I recently had a patient who told me he wasn’t doing his home exercise program because felt like “he wasn’t getting much out of the exercises”. Ohhhhhkayyyy, not the greatest excuse. I guess he felt as though the exercises were too “low key” and he wasn’t making the most out of his time. Upon further discussion I learned that he enjoyed exercises that strengthened more than one body part. And I totally get it. I mean when you only have so much time in your busy life you want to be efficient and effective. So I thought I would share these four simple band exercises that are highly effective for prevention of pain in four different body parts.
If you only have a minute to squeeze in exercise you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck, right? Well I’m going to share with you four exercises that are good for your core muscles, your hips, your knees, and even your pelvic floor. All you need is an exercise band and something to hold onto if your balance is less than ideal.
These exercises are a favorite amongst therapists in the clinic and loved by patients. They are easy to work into your day because you can do it while watching TV, waiting for food to warm up in the microwave, or as part of your daily exercise program.
So don’t wait any longer and give these four band exercises a try:
4 Way Hip Standing Resistance Band Exercises:
1. Hip Abduction:
Place the band around your ankles. Stand upright with your core braced and your shoulders down and back. Use a chair, countertop, or other support surface for balance. Keeping your body in an upright standing position kick your leg out to the side slowly and with control. Keep your knee locked straight and avoid leaning your body. Repeat 10 x on each leg.
2. Hip Extension:
Perform the exercise with the same instruction as above. However, kick your leg backwards keeping your knee locked straight. This is a small movement and you should feel it in your gluteal region. Repeat 10 x each leg.
3. Hip Flexion:
Perform the exercise with the same instruction as above. You will likely want to turn sideways and hold onto the support surface with one hand only. Kick your leg forwards keeping your knee locked straight. Keep you core brace and your hips tucked under your shoulders. Repeat 10 x each leg.
4. Hip Adduction:
Stand upright with your core braced and your shoulders down and back. Keeping your body in an upright standing position kick your leg across your stabilizing leg. Keep your knee locked straight and avoid leaning your body. You should feel this working your inner thigh. Repeat 10 x on each leg.
Repeat these exercises for 2-3 total sets.
A word about resistance bands:
There are many different resistance bands on the market. I personally use therabands. Resistance bands have varying resistance levels based on color. Generally the lighter the color the easier the band. The Theraband brand in order of lightest to hardest resistance level goes yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple. For all exercises that require use of a band find a color that makes it challenging to complete the full 10-12 reps. As you get stronger you should think about increasing the band resistance or increasing the repetitions.
If you are just starting to exercise you can perform these without the band. But using the band requires your moving leg, your stabilizing leg, and your core to be tight and activated throughout the routine. These exercises build strength in your TA core muscle, your gluteal muscles, and your stabilizing pelvic muscles which are important in prevention of pain in your low back, hips, knees, and pelvic floor.
What’s next?
These 4 moves are a great compliment to any workout routine. Those who suffer from back, hip, and knee pain would highly benefit from incorporating these stability exercises. These moves are also great for runners to increase pelvic and core stability.
For more great exercises check out some of my earlier posts:
5 Exercises for A Better Belly
6 Pelvic Stability Exercises You Should Be Doing
How to Get Rid of the Mommy Pooch
Happy stabilizing!
-Monica