If you're slapping a resistance band around your thighs during hip thrusts or glute bridges, thinking it’s the key to well-rounded glute gains, I’ve got news for you silly sally—it’s probably not helping. A new study measured muscle activity in trained lifters performing barbell hip thrusts and glute bridges, both with and without bands. The idea is that adding a band increases demand on the glute medius (the muscle on the side of your hips) through hip abduction, giving you that "side booty" pop. But it didn’t work. The research showed that bands did not increase glute medius activation at all. In fact, during glute bridges, medius activity actually decreased. And while bands did slightly increase activation in the upper glutes, the boost was minimal. Hip thrusts already provide excellent activation for both the upper and lower glutes, so the added band work isn’t moving the needle in any meaningful way. In fact Lifters using bands had to reduce their loads by around 20 kg (45 pounds). That’s a significant hit to force output, which is critical for driving the muscle tension needed to stimulate hypertrophy. The researchers concluded that bands “cannot be recommended,” at least not for heavy lifting. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373976651_Effects_of_Band-Resisted_Abduction_on_Muscle_Activity_between_the_Barbell_Hip_Thrust_and_Barbell_Glute_Bridge#:~:text=The%20results%20indicated%20four%20significant,compared%20to%20non%2Dbanded%20conditions