No, not the gym — you only need 5 minutes and a resistance band to build lower body muscle

Resistance band workout
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

When there’s arm day, leg day and full body workouts to compete with, focusing on bolstering the strength of your hips might not necessarily be at the top of your workout agenda.

But maintaining your hip health can boost your balance, better your mobility and help you easily perform everyday tasks (like running, walking and sitting) with ease.

Thankfully, you don’t need to spend hours in the gym to strengthen this area of your body. All you need is five minutes and one of the best resistance bands, according to personal trainer and certified Pilates instructor Jillian Hardwick.

With just three strength-training moves, a mini looped resistance band and a yoga mat, Hardwick has created a quick and simple Pilates-inspired workout that will improve your balance and hip strength.

Watch Jillian Hardwick's 5-minute resistance band workout

Each of the three standing moves is a unilateral exercise — meaning they’re performed on one side of the body. Hardwick holds onto the back of a chair to help with balance, but you could always use a wall or table nearby.v

1. Standing donkey kicks

Resembling the action of a donkey kicking, this standing move will help to improve hip stability and strength. And better yet, it will take up little, if any, space.

  • Stand on your exercise mat, with your legs hip-width apart and your mini looped resistance band around your right ankle and the arch of your left foot. Place your right hand on the back of a chair.
  • Engage your core and shift your body weight onto your right leg.
  • Raise your left leg back behind you, until your leg is straight, squeezing your glute at the top of the movement.
  • Lower your left leg back down, tapping your toe on the floor behind you.
  • Complete 8 reps, before swapping to the other leg.

2. Knee extensions

Along with being one of the best exercises for strengthening your knees, banded knee extensions can help you target the muscles that surround your hips, like your quadriceps.

  • Stand on your exercise mat, with your legs hip-width apart and your mini looped resistance band around both ankles. Place your right hand on the back of a chair.
  • Engage your core and shift your body weight onto your right leg.
  • Raise your left leg off the ground in front of you and use your top thigh muscles as you try to straighten your knee before bringing it back to a bent position.
  • Complete 8 reps, before swapping to the other leg.

3. Standing half circles

Helping to boost strength in your quads, inner thighs, glutes and hips, standing half circles can help you work multiple muscles in your body at once.

  • Stand on your exercise mat, with your legs hip-width apart and your mini looped resistance band around both ankles. Place your right hand on the back of a chair.
  • Engage your core and shift your body weight onto your right leg.
  • Pull against the resistance band and raise your left leg off the ground in front of you. Use your top thigh muscles and hips to draw a half ‘circle’ with your leg from the front to the back of your body.
  • Repeat in the opposite direction.
  • Complete 8 reps, before swapping to the other leg.

More from Tom’s Guide

Becks Shepherd

Becks is a lifestyle journalist who specializes in writing about wellness and home products, from mattresses to weighted blankets and cooling comforters. She has tested a number of mattresses for Tom's Guide, putting them through their paces to see if they stand up to the brand's claims, and offering recommendations as to the type of sleeper they will (and won't) suit. 

Read more
Woman doing lateral walking with a resistance band in an apartment
I did banded lateral walks every day for a week — here’s what happened to my glutes and lower body
Male performing banded glute bridge on exercise mat in gym with band wrapped above his knees.
Hack your hips: I’m a personal trainer, and these 3 moves reduce stiff hips and boost flexibility
Woman performing glute bridge with resistance brand
I tried this 12-minute resistance band glute workout — here's what happened to my lower body
Woman kneeling with hands on hips at the gym studio in activewear
You just need 1 minute and this bodyweight exercise to transform your squats and boost lower-body mobility
woman stretching into a lunge on a boardwalk
I've been increasing my lower-body mobility and speeding up exercise recovery — here’s how I do it in just 5 minutes
a man curling two dumbbells
You only need 2 dumbbells, 1 resistance band and 25 minutes to build full-body muscle and strengthen your core
Latest in Fitness
Photo of woman doing dumbbell workout
No gym? Build upper body strength and torch your core with just a pair of dumbbells and 25 minutes
a photo of singer Harry Styles
Are you faster than Harry Styles? Singer runs the 2025 Tokyo Marathon
The TGL arena
Tiger Woods' new indoor stadium golf league — I saw the tech that makes TGL work
Man doing a squat with two dumbbells
No gym needed — instead use this 30-minute dumbbell workout to build full-body strength at home
Woman in black workout clothes performing a side lunge on her left leg outdoors against a concrete background
3 moves, no weights — this 15-minute bodyweight workout builds muscle and and boosts metabolism
a photo of a woman with strong abs holding a set of dumbbells
Forget crunches — a personal trainer recommends these 5 standing ab exercises to strengthen your core
Latest in Features
MWC 2025 awards logo along with Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Nohting Phone 3a and 3a Pro, Lenovo Codename Flip and HMD Amped buds
Best of MWC 2025 — these are the 10 top mobile gadgets you need to see
The DeepSeek logo seen on the silhouette of a smartphone
I have ChatGPT Plus — but here's 7 reasons why I use DeepSeek instead
Photo of woman doing dumbbell workout
No gym? Build upper body strength and torch your core with just a pair of dumbbells and 25 minutes
Infinix solar phone, TCL RayNeo X3 glasses and ThinkBook "Codename Flip"
MWC 2025 Day 1 — here's 7 amazing new gadgets you need to see
Honor Earbuds Open
I'm a big open-ear skeptic — but these new wireless earbuds just changed my mind
Toy Fair 2025 awards
Best of Toy Fair 2025: The top 11 new toys from LEGO, Hasbro, Mattel and more