Most band exercise lists have the same problem: they show you a movement without telling you which band it needs. A glute bridge and a lat pulldown are both "resistance band exercises," but one wants a flat loop around the knees and the other wants a tube band anchored above your head. Use the wrong one and the movement does not fail loudly. It just quietly stops working.
This library is organised the way the decision actually gets made: by body region, then by anchor point. For each movement you get the band type it needs, how to set it up, the one cue that matters most, and the mistake that most often makes it useless.
First, the rule that decides everything
The anchor point defines the tool. Before you pick a movement, work out where the resistance has to come from:
- Resistance between two limbs (knee to knee, ankle to ankle): a flat loop band. No handles, no attachment, the band is the loop.
- Resistance from a fixed point (a door, a post, the floor under your feet): a tube band with a door anchor. The handles matter here, because your grip should not be the thing that fails first.
- Resistance that carries bodyweight (hanging from a bar, assisting a pull-up): a heavy-duty pull-up assist band. These are built to take load, not to be gentle.
Get that right and every movement below works on the first attempt. Get it wrong and you will spend the set fighting the equipment instead of the resistance.
Lower body
1. Banded glute bridge
Band: loop, above the knees. Setup: lie on your back, feet flat and hip width, band sitting just above the kneecaps. Drive through the heels and push the knees gently outward against the band as you lift.
The cue: the outward pressure is the exercise. Without it you are doing a bridge with a band on, which is not the same thing.
Common error: letting the knees collapse inward at the top. If they do, the band is too heavy.
2. Lateral band walk
Band: loop, above the knees or at the ankles. Setup: quarter squat, chest up, step sideways without letting the trailing foot snap in.
The cue: keep constant tension. The band should never go slack between steps.
Common error: standing too upright, which moves the work off the glute medius and onto nothing in particular.
3. Banded squat
Band: loop above the knees, or a tube band under both feet with handles at the shoulders. Setup: feet shoulder width, sit back and down.
The cue: with a tube band, the resistance is highest at the top, which is the opposite of a barbell. Expect the lockout to be the hard part.
Common error: choosing band tension by what feels heavy standing up. Test it at the bottom of the squat instead.
4. Standing kickback
Band: loop at the ankles, or a tube band with an ankle strap on a low anchor. Setup: hold something stable, drive one leg straight back without arching the lower back.
The cue: the range is smaller than you think. Stop when the lower back wants to take over.
Common error: swinging. If the leg is moving fast, the band is too light.
5. Banded hamstring curl
Band: tube band with an ankle strap, anchored low and in front. Setup: face the anchor, hinge slightly, curl the heel toward the glute.
The cue: control the return. The lengthening half of the rep is where hamstrings actually adapt.
Common error: anchoring too high, which turns the curl into a hip extension.
6. Banded good morning
Band: loop or tube band under both feet, looped behind the neck across the upper back. Setup: soft knees, hinge at the hips with a flat back.
The cue: push the hips back, do not bend forward. Those feel similar and are not.
Common error: using a band heavy enough to round the back. Lighter is correct here.
Back and pulling
7. Band lat pulldown
Band: pull-up assist band or tube band, anchored above head height. Setup: kneel or stand, arms overhead, pull the elbows down and slightly back.
The cue: lead with the elbows, not the hands. The hands are hooks.
Common error: a door anchor placed at chest height. This is the single most common band mistake, and it silently converts a lat exercise into a triceps exercise.
8. Seated row
Band: tube band with handles, anchored at chest height or looped around the feet. Setup: sit tall, pull the handles to the ribs, squeeze the shoulder blades together.
The cue: the shoulder blades move first, then the arms.
Common error: leaning back to finish the rep. If you are rowing your torso, the band is too heavy.
9. Single-arm row
Band: tube band, anchored at hip to chest height. Setup: stagger the stance, pull one handle to the hip, keep the hips square.
The cue: resist the rotation. Half the value of a single-arm row is what the core does to stay still.
Common error: letting the torso twist toward the pulling arm.
10. Face pull
Band: tube band or loop, anchored at eye height. Setup: pull toward the face, elbows high and wide, finish with the hands beside the ears.
The cue: externally rotate at the end. That rotation is the whole point of the movement.
Common error: pulling to the chest, which makes it a bad row instead of a good rear-delt exercise.
11. Straight-arm pulldown
Band: tube band, anchored above head height. Setup: arms straight, hinge slightly, sweep the hands down to the thighs.
The cue: elbows stay locked. If they bend, it has become a triceps pushdown.
Common error: going too heavy and losing the straight arm.
12. Assisted pull-up
Band: pull-up assist band, looped over the bar with one foot or knee in it. Setup: foot in the loop, full hang, pull.
The cue: the band helps most at the bottom, where you are weakest, and least at the top, where the strength has to be yours. That is the correct assistance curve.
Common error: using a band so heavy that the top of the rep is free. Drop a size when you can do eight clean reps.
Chest and pressing
13. Standing chest press
Band: tube band, anchored at chest height behind you. Setup: stagger the stance, press both handles forward until the arms are straight.
The cue: the front foot takes the load. Set it before you press, not during.
Common error: standing square, which makes you fall forward on the last reps.
14. Band push-up
Band: loop or pull-up assist band across the upper back, ends under the hands. Setup: normal push-up position.
The cue: the band loads the top of the rep, which is where a push-up is usually easiest. That is why it works.
Common error: letting the band slide up the neck. Set it across the shoulder blades.
15. Chest fly
Band: tube band, anchored at chest height behind you. Setup: slight elbow bend, sweep the hands together in an arc.
The cue: the elbow angle does not change during the rep.
Common error: turning it into a press by bending and straightening the arms.
16. Overhead press
Band: tube band under both feet, handles at the shoulders. Setup: ribs down, press straight up.
The cue: do not let the lower back arch to finish the rep. Stop the set when it starts to.
Common error: standing on the band unevenly, so one side is heavier than the other.
Shoulders and arms
17. Lateral raise
Band: loop or tube band under one foot. Setup: raise the arm out to the side, thumb slightly leading, stop at shoulder height.
The cue: bands get harder as you raise, which suits this movement better than dumbbells do.
Common error: shrugging. If the trap takes over, go lighter.
18. Band curl
Band: tube band under both feet, handles in hand. Setup: elbows pinned to the ribs, curl.
The cue: resist on the way down for a slow count of three. Bands make this easy and most people skip it.
Common error: elbows drifting forward at the top.
19. Triceps pushdown
Band: tube band, anchored above head height. Setup: elbows tight to the sides, extend down.
The cue: only the forearm moves.
Common error: leaning over the band to add bodyweight.
20. Overhead triceps extension
Band: tube band anchored low behind you, or standing on the band. Setup: hands behind the head, extend up.
The cue: keep the elbows pointing forward, not flaring out.
Common error: letting the shoulders take the movement.
Core and rotation
21. Pallof press
Band: tube band, anchored at chest height, standing side on. Setup: hands at the sternum, press straight out, resist the pull toward the anchor.
The cue: nothing rotates. This is an anti-rotation exercise, and success looks like stillness.
Common error: standing too close to the anchor, which removes the tension the movement exists to resist.
22. Low-to-high woodchop
Band: tube band, anchored low. Setup: side on, sweep from the outside of the opposite hip up across the body.
The cue: the rotation comes from the hips and the mid-back, not the lower back.
Common error: using the arms to throw the band.
23. Dead bug with band
Band: tube band, anchored above your head, held with straight arms. Setup: on your back, arms holding tension overhead, extend one leg at a time.
The cue: the lower back stays flat on the floor. That is the whole test.
Common error: extending the leg further than the core can hold.
24. Standing anti-rotation march
Band: loop at the ankles or tube band at chest height. Setup: march slowly on the spot, keeping the hips level.
The cue: slow it down until it is boring. Speed hides the work.
Common error: rushing, which lets momentum do the stabilising.
How to turn this into a session
Pick one movement from each region, three sets of ten to fifteen reps, three days a week. That is a complete full-body session in about thirty minutes, and it is enough stimulus for most people to progress on for two to three months.
Progress by tension, not by reps. When fifteen reps feel controlled and the last one is not noticeably harder than the first, move up a band. Adding reps beyond twenty turns a strength session into an endurance session, which is a fine goal but a different one.
What you need to run the whole library
Twenty-two of these twenty-four movements are covered by two items: a Resistance Loop Bands Set for anything that anchors limb to limb, and a Resistance Tube Bands Set with handles, door anchor and ankle straps for anything that anchors to a fixed point. The remaining two, the assisted pull-up and the loaded push-up, want a Pull Up Assist Bands Set, which is built to carry bodyweight.
MONFIT equipment is rated 4.9 stars across more than 1,035 reviews, and orders over $100 ship free.
Train within your current ability, and stop any movement that produces sharp or joint pain. If you are returning from an injury or managing a medical condition, speak to a qualified clinician before starting a new programme.