with-a-band/
- Duration: About 9 min
- Admin slug: hips-and-glutes-with-a-band

## Before you start

Move gently and stop if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, numbness, or symptoms that feel unsafe. This routine is general fitness guidance, not medical care.

## Exercises

### 1. Band Romanian Deadlift

2 sets · 12 reps · 30s rest

Stand on the band and hinge. The resistance grows as you stand, right where the glutes work hardest.

#### Steps
- Stand on the middle of a band with feet hip-width apart, holding one handle in each hand at your thighs.
- Soften your knees slightly and lock your spine in a neutral position with your chest up.
- Push your hips back behind you while letting your hands slide down your thighs toward your shins.
- Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings — depth matters less than tension.
- Drive your hips forward to return to standing, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
- Repeat for 10 to 12 reps, focusing on the hip-hinge pattern rather than band tension.

#### Cues
- Hips travel back.
- Spine stays long.
- Squeeze to stand.

#### Common mistakes
- Bending at the knees and squatting down instead of hinging at the hips — turns the move into a half-squat.
- Rounding the lower back as you hinge, which puts load on the spine instead of the hamstrings.
- Going too low and losing the hamstring stretch — stop where the stretch is strongest, not where the floor is.
- Standing on too narrow a band section, making the resistance uneven and twisting the bar path.

### 2. Single Legged Romanian Deadlifts

2 sets · 8 reps · 30s rest · both sides

The same hinge on one leg, which adds balance and shows which hip is weaker.

#### Steps
- Stand tall on one leg with a slight bend in the standing knee and arms hanging at your sides.
- Brace your core and pull your shoulder blades down to set a tall, stable torso position.
- Hinge at the hip by pushing the standing-leg hip back, letting the back leg float up behind you.
- Keep the back leg, torso, and head in one straight line as you lower toward the floor.
- Stop when you feel a deep stretch in the standing leg's hamstring, with the torso roughly parallel to the floor.
- Drive the standing-leg hip forward to return to the start position, squeezing the glute at the top.

#### Cues
- Long spine.
- Hips stay square.
- Small range is fine.

#### Common mistakes
- Rounding the lower back as the torso lowers, which puts the spine at risk under load.
- Twisting the hips open as the back leg lifts, which loses the hinge alignment and balance.
- Bending too much at the standing knee so the lift becomes a single-leg squat instead of a hinge.
- Bouncing back up at the bottom instead of controlling the descent and the reversal.

### 3. Band Hip Abduction

2 sets · 15 reps · 25s rest · both sides

Finishes on the side of the hip, the part that keeps the knee tracking well.

#### Steps
- Loop a mini band around both ankles or just above the knees, depending on resistance preference.
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in the knees, hands on hips for balance.
- Shift your weight onto your left leg and press your right leg straight out to the side against the band.
- Pause briefly at the top of the lift, feeling the squeeze in the side of your right hip.
- Lower the right leg back to the starting position with control, keeping tension on the band throughout.
- Complete 12 to 15 reps per side, alternating legs once the working glute is fully fatigued.

#### Cues
- Hips stay stacked.
- Push against the band.
- Move slowly.

#### Common mistakes
- Leaning the torso to the opposite side to swing the leg out, which removes load from the glute medius.
- Letting the hips rotate forward as the leg lifts, turning the movement into a hip-flexor exercise.
- Using a band so heavy that form breaks — start light to feel the glute working, then progress.
- Rushing the eccentric and letting the band snap the leg back in, losing half the time-under-tension.