I may write about fitness, but interviewing, researching and typing means I still sit a lot. While I aim to exercise regularly, I know that jumping straight from my desk to lifting weights or sprinting around the park is a recipe for injury, especially as I get older.
That’s something Cody Mooney, former CrossFit Games athlete and managing partner of mobility app pliability, knows all too well. Over the years he’s refined a short warm-up drill using a mini resistance band—commonly known as a booty band—and an exercise bike. He highly recommends doing this simple routine before any workout.
“I’m a big believer in an active warm-up. I believe you should be sweating before you do anything [like lifting weights]. And I’m also a massive believer in the booty band,” he tells me. “I swear by them. I literally have two in my bag at all times.”
Shop booty bands
Fit Simplify Resistance Loop Set
Bala Bands Resistance Bands
Polyester instead of latex.
How to do this glute warm-up
“I always start [my workout] by warming up my glutes,” says Mooney. “When your glutes are activated they’re more likely to fire and if you’re getting those muscles working you’re helping your hips, your lower back and all the big muscles around your posterior chain.”
Warming up the posterior chain (muscles in the back of your body) will help any movement involving squatting, deadlifting, running, jumping, accelerating and even decelerating. These muscles are the engine room for generating strength and power, while also playing a critical role in injury prevention.
Uniquely, Mooney’s routine involves cycling with the band around both legs just above the knees. “I actually bike with the band,” he says. “It’s an absolute glute activation game-changer. You can pedal pretty easily.”
For best results, use a band that offers good resistance when you push your knees out but not so much that it forces them inward. Mooney does three rounds of his circuit, followed by a “targeted, exercise-specific warm-up and activation.”
1. Bike
Cals: 10
- Sit on the bike and wrap the band around your legs just above the knees.
- Cycle for 10 calories while pushing your knees out against the band’s resistance.
2. Crab walk
Reps: 10 each side
- Wrap the band around both legs just above the knees.
- Lower into a quarter squat, sitting your bum back, keeping your knees wide and chest up.
- Take 10 big steps to your right, then 10 to your left.
- If space is limited, take two to three steps in one direction, then back for 10 repetitions.
3. Monster walk
Reps: 10 each side
- Wrap the band around both legs just above the knees.
- Lower into a quarter squat and step diagonally forward against the resistance, then return to the start.
- Complete 10 repetitions on both sides.
- Next, lower into a quarter squat and step diagonally backward against the resistance, then return to the start.
- Complete 10 repetitions on both sides.
4. Lateral leg raise
Reps: 10 each side
- Wrap the band around both legs just above the knees.
- Hold a stable structure, like a wall or squat rack, and shift your weight onto one foot.
- Raise your other leg out to the side against the resistance.
- Return to the start and repeat.
- Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.
What I thought of the glute warm-up
Ever since injuring my knees playing soccer I’ve sworn by mini bands in my warm-up and I also use them with my PT clients. However, using them while cycling on an exercise bike was new to me. Pressing my knees out against the resistance while cycling kept my glutes engaged throughout the exercise, rather than just momentarily (as with the crab walks). It was a gentle way to wake them up gradually so they’re firing on all cylinders when it comes to the big lifts of my main workout. I can see this becoming a mainstay of my routine.
