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Exercises

Lower body warm up exercises: one for every stage of the warm-up

Published October 24, 2026

For a lower body warm up, spend 4 minutes on the elliptical, then do 6 gorilla walk steps each way and 6 lateral lunges per side to open the hips, 10 banded knee push-outs and 10 donkey kicks per leg plus 8 single-leg glute bridges per side to switch on the glutes, and 12 band squats. Then do 2 or 3 lighter sets of your first lift, such as step-ups, hip thrusts or trap bar deadlifts. Plan on 10 to 12 minutes in total.

  1. Elliptical Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes
  2. Gorilla Walk Glutes, Quads, Shoulders
  3. Dumbbell Lateral Lunge Quads, Glutes, Adductors
  4. Band Standing Hip Abduction Abductors
  5. Donkey Kick Glutes
  6. Single-Leg Glute Bridge Glutes
  7. Band Squat Quads
  8. Step-Up Quads, Glutes

Easy cardio to start

The elliptical moves the hips, knees and ankles together with no impact, which makes it a calm start for a lower body session. Four minutes at an easy pace is plenty.

Cardio: no impact

Elliptical

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

The elliptical warms you up without the pounding of a jog, which matters if your knees or feet feel achy on a cold start.

How to do it

  1. Step on and hold the moving handles with a light grip.
  2. Stride at a low resistance, pushing and pulling the handles with your arms.
  3. Keep it easy for 4 minutes, raising the resistance a little in the last minute.

Cues

  • Easy pace
  • Whole foot on the pedal

Common mistakes

  • Leaning on the handles: stand upright so your legs do the work.

Swap for: Stationary Bike, Brisk Walk

Build a session with Elliptical

Exercises that open the hips

Gorilla walks take you through a deep squat and a side shuffle at once, and lateral lunges stretch the inner thighs one side at a time. Both reach positions that forward-moving exercises skip.

Hip opener: deep squat travel

Gorilla Walk

Glutes, Quads, Shoulders

Moving forward in a deep squat on your hands and feet opens the hips and ankles while warming the upper body too.

How to do it

  1. Squat down low with your feet wide and place your hands on the floor between them.
  2. Shift your weight onto your hands and hop your feet forward to land beside them.
  3. Reach the hands forward again and keep travelling for 6 hops.

Cues

  • Stay low
  • Hands, then feet

Common mistakes

  • Rising out of the squat between steps: keep your hips at knee height or lower.

Swap for: Cossack Squat, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Gorilla Walk

Hip opener: inner thighs

Dumbbell Lateral Lunge

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

A side lunge stretches the inner thigh of the straight leg while the bent leg works through a deep knee bend. Do it with no weight or one light dumbbell.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet together, holding a light dumbbell at your chest or nothing at all.
  2. Take a wide step to one side, sitting your hips back over that foot while the other leg stays straight.
  3. Push back to the start and alternate sides, 6 per side.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest up
  • Straight leg stays straight

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bent knee cave inward: point it the same way as your toes.

Swap for: Cossack Squat, Kettlebell Lateral Lunge

Build a session with Dumbbell Lateral Lunge

Glute activation exercises

Banded knee push-outs, donkey kicks and single-leg bridges each load one glute from a different angle: out to the side, straight back, and up from the floor. One set of each is enough before a lower body workout.

Outer hip: banded knee push-outs

Band Standing Hip Abduction

Abductors

Pressing the knees out against a band in a shallow squat works the outside of the hip, the muscles that stop your knees caving in squats and lunges.

How to do it

  1. Loop a mini band just above your knees and sit into a shallow squat, hands together at your chest.
  2. Press both knees out against the band, then let them come back in under control.
  3. Keep the feet planted and repeat for the set.

Cues

  • Knees push out
  • Feet stay flat

Common mistakes

  • Letting the knees snap back in: control the return.

Swap for: Clamshell, Standing Side Leg Raise

Build a session with Band Standing Hip Abduction

Glute activation: back

Donkey Kick

Glutes

Pressing one foot up toward the ceiling from all fours works the main glute muscle without any load on your lower back.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and knees with your back flat.
  2. Keeping the knee bent at about 90 degrees, press the sole of your foot up toward the ceiling.
  3. Stop when your thigh is level with your torso, lower, and do 10 per leg.

Cues

  • Sole of the foot to the ceiling
  • Flat back

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back at the top: stop when the thigh reaches hip height.

Swap for: Cable Glute Kickback, Glute Bridge

Build a session with Donkey Kick

Glute activation: one leg

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

Bridging on one leg doubles the load on the working glute with no equipment, and shows you if one side is lagging.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with one foot flat near your hips and the other leg pointing straight up.
  2. Press through the planted heel to raise your hips until they line up with your shoulders and knee.
  3. Hold for a second, lower, and do 8 per side. Rest a light kettlebell on your hips if bodyweight is too easy.

Cues

  • Hips level
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hip of the lifted leg drop: keep both hip bones at the same height.

Swap for: Glute Bridge, Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Build a session with Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Band squats, then lighter sets of the first lift

A set of band squats pulls the knees in slightly so you practice pushing them out. After that, start the lift that opens your session with lighter sets that build toward the working weight.

Activation: knees out

Band Squat

Quads

Squatting with a band above the knees gives you something to push against, so your knees learn to track over your toes before the first loaded set.

How to do it

  1. Put a mini band just above your knees and set your stance at shoulder width.
  2. Squat down while pressing your knees out against the band.
  3. Stand back up, keeping tension on the band, and do 12.

Cues

  • Push the band apart
  • Slow and controlled

Common mistakes

  • Letting the band pull your knees together at the bottom: press out hardest there.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Goblet Squat

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First lift: single leg

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Step-ups load one leg at a time at a height you choose, so the lighter sets climb in both weight and box height.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing a bench or box holding two dumbbells, or none for the first set.
  2. Put one whole foot on the box and drive through it to stand up on top.
  3. Step down with the other foot under control, and do all reps before switching legs.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the box
  • Drive through the top leg

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: the top leg does the lifting.

Swap for: Kettlebell Step-Up, Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Build a session with Step-Up

First lift: glutes

Hip Thrust

Glutes

On a glute day the hip thrust opens the session. Two lighter sets let you settle the bench position and the bar padding before the heavy sets.

How to do it

  1. Sit down, upper back resting on a bench edge, and a padded bar over your hips.
  2. Plant your feet so your shins are vertical at the top, then drive your hips up until your body is level from knees to shoulders.
  3. Lower until your hips nearly touch the floor and repeat, adding weight across the lighter sets.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top

Common mistakes

  • Pushing through the toes: keep the weight in your heels.

Swap for: Smith Machine Hip Thrust, Glute Bridge

Build a session with Hip Thrust

First lift: hinge

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

The trap bar puts the weight at your sides, which makes it the friendliest heavy hinge for a full lower body day. Three lighter sets bring your back and hips up to speed.

How to do it

  1. Step into the center of the bar with your feet hip width apart.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles with your back flat.
  3. Push the floor away to stand up tall, then lower along the same path.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Chest up, back flat

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the bar up with the hips too low: start with the hips above your knees.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Trap Bar Deadlift

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Glute-focused lower body day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets38 a week
  • Per workout~40 min
  • EquipmentElliptical, Dumbbells, Resistance Bands, Barbells +1

Your session starts with hip thrusts and is mostly about your glutes.

All three activation exercises come in, with an extra set of single-leg bridges, because the glutes are the main target. The hip thrust gets two lighter sets and runs at 1 to 2 reps in reserve; keeping it short of failure lets you train glutes again in a few days.

Glute day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
EllipticalSeconds. Four easy minutes. 4 × 60 4 0 s
Dumbbell Lateral LungePer side. No weight. 1 × 6 4 0 s
Band Standing Hip AbductionPer leg. 2 × 10 4 0 s
Donkey KickPer leg. 2 × 10 4 0 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer side. 2 × 8 4 15 s
Band Squat 1 × 12 4 30 s
Hip Thrust2 warm-up sets first 4 × 8–12 2 2 min
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
How to run it
Elliptical, then the hip openers, then the glute circuit twice, then the band squats and the hip thrust.
How to progress
When the hip thrust passes your bodyweight on the bar, add a third lighter set.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Full lower body day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentElliptical, Dumbbells, Resistance Bands, Trap Bar +1

You train the whole lower body in one session, starting with trap bar deadlifts.

Gorilla walks and lateral lunges open the hips for a hinge, and one round of activation is enough. The trap bar gets three lighter sets because it is the heaviest lift of the day; work sets stay at 2 reps in reserve so step-ups still go well afterward.

Full lower body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
EllipticalSeconds. 4 × 60 4 0 s
Gorilla WalkSteps each way. 1 × 6 4 0 s
Dumbbell Lateral LungePer side. 1 × 6 4 0 s
Donkey KickPer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Band Squat 1 × 12 4 30 s
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Step-Up1 warm-up set firstPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
How to run it
Do every block once, then ramp up the trap bar. Step-ups follow with one lighter set.
How to progress
Add weight to the trap bar each week you hit the top of the rep range at 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Home lower body with one band

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets27 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentResistance Bands, Dumbbells, Flat Bench

You train at home with a mini band and maybe a pair of dumbbells.

Without a cardio machine, gorilla walks and a fast set of band squats raise your heart rate. Step-ups onto a sturdy chair or stair are the first lift, with a bodyweight set before any dumbbells. Light loads mean the work sets go to 1 rep in reserve.

Home lower body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Gorilla WalkSteps each way. 2 × 6 4 0 s
Band Standing Hip AbductionPer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer side. 1 × 8 4 0 s
Band Squat 2 × 12–15 4 30 s
Step-Up1 warm-up set firstPer leg. Stair or sturdy chair. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Do the gorilla walks twice to get warm, then the activation exercises and band squats, then the step-ups.
How to progress
Raise the step height before you add weight, then add reps.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are four warm-up exercises for the lower body?

An easy cardio machine, a lateral lunge, a glute bridge and a bodyweight or band squat. Those four raise your temperature, open your hips, switch on your glutes and rehearse the squat.

How long should a lower body warm up take?

About 10 minutes before your first lift, plus the lighter sets of that lift. On a busy day, 5 minutes of the same moves still helps.

What is the best exercise first thing in the morning?

A few minutes of easy cardio followed by slow bodyweight squats and lunges. Mornings usually need a slightly longer warm-up, so add a second round of the hip openers.

Should I do glute activation before every lower body workout?

One short set of two or three activation moves is enough. Keep it far from failure; tired glutes lift less, not more.

Do I need equipment for a lower body warm up?

No. Only the band squat uses a band, and you can do bodyweight squats instead.