With any warm-up, you want to get your heart rate up and prepare your individual muscle groups for the work to come. A resistance band is the ideal tool for the job, giving you controlled resistance throughout your warm-up routine, helping you get prepped and ready to work out.

If you’re in need of some inspiration, the following eight-move circuit will get you primed for action. A single circuit is the perfect preparation for most workouts. Or you could do the whole thing three to four times – or divide it into a series of supersets – for a muscle-building full-body workout.

Why you can trust the workouts in Men’s Fitness

At Men’s Fitness we pride ourselves on delivering information that serves a singular purpose: to improve some aspect of your health, fitness or wellbeing. For over 16 years, we’ve been publishing authoritative health and fitness content – written by our expert editors and contributors. Each of our workouts has been created and tested by either a highly experienced editor or expert contributor. This full-body resistance band warm-up was devised by Farren Morgan, a serving soldier and Physical Training Instructor (PTI) for the Coldstream Guards.

Exercises in this full-body resistance band warm-up

  1. Front raise
  2. Side raise
  3. Bent-over row
  4. Overhead squat
  5. Push-up
  6. Squat
  7. Triceps kickback
  8. Biceps curl

Front raise

Man performing a banded front raise

Reps: 10

  • Loop the band under both feet
  • Hold the other end of the band and stand tall
  • Keeping back and arms straight and shoulders pinned back, raise the band directly up until hands are shoulder height
  • Pause for one second, then return to the start

Side raise

Reps: 10

  • Stand tall, with one foot on the band
  • Grip the other end of the band
  • Keeping your chest up and a bend in your elbow, raise the band out to shoulder height, then lower back to the start

Bent-over row

Man performing a banded bent-over row

Reps: 10

  • Stand on one side of the band with both feet
  • Hinge at the hips and grip the band
  • Drive your elbows back to your side and pinch your shoulder blades together
  • Pause for a split-second, then straighten your arms to return to the start

Overhead squat

Man performing a banded overhead squat

Reps: 10

  • Take a shoulder-width grip of the band
  • Hold tight, with the band in contact with the heels of your hands
  • Throughout the exercise, your elbows should be directly under your hands
  • Press the band overhead and lock your elbows
  • Now squat down, keeping your arms directly overhead
  • Go as low as you can with perfect form, then drive back up to standing

Push-up

Reps: 10

  • Start in a plank position, placing hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with the resistance band behind your back and around your palms
  • Bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the floor
  • Pause just above the floor and press back up to the start position

Squat

Man performing a banded squat
  • Loop one end of the band around the base of your foot
  • Cross your hip crease with the middle of the band
  • Loop the other end over your shoulders
  • Squat down with control, keeping core braced and shoulders retracted
  • Drive through your heels, raise and tuck your hips

Triceps kickback

Reps: 10

  • Hold the band behind your back, with your heels anchoring one side of the band to the ground
  • Bring your elbows up so upper arms are parallel to the floor
  • Fully extend your arms with the other end of the band straight out behind your back and return to the start position

Biceps curl

Reps: 10

  • Loop the band under your feet
  • Grip the other end of the band with hands at shoulder-width
  • Hold the band with arms extended
  • Curl the band up to chest height, squeezing your biceps at the top
  • Lower with control

This Mirafit resistance band set has a combination of resistances that would make them ideal for this full-body resistance band warm-up:

Photography: Eddie Macdonald

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