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36 Mini Band Exercises + A Full Body Workout

Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.  See full disclaimer

A key piece of exercise equipment, mini bands allow you to target your entire body in a low-impact way to help you sculpt and tone. They’re easy to travel with, cost-effective, and a great tool to build strength. Use these mini band exercises to create a full body workout yourself, or grab the at-home workout at the bottom and start getting stronger today.

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Three images of a woman performing exercises with a mini band and text on the image.

Though many people associate mini bands as a tool for rehab, they’re so much more than that. Using resistance bands in your training program can help you build total body strength and muscle (learn more about the benefits of resistance bands).

As a Certified Strength Coach, mini bands are one of the top 4 pieces of at-home workout equipment I recommend because they’re easy to use, budget-friendly, and take up little space. Plus, you can easily create a full-body mini band workout.

Though learning how to train glutes has exploded the need for a mini band (check out this banded glute workout), there are so many other exercises and body parts you can focus on with this one tool.

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Best Mini Bands To Buy

Personally, I recommend getting the variety pack when it comes to mini bands. For just ten bucks, you get a few different resistances so you can adjust and progress your exercises to keep you moving forward on your goals. They do wear out after time though,h so keep an eye on them after half a year and check for splits.

Mini Band Exercises

Below you will find the top 20 mini band exercises that you can turn into a full-body workout. Or, put together an upper and lower body workout to split up your muscles on a 2-day workout split. All of the exercises are joint-friendly and help you to gain strength.

Quick tip: Especially when it comes to at-home workouts, form comes first. Focus on SLOW and CONTROLLED repetitions. Don’t just speed through the movement. You want to really notice yourself engaging the muscles involved. This is the secret to serious strength gains.

A few resources for form: Before getting started you may want to give these a read or watch so that you’re comfortable with the basic exercises.

Mini Band Upper Body Exercises

Below are exercises that target the chest, back, shoulder, and arm muscles all with just a mini band. Mix and match a few of them with lower body exercises to create a full body workout,t or choose 5-7 and make a focused upper body training day.

Bow and Arrow Row

  1. Grab a green mini loop and stand in a staggard archer stance (right foot back, left foot forward). Knees bent slightly, standing upright. One leg straight and the other on the ball of the foot, and bent slightly.
  2. Hold the mini loop in your hands and straighten the left hand in front of you.
  3. Thinking of pulling back a bow as you pull the mini loop back with the right arm and bring the hand towards the chest. Make sure the shoulder is down and in. Return to the starting position.
Woman in black sports bra and pants performing a row with a mini band in her home gym.

Mini Band Push Up

  1. Wrap the mini band around your hands and place your hands right outside and slightly behind your shoulders. Widen your hand a bit to stretch the band.
  2. From a plank position slowly lower toward the ground, keeping tension on the band.
  3. Push back up and repeat.

Know that the mini band can be wrapped below the elbows around the forearms as well to help improve strength and push up form.

Two images of a woman in black workout clothes performing a push up with a mini band and text on the images.

Tricep Extension

  1. Stand tall and hold a green mini loop with your right hand on your left shoulder. The other part of the loop should be in the left hand.
  2. Keeping the shoulder in the same spot, extend the left elbow and push the band down and behind.
  3. Pause and return to the start position.
Woman in sports bra and tights performing a tricep exercise with a yellow band.

Overhead Mini Band Pulldown

  1. Stand tall and hold a strength band or mini loop above your head in your hands. Keep your right arm up to keep tension on the band as you pull the left arm down towards the chest driving your elbow down into your back pocket.
  2. Reverse the movement and perform all repetitions on one arm before moving on to the next.

Bentover Single Arm Row

  1. In a bentover position with a flat back, hold the mini band in your hands with your arms straight.
  2. Keeping one arm down to place tension on the band pull the other elbow back into a row against the band. Move through the shoulder and not just the bicep.
  3. Pause and return to the starting position before repeating on the other arm.
Image of a woman in purple shorts performing a bentover row exercise with a band and tetx on the image.

Bent Arm Lateral Raise

  1. Stand tall and wrap the mini band around your wrists or hold one end in each hand.
  2. Keeping a 90-degree bend in the elbow, raise the elbows up and out to the side to bring it up toward the shoulder.
  3. Pause and bring it back down to your torso.
Woman in blue pants and sports bra performing a lateral raise with a mini band.

Mini Band Concentration Curl

  • Come into a half kneeling position with the resistance band under the front knee and around the foot.
  • Place the same side elbow onto the front knee holding the resistance band.
  • Keep a heavy tension on the band as you curl up to your shoulder.
  • Pause for a bicep squeeze and slowly lower.
A woman in a sports bra and tights performing a bicep curl with resistance bands with text on the image for tips.

Band Pull Apart

  • Stand tall with your feet flat on the floor and hold a red strength band in your hands with palms facing down. Keep the elbows slightly bent as you open up the arms driving the side of your hands backward and feeling your shoulder blades together behind your back.
  • Make sure not to row the elbows backward but instead, open up the arms. Do not lock out the elbows.
Two images side by side of a woman in a blue sports bra and dark workout pants performing a resistance band upper body exercise with text about what to do and what to avoid

Mini Band Overhead Press

  1. From a standing or kneeling position, start with a tall back, elbows at your sides, hands at your shoulders, and a mini band in both hands.
  2. Holding one hand at your chest to create tension on the band, press up with the other arm, straightening the elbow and keeping the bicep close to the ear.
  3. Pause and return the arm to the chest, and repeat all repetitions before performing it on the other side.
Image of a woman in a sports bra and purple shorts performing an exercise with a yellow band on the ground with text on the image.

Banded Plank Taps Or Lateral Walking Plank

  1. Wrap a mini band around both hands and come into a plank position.
  2. Maintain your plank as you one by one tap each hand out to the side.
  3. Or, you can turn this into a lateral walking plank by moving three steps to the side against the band and then back the other way, as shown in the video below.

Plank Row

  1. Begin in plank position with your hands on dumbbells and your feet hip width apart.
  2. Start with the left arm as you row the dumbbell up to the chest.
  3. Pause briefly and keep the shoulder away from the ear. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the floor and repeat on the other side.
Woman in blue sports bra and purple pants performing a row with a yellow mini loop in plank position with text and arrows to explain form

Behind The Neck Pulldown

  1. Stand tall with your arms overhead and the mini band in either hand or looped on the wrists.
  2. Create tension by pulling out to the side slightly before bringing the elbows down and hands behind the head. Think of your shoulder blades moving down on your back.
  3. Pause briefly and slowly extend the arms back up and repeat.
Two images of a woman in a sports bra and purple shorts performing a back exercise with a yellow band.

External Rotations (AKA No Money)

  1. Stand tall with your arms bent and by your ribs, hands out from your stomach with the mini band wrapped around your wrists.
  2. Keeping your elbows by your sides, rotate your hands from directly in front of you to outwards.
  3. Bring them back in and repeat. You should feel this in your shoulders.
Two images of a woman in a sports bra and purple shorts performing an exercise with a yellow band and text on the images.

Superman With Mini Band Pull

  1. Begin on your belly with a mini loop wrapped around your wrists.
  2. Squeeze the glutes and raise your legs and arms off the floor. At the top of the position, drive out against the mini loop and pull your arms towards your chest. Release the pull and then release the raise position.

Lower Body Mini Band Exercises

Below you’ll find my favorite mini band exercises for the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and adductors. There are so many to choose from when it comes to training legs that you have a lot of room to play here.

Remember that for lower body, especially the mini band, adds tension, and the basic exercise should be mastered before adding the loop.

Mini Band Squat

  1. Have feet shoulder width (roughly apart) with the band around your legs above or below the knee.
  2. Initiate the movement by pushing the hips back slightly.
  3. Bend the knees and begin lowering the hips toward the floor while driving out against the band.
  4. Keep the chest up, the neck neutral, and do not over-arch the low back. Keep the heels on the floor.
  5. Drive the knees out and push up through the feet evenly as you reverse the movement and bring your body back to a standing position.

Mini Band Glute Bridge

  1. Lying on your back, bend your knees and bring your heels close to your bum. Feet shoulder-width apart roughly. Wrap the band around the legs above the knees.
  2. Push through your heels and lift your hips by squeezing the glutes. Do not excessively arch the lower back. As you lift drive your knees out against the band.
  3. Pause at the top for three seconds with a maximum glute squeeze before releasing the tension and bringing the hips back to the starting position.

Side Lying Hip Raise

  1. Lay on your right side with your knees bent and feet together. Hips and shoulders in one line, and the right arm under the right shoulder.
  2. As you raise up into side plank position and lift the hips off the ground, raise the left leg up using the left glute.
  3. Keep the knee bent and flex the left foot. Pause and return to the starting position.
Two images of a woman in maroon shirt and black pants performing side lying hip raises with text about pointers

Reverse Table Top March

  1. Come into a reverse table top position with your feet below your knees, hands behind your back, and the mini band around your legs above your knees.
  2. Lift your bum off the ground and squeeze the glutes.
  3. Hold the top position while you lift one leg at a time in a march.

Quadruped Hip Extension

  1. Come into a tabletop position on all fours with a mini band wrapped around he knees.
  2. Keeping the knee of the working leg flexed the core strong and engaged (you need to have mastered bird dogs for this), move through the hip as you raise the foot towards the floor.
  3. Do not let the low back drop and make sure to keep the knee bent. Return the knee towards the floor by releasing the tension in the glute.
Woman in bright workout clothes on a unicorn yoga mat performing a glute kickback with a band

Mini Band Fire Hydrant

  1. Come onto all fours in a table top position with a mini band looped around your legs above the knees.
  2. Keep a stable low back and a bend in the knee of the working leg as you abduct/bring the knee up and out to the side against the band.
  3. Pause and return to the starting position.
Woman in black workout clothes in table top position lifting one leg against a mini band.

Clamshells

  1. Lay on your right side with your legs stacked and knees slightly bent. Make sure your shoulders, hips, and heels are in one line.
  2. Place your top hand on your top hip. Keeping your heels together, squeeze your glute while opening up at the knees.
  3. Release the squeeze and return the knees to meet each other. You should feel the muscles under your hand contract.

Banded Adductions

  1. Sit on the floor with your legs out in front in a straddle position. Wrap the mini band around one foot and hold it in the same hand by your hip.
  2. Lift the working leg and bring it into your midline against the band. Pause and bring it back out to the side.
  3. Repeat all repetitions on one side before the other.
Two images of a woman in black workout clothes performing a seated exercise with a mini band and text on the images.

Mini Band Curtsy Lunge

  1. Stand upright in a comfortable position with the mini band around the legs above the knees. Step the left foot back and across the line of the left leg.
  2. Lower the knee toward the floor while hinging slightly at the hips. Keep the foot of the right leg fully on the floor.
  3. Push through the right foot and return the left foot back to the starting position.
Two images of a woman in maroon shirt and black pants performing a curtsy lunge with text with pointers

Half Kneeling Leg Extension

  1. Come into a a half kneeling position with the mini loop wrapped around the back foot and held to the opposite shoulder, knee up.
  2. Press the back toe toward the floor against the mini band. Pause.
  3. Return to the starting position.
Two images of a woman in a sports bra and purple shorts performing an exercise with a yellow band in a half kneeling position.

Mini Band Mountain Climbers

  1. Come into a plank position and wrap the mini band around your feet.
  2. Maintain the plank as you bring one foot up toward your chest against the band.
  3. Pause and return it back to the plank position, and then come in to the chest with your other foot.
  4. Continue alternating.
Image of a woman in a sports bra and purple shorts performing a mountain climber exercise with a yellow band and text on the image.

Reverse Mountain Climbers

  1. Sitting on your bum with your elbows on the floor, back behind you, wrap the mini band around your feet.
  2. Lift the bum off the floor with your glutes.
  3. Slowly alternate bringing one knee into your chest against the band, and then move right into the other.

Mini Band Hamstring Curl

  1. Lay flat on your tummy with legs extended out behind you. Place the mini band around one foot and the ankle of the working leg.
  2. Pressing one foot into the floor, curl the heel of the working leg toward your bum. Pause.
  3. Reverse the movement slowly and with control. Perform the remaining repetitions before switching legs.
Woman in black workout clothes laying on floor performing a hamstring curl with a mini band.

Adductor Presses

  1. Sit on the floor with one leg out straight and the other with the knee bent and foot close to your bum. Wrap the mini band around the foot and hold the other side of the band in the same hand by your hip.
  2. Lift the working leg while keeping it sentered and move against the band to kick in front and straighten the leg while keeping the heel off the floor.
  3. Pause and return the foot toward the body before repeating.
Two images of a woman in black workout clothes performing a seated exercise with a mini band and text on the images.

Standing Band Abductions

  1. Place the mini band above the knees. Stand tall and raise one leg while keeping the other one bent.
  2. Keeping the torso facing forward, externally rotate the leg by bringing the knee out to the side against the band.
  3. Return the knee to the center and repeat.
  4. Use the other glute muscle to stabilize the hip in the one-leg stand.
Woman in sports bra and tights performing a standing abduction with a mini loop.

Standing March

  1. Wrap a mini band around your feet and stand tall holding a dumbbell overhead or at chest height.
  2. Keep your posture as you begin to high-knee march against the band.
  3. Pause at the top briefly before lowering the foot.

Seated Abductions

  1. Place the band right below the knees and sit up tall on the couch (or chair or bench) with feet on the floor. Take the feet slightly wider than hip-width and let the knees cave in slightly.
  2. Keeping the feet on the floor, squeeze the glutes and drive the knees out against the band. Pause and release the movement.

3 Way Glute Taps

  1. Stand upright with the band wrapped around your ankles or bridge of the feet.
  2. Hinge forward slightly taking the weight into one leg while the other foot taps out against the band in front of you to the side, and behind you at an angle.
  3. Keep repeating the three way tap with one foot for the time listed before performing the exercise on the other side.
Three images of a woman in black workout clothes performing a standing glute exercise with a mini band.

Sumo Walks

  1. Standing upright you can place the band around the top of the knees, below the knees or over the shoelaces for different tensions.
  2. Hinge forward slightly keeping your weight pushed backward and a flat back. Stand on one foot as you move the other foot sideways using your glutes to push against the band.
  3. Step down and continue this process one way before completing the same motion on the other side.
Woman in orange pants and green shirt perming a lateral band walk with arrows and text about how to perform it

Mini Band Deadlift

  1. Wrap the mini band around your feet and hinge by pushing the hips back and grabbing the band.
  2. Holding the mini band, engage the back of the legs while keeping the back flat as you bring your torso back up to an erect position against the band. Squeeze the glutes.
  3. Slowly reverse the movement, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
Woman in blue shirt and black pants performing a band deadlift with text about the dos and donts

Mini Band Single Leg Deadlift

  1. Stand tall and wrap the mini loop around one foot. Hold the other side of the band in the opposite hand.
  2. Start to hip hinge (bend at the hips while pushing the hips back) and lift the nonworking leg.
  3. Come to the bottom of the position with a flat back and a stretch in the hamstrings before contracting the back of the leg and reversing the movement.
  4. If you’re struggling with balance, you can do this in a wall-supported single-leg deadlift.
Two images of a woman in black workout clothes performing an exercise with a mini band and text and arrows on the image.

Mini Band Bulgarian Split Squat

  1. Set up in lunge position with the left leg elevated on the bench and the right knee over the heel. Place the mini band around the foot of the working leg and in the opposite hand.
  2. Hinge forward slightly (to create more tension on the back of the body: glutes) as you push backward and drop the left knee towards the floor while keeping the right knee facing forwards.
  3. Squeeze the glute of the right leg as you push through the heel to reverse the movement and extend the hips to the starting position.
  4. Perform all repetitions on the right leg before moving on to

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Total Body Mini Band Workout

Below is a quick total body mini band workout you can do anywhere. Focus on controlling each and every movement and contraction so that you get the most of your workout.

You can perform the workout 2-3 times per week or create your own workout and make an upper and lower body split that you can do as a 4-day split.

Mini band Bulgarian split squat10/side
Lat Pulldown8/arm
Mini band row8/arm
Rest45 seconds x 3 sets
Mini band Pause squat30 seconds
Hamstring curl10/leg
Tircep pressdown10/arm
Rest30 seconds x 3 sets
Glute March30 seconds
Rest15 seconds x 2 sets

Perform the first 3 exercises back to back for the repetitions listed before taking a break for 45 seconds. Then, repeat the exercises for a total of 3 times through.

Move on to the next 3 exercises and complete them back to back for the repetitions listed before taking a break for 30 seconds. Repeat the exercises for a total of 3 times through.

Finally, finish with 2 sets of the glute march with only 15 seconds between sets.

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