The 18 Best Resistance Band Exercises Guide For Muscle Gain

Looking to enhance your lean muscle development and functional strength through resistance band training?

In this post, I’ll take you through 18 powerful resistance band exercises with comprehensive video tutorials designed to target every major muscle group in your body.

From newcomers to experienced fitness enthusiasts, you’ll discover how to execute each exercise using ‘Muscle-Centric’ technique – a proven approach that accelerates your body transformation journey with maximum efficiency.

Resistance Band Back Exercises

Don’t have time to read the post in full? Then watch the video below of the 18 best resistance band exercises guide for muscle gain…

There are two major muscle areas when it comes to your back…

1. Latissimus Dorsi (Lats) These big muscles extend from just beneath your armpits down to your lower back. Their primary function? Shoulder extension—pulling your upper arms downward and drawing your elbows toward your mid-back.

For optimal lat engagement, focus on drawing your shoulders down and back while consciously feeling the squeeze along the sides of your back.

2. Trapezius (Traps) These also big muscles go from your skull’s base to the middle of your inner back. They serve three key functions: elevating your shoulder blades (shrugging), retracting your shoulder blades, and pulling your arms backward when your elbows are raised.

To properly activate your traps—which you should maintain throughout 90% of exercises for shoulder protection and proper posture—imagine holding a soda bottle between your shoulder blades by squeezing them together.

Get this post as a handy PDF – “The 18 Best Resistance Band Exercises Guide”

With links to all the individual exercise videos. Just tell me where to send it…

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Back: Lat Pull Dows

The best band exercise to take your lats (the muscles at the side of your back) through a full range of motion. You can get a great stretch and the top and powerful squeeze at the bottom.

Technique Points

1. Stretch your arms right out at the top, allow the resistance of the band to pull your arms upwards.
2. ⁣Focus on your elbows leading and drive them down and then back.
3. Squeeze your lats powerfully at the bottom and hold that squeeze.

Back: Low Row

Again, this is another great band exercise to target your lats from a different angle. Your back strength and stability develops best when you hit it from different angles with different exercises.

Technique points

1. Let your elbows lead, your hands are just hooks.
2. Drive your elbows back along the sides of your body and then drive down.
3. Extra hard squeeze at the top, driving your elbows down.

Back: Bent Over Row

With this band back exercise, you can really challenge yourself by using a double strap for maximum resistance. It’s a great strength builder. Your lats are the primary muscle, but your upper back muscles and core stability also come into play.

Technique Points

1. Elbows lead by driving up and out.
2. Pull the band to your belly button.
3. Lower the band slowly and be mindful not to lose tension on the band and relax. Keep tenson in the back muscles throughout

Back: High Row

The best band exercise to target your upper back and traps. It will also hit your rear shoulder muscle as a secondary. Which is a fantastic muscle to build strength in because it helps improve your posture.

Techique Points

1. The elbows lead, and your hands are just hooks.
2. Drive your elbows up and out.
3. Be mindful not to lose tension on the band and your muscles as you lower back down.
4. Keep tension don’t he band and squeezing your back muscles throughout

Resistance Band Chest Exercises

Your chest consists of two primary pectoralis muscles: the pectoralis major and minor. The pectoralis major is further divided into upper and lower heads, which explains why fitness programs often include specific exercises targeting the upper and lower chest regions. The pectoralis minor lies beneath the major muscle.

These chest muscles have several important functions:

• Drawing your upper arm across your body
• Internally rotating the shoulder joint
• Assisting with shoulder flexion (lifting your upper arm upward)

To effectively engage your chest muscles during exercises, visualise squeezing your chest muscles together as if you’re trying to hold a pen between them. Focus on driving your elbows together to do this. Especially during push movements for better muscle activation and exercise effectiveness.

Chest: Push Up

Adding a band to push-ups is a great way to increase your strength. However, be sure to master the correct ush up technique before you start adding band resistance. When done correctly, a push can be challenging enough.

Technique Points

1. Focus on constantly pushing your hands together against the floor. Like you’re trying to fold it.
2. This mimicks the action of bringing your arm across your body, which is a major function of your chest muscle.
3. Bo doing this, you keep the majority of the load and tension focused on your chest.
4. Up and down, always be pushing your hands together against the floor.
5. Do it especially hard at the top for a powerful muscle squeeze.

Resistance Band Biceps Exercises

Your biceps are dual-headed muscles—hence the prefix “bi”—consisting of a long head and a short head. These muscles primarily perform two key functions: bending your elbow (flexing from straight to bent position) and supinating your wrist (rotating your palm upward).

The long head runs along the outside of your arm while the short head is located on the inner side. Additionally, the brachialis muscle, situated beneath the biceps, also contributes to your elbow bending.

To maximise your bicep engagement during targeted exercises, maintain a slightly bent wrist position. This technique prevents your forearm muscles from helping out in the movement and stealing activation from your biceps. Remember to incorporate wrist supination (turning your pinky upward) to fully activate the muscle at the top of curls.

Biceps: Curls

The main focus with band bicep curls is to not relax at the bottom of the curl and lose tension on the bicep muscle. The band allows your to perform a full range of motion working with your body and individual movement pattern

Technique Points

1. Rotate the wrist at the top so the pinky goes up and the thumb goes down. This will greatly help with the top contraction squeeze. It will also target the bicep peak, for that popping bicep flex pose.
2. Contract the tricep at the bottom to stretch the bicep. Opposing muscle, when one contracts the other must lengthen. Bigger range of motion, more muscle incorporated and broken down, better gains.

Biceps: Hammer Curls

If the curls are the cake, this is the icing on top. This resistance band arm exercise focuses on your bicep long head muscle. Which adds shape and width to your arm. It’s also very good for mobility.

Technique Points

1. At the top of the hammer curls, rotate your pinky up for that extra squeeze and pop.
2. For an advanced-level addition. Contract the triceps at the bottom to lengthen the biceps. Adding an extra inch of bicep muscle to engage on the positive phase (curling back up).

Biceps: Sevens

This is specifically an exercise, more so a great way to change up your band bicep training. It’ll give you a great burn in your arms and push you mentally to get through it.

The same principle can be applied to most exercises, but I find the biceps and triceps respond really well to this sevens rep technique. Give it a go!

Resistance Band Triceps Exercises

The triceps muscles are located on the back region of your upper arm and consist of three distinct heads—the long, medial, and lateral heads—which explains their “tri” wording. These muscles function as the counterbalance to your biceps, primarily extending your elbow from a bent position to a straightened one.

To enhance triceps activation during exercises, focus on the stretch and squeeze on each exercise. The muscles respond well when taken through a full range of motion.

Triceps: Pull Down Extensions (Variations)

In this video I’ll take you through three different resistance band tricep pull downs – normal, narrow, and palms down. The reason we use three different wrist angles is because it targets each tricep head differently. Leading to better lean muscle and strength gains.

Technique Points

1. Ensure tension is kept on the band and thus on your tricep muscle throughout each exercise.
2. Twist your wrists outwards when indicated for extra range of motion.
3. Squeeze your triceps hard at the bottom of each exercise and hold it.

Triceps: Overhead Extensions

The tricep extensions above are the king for squeezing. But these overhead extensions and the queen for stretching. That’s why we incorporate both.

Technique Points

1. Focus on the deep stretch at the bottom of the exercise movement.
2. It’s hard to get a strong squeeze at the top, but even just pajsing to hold your arms steady will recruit a lot of activation.

Triceps: Sevens

As with the bicep sevens, this is a great technique to stimulate lean muscle gain for your triceps. Push through the burn and enjoy the challenge.

Get this post as a handy PDF – “The 18 Best Resistance Band Exercises Guide”

With links to all the individual exercise videos. Just tell me where to send it…

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Resistance Band Shoulder Exercises

The deltoids (commonly called “delts”) comprise three muscle sections: the anterior deltoid (front), lateral deltoid (middle), and posterior deltoid (rear). Each muscle serves a specific function in shoulder movement.

The anterior deltoid primarily raises your arm forward and upward. The lateral deltoid lifts your upper arm outward to the side. The posterior deltoid works to pull your shoulders backward when your elbows are elevated.

To effectively engage your shoulder muscles during exercises or when maintaining a static position, focus on creating tension throughout your entire arm by squeezing them hard. Visualise this muscular engagement beginning at the top of your arm and radiating outward—this mental cue helps with muscle activation and exercise effectiveness.

Shoulders: Press

The classic ‘gym move’ and often said can’t be done with a band. Those ‘meatheads’ prefer heavy grunting and groaning over form and technique. This bandshoulder exercise delivers the burn. It is a tough one, and focusing on slow controlled movement with good form is essential.

Technique Points

1. Push your arms up BUT also out
2. Drive your head through your arms
3. Keep your shoulder blades contracted like you’re squeezing a coke bottle between them.

Shoulders: Facepulls

You won’t find a better band exercise for posture and shoulder girdle strength than these band facepulls. They target the rear shoulder muscle. Also very good for giving that popping shoulder look.

Technique Points

1. Drive your knuckles towards and past your nose throughout the whole movement.
2. Rotate your knuckles up and back at the top to help get that extra squeeze on your rear shoulder muscles.
3. Focus on getting a deep stretch at the bottom, but be mindful not to lose tension on the band and relax.
4. Maintain tension and the squeeze on your shoulder muscles throughout.

Shoulders: Upright Row

This band shoulder exercise falls second behind the facepulls. It’s great for also targeting your middle shoulder muscles and improving your shoulder stability by using a different range of motion..

Technique Points

1. Must maintain tension in the band as you lower it. No relaxing at the bottom.
2. Drive your elbows up and out.
3. Rotate your knuckles upwards at the top for that extra squeeze.

Shoulders: Pull Aparts

I love these band pull aparts to really build up the burn in the shoulder muscles. Great for high rep ranges.

Technique Points

1. Keep your shoulders rounded to remove upper back muscle activation (unless doing fast tempo)
2. Keep a good tension in the band, even at the bottom, no relaxing.
3. Drive your hands outwards like you’re slapping the walls.

Resistance Band Leg Exercises

Quadriceps (Quads) consist of four different muscles—hence the “quad”—that form the front of your thigh:

The vastus lateralis creates the outer “quad sweep” which is along the side of your thigh. The vastus medialis forms the “teardrop” shape near your knee. The rectus femoris runs down the central portion of your upper thigh, while the vastus intermedius lies beneath it, providing deeper support.

These muscles work together primarily to extend your knee, transforming it from a bent to a straightened position.

To effectively engage your quadriceps during exercises, visualize pushing the ground away from your body. Constantly pushing your feet outwards against the floor. This helps place the load on your quad muscles rather than loading your knee joint.

Hamstrings comprise four muscles that run along the back of your thigh: the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris (which itself contains both a long head and a short head).

These muscles perform two functions. First, they flex the knee, moving it from straight to bent—essentially counterbalancing your quadriceps. Second, they drive hip extension, helping to push your hips forward during movements.

To effectively engage your hamstrings, visualise squeezing a large stability ball between your heels and buttocks with maximum force. This mental cue helps activate your mind muscles connection properly to recruit these powerful leg muscles during exercise.

Gluteals (Glutes) ‘your bum’ form a sophisticated muscle system. This group includes three key components: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.

The gluteus maximus—the largest of these muscles and one of the largest in your body—performs multiple functions including hip extension, hip abduction, and external hip rotation.

These muscles engage most intensively during stabilisation-demanding exercises such as lunges. To effectively activate your glutes, focus on pushing your feet backward against the floor.

Legs: Squats (wide, narrow, normal)

In this video, we’ll look at how to do resistance band squats to target different areas of your legs. Wie squats for glutes and hamstrings, narrow squats for quads, and normal squats to target both at the same time.

Technique Points

1. Wide squats: Imagine there is a stability ball between your bum and heels, focus on crushing it as hard as you can to activate your hamstring and glute muscles.
2. Quad squats: Focus on pushing your feet outwards against the floor constantly to place the load onto your quad muscles.
3. Normal squats: Don’t just drop down (applies to all squats) pull yourself down against gravity by using the stability ball technique above. Tehn. focus on squeezing your quads to rise back up.

Legs: Straight Leg Extension

Fantastic to get a stretch in your hamstrings and engage your glues (booty) by thrusting forward.

Technique Points

1. Slow and controlled is the focus.
2. Keep your back straight, chest up and stick your bum out.
3. Drive your bum forward to thrust in order to rise back up.
4. Focus on the deep stretch at the bottom of the exercise.

Legs: Standing Abduction

A simple but often overlooked exercise to challenge your outer quad muscles (leg shape) and glutes.

Technique Points

1. Focus on squeezing your glutes as your drive your legs outwards.
2. Push out and back.
3. Resist gravity by lowering your leg slowly.

Next Steps

Now you’ve got the exercise knowledge with this ultimate resistance band exercises list. I can help you with the right workout and nutrition plan to build lean muscle and transform your body…

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Your Resistance Band Training Guru,
Coach Adam
Body Transformation Coach