How many reps of banded quadruped hip CARs should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with the lightest band available for 3 to 4 slow circles in each direction per side. Once the circle stays smooth and even against that band, move to a heavier one rather than adding a lot of extra reps.

What can you do instead of banded quadruped hip CARs without a band?

The plain quadruped hip CARs version in this same routine trains the identical pattern without any equipment, just with less resistance at the end ranges. A partner gently resisting the knee by hand through the circle can stand in for the band in the meantime.

What do banded quadruped hip CARs add, and when should you skip the band?

The band adds strength at the end ranges of hip rotation on top of the mobility work, which suits athletes and lifters preparing for heavy lower-body training. Skip the band, and use the plain version instead, until the bodyweight circle is smooth and controlled, since resistance on a shaky pattern just reinforces poor control.

Intermediate

Banded Quadruped Hip CARs

Controlled articular rotations map and strengthen the very edges of a joint's active range. Doing hip CARs in quadruped keeps the pelvis stable and lets the working hip trace its full circle, while a light band adds resistance that builds strength at those end ranges. It is joint prep and rotator strength rolled together, useful before heavy lower-body work.

Equipment: Band
Body part: Glutes
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Maximus

How to do it

1
Set up on hands and knees with a light band looped around the working thigh and anchored to the side.
2
Brace the trunk so the spine and pelvis stay completely still.
3
Lift the banded knee out to the side into abduction against the band.
4
Sweep the knee forward and up, then rotate it through toward the midline.
5
Continue tracing a slow circle by extending the hip back and returning to start.
6
Complete the reps in one direction, reverse the circle, then switch legs.

Tips

Move slowly and keep maximum tension through the whole circle.
Do not let the low back arch or the pelvis rock to chase range.
Keep the band light, this is about control at end range not brute force.
Own each portion of the circle, pausing where the range feels weak.

Variations

Common mistakes

The band anchor sits too far forward or back, so its pull fights the circle unevenly instead of resisting smoothly through the whole range.
The knee straightens slightly as it sweeps forward, turning part of the circle into hip flexion helped by the quad rather than a pure hip rotation.
The support arms cave inward as the band tension builds, narrowing the quadruped base right when it needs to be most stable.
The band gets allowed to snap the leg back through the circle instead of being controlled with the same tension as the working phase.

Frequently asked

How many reps of banded quadruped hip CARs should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with the lightest band available for 3 to 4 slow circles in each direction per side. Once the circle stays smooth and even against that band, move to a heavier one rather than adding a lot of extra reps.
What can you do instead of banded quadruped hip CARs without a band?: The plain quadruped hip CARs version in this same routine trains the identical pattern without any equipment, just with less resistance at the end ranges. A partner gently resisting the knee by hand through the circle can stand in for the band in the meantime.
What do banded quadruped hip CARs add, and when should you skip the band?: The band adds strength at the end ranges of hip rotation on top of the mobility work, which suits athletes and lifters preparing for heavy lower-body training. Skip the band, and use the plain version instead, until the bodyweight circle is smooth and controlled, since resistance on a shaky pattern just reinforces poor control.

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