Band tension that makes every rep glute city.
Press your knees out against the band the whole way, don't let them cave in.
This hip thrust puts the band above your knees rather than over your hips, so while the glutes drive you up to full extension and the hamstrings assist at the bottom, the glute fibres that pull the knees outward are firing the entire set to resist the band's inward drag. That double duty, thrusting up while pressing out, is what makes the banded version burn differently from an unbanded one. It's a superb bodyweight glute builder and the standard way to teach knees-out mechanics that carry into squats.
This variation uses it above the knees, which adds an abduction challenge on top of the thrust. Banding over the hips instead resists the upward drive, a different stimulus. Above-knee is where to start with just a loop band and a bench.
The band is winning. Set your feet about hip-width, actively press your knees out from the very first inch of the rep, and if you can't hold them out for a full set, use a lighter band until you can.
Until your torso and thighs form a flat line from shoulders to knees, with ribs down and a hard glute squeeze. Arching past level with your lower back isn't more glute, it's just spine.
