# Hip Primer With a Band

A short band primer for the hips and glutes before lower-body training or a run.

- URL: https://formaroutines.com/routines/hip-primer-with-a-band/
- Duration: About 4 min
- Admin slug: hip-primer-with-a-band

## Before you start

Move gently and stop if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, numbness, or symptoms that feel unsafe. This routine is general fitness guidance, not medical care.

## Exercises

### 1. Band Hip Abduction

1 set · 12 reps · 20s rest · both sides

Push out against the band with the hips stacked. Move slowly and stop before the lower back joins in.

#### Steps
- Loop a mini band around both ankles or just above the knees, depending on resistance preference.
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in the knees, hands on hips for balance.
- Shift your weight onto your left leg and press your right leg straight out to the side against the band.
- Pause briefly at the top of the lift, feeling the squeeze in the side of your right hip.
- Lower the right leg back to the starting position with control, keeping tension on the band throughout.
- Complete 12 to 15 reps per side, alternating legs once the working glute is fully fatigued.

#### Cues
- Hips stay stacked.
- Push against the band.
- Move slowly.

#### Common mistakes
- Leaning the torso to the opposite side to swing the leg out, which removes load from the glute medius.
- Letting the hips rotate forward as the leg lifts, turning the movement into a hip-flexor exercise.
- Using a band so heavy that form breaks — start light to feel the glute working, then progress.
- Rushing the eccentric and letting the band snap the leg back in, losing half the time-under-tension.

### 2. Band Romanian Deadlift

1 set · 10 reps · 20s rest

Stand on the band and hinge. The resistance grows as you stand, right where the glutes work hardest.

#### Steps
- Stand on the middle of a band with feet hip-width apart, holding one handle in each hand at your thighs.
- Soften your knees slightly and lock your spine in a neutral position with your chest up.
- Push your hips back behind you while letting your hands slide down your thighs toward your shins.
- Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings — depth matters less than tension.
- Drive your hips forward to return to standing, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
- Repeat for 10 to 12 reps, focusing on the hip-hinge pattern rather than band tension.

#### Cues
- Hips travel back.
- Spine stays long.
- Squeeze to stand.

#### Common mistakes
- Bending at the knees and squatting down instead of hinging at the hips — turns the move into a half-squat.
- Rounding the lower back as you hinge, which puts load on the spine instead of the hamstrings.
- Going too low and losing the hamstring stretch — stop where the stretch is strongest, not where the floor is.
- Standing on too narrow a band section, making the resistance uneven and twisting the bar path.

### 3. Bodyweight Hip Abduction

1 set · 12 reps · 20s rest · both sides

Lift from the side of the hip, not the lower back. A small, slow range does more here than a big one.

#### Steps
- Lie on your side on a mat with your legs stacked, your bottom arm extended under your head for support.
- Stack your hips squarely on top of each other and bend the bottom leg slightly for stability.
- Keep the top leg straight with the toes pointing slightly forward and your foot flexed.
- Lift the top leg straight up toward the ceiling in a smooth, controlled motion.
- Stop when you feel a strong contraction in the side of the hip — usually around 30 to 45 degrees.
- Lower the leg back down slowly without letting it touch the bottom leg, then repeat for reps.

#### Cues
- Hips stay stacked.
- Lift from the side hip.
- Move slowly.

#### Common mistakes
- Rolling the hips back to lift the leg higher, which lets the hip flexors take over from the glute medius.
- Lifting the leg too fast, which removes the time-under-tension that builds the glute.
- Pointing the toes up instead of flexing the foot, which shifts the work off the side hip.
- Letting the top hip drift forward — kills the side-glute contraction and turns the lift into a leg swing.