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The Lateral Band Walks exercise with resistance bands is an Athletic level strength training in the Exercise for Better Bones Program.
This exercise targets muscles in the hip abductors and back as well as bones in the hips and spine. In the video I demonstrate how to perform this exercise.
How to Do the Band Walk Exercise
I have broken the instruction for the Band Walk Exercise into two sections: The forward movement and the backward movement.
Forward Movement
Start with a piece of rubber resistance band. This ankle band distributes the intensity. It is very different than when you use a weight. With the resistance band you’re going to have to increase intensity through the resistance of the band.
- Start with your feet parallel to one another and slightly, if anything, slightly pidgeon-toed.
- Maintain a tall posture.
- Hands on your hips.
- Step out to the side.
- Transfer the weight onto the non-stepping leg.
- Step out, drop your toe and then drive it with your heel, bring the leg back in.
- When you step back in, you don’t want to lose all the resistance of the band. Keep a little bit of tension through the entire exercise.
- Step out and bring the non-stepping leg back in.
- Step out, push against the band, and back in.
- With your feet in a slightly pidgeon-toed position, drive it with your heel, one more time, out and back in.
Backward Movement
- We’re going to go in reverse the opposite direction.
- Opposite leg is the driver.
- Push out and back in, push out and back in, push out and back in.
- You don’t want to bend your knees, and you don’t want to lock out your knees either.
- You have a very slight position in your knees where they’re not locked and they’re just very slightly bent.
- But I don’t want a squatted position, so it’s not done in this position.
- You really want to feel it up in your glute knees, and if you do it properly, this is exactly where you’ll feel it.
So that’s it for the lateral band walks exercise.
How to Vary the Lateral Band Walk Exercise
You can reduce the intensity of the Lateral Band Walk exercise by varying the resistance band you use.
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