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Mini looped resistance bands are a mainstay of glute work. And with just one band, “Glute Guy” Bret Contreras, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.*Ds, author of Glute Lab: The Art and Science of Strength and Physique Training, shows that you can absolutely torch your glutes in 2 minutes flat.
“Basically just do 120-seconds straight of knee-banded bridges, abduction from the top position, and abduction from the bottom position in any order,” says Contreras, noting that his advanced clients rock this for 3 minutes straight. You don’t have to perform any single exercise for a certain number of reps or amount of time. Do one until you approach fatigue, then move onto the next exercise. You’ll likely cycle through all three exercises multiple times before the time is up.
“This is so much harder than it looks,” he says.
By looping a mini resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees, you fire up the oft-undertrained glute med and min, as well as the upper fibers of the glute max. All of these muscles are responsible for abduction (drawing your knees apart), while preventing adduction (your knees caving in toward each other) due to the pull of the band.
To get the most out of the burner, follow Contreras’ lead on form. Keep all of your weight in your heels, with them positioned so that, with your hips fully extended, your torso and legs form a 90-degree angle. This allows you to most effectively target the glutes as opposed to the hamstrings or quads, neither of which you should feel doing an exceptional amount of work during the workout. Make sure to keep your abs tight and don’t arch your back throughout the sequence—that will keep your glutes from doing all of the work.
That said, which each push through the heels, you’ll risk your torso sliding backward and away from your heels to get out of that 90-degree position. Digging your upper arms into the floor and squeezing your lats like Contreras does in the video will help keep you from scooting, but if you notice yourself traveling, go ahead and take a second to scoot back to the correct setup.