How to Do the Lateral Band Walk: Technique, Correct Form, and Benefits

Learn the right way to do lateral band walks. Resistance bands became a popular exercise accessory during the pandemic. All of us were confined to our homes and had to look to indoor workouts to stay in shape.

The lateral band walk is among the many popular leg exercises that are done with the help of resistance bands.

The exercise strengthens the quads, glute muscles, abductors, and psoas muscles. It is effective in developing strength and stability in the legs.

How to do the lateral band walk

To do the lateral band walk, you can use a resistance band folded in half or even a mini loop band that sits around your legs comfortably. You can loop it around your knees to start with, and lower it down towards your ankles as you progress in this exercise and use range of motion.

Here's how you do the lateral band walk correctly:

Stand straight with your feet wide enough to accommodate the resistance band without it falling down. This is the starting position.
Step your right leg out to the side as far as you can.
Keep your right foot as firm as you can on the ground, and shift your weight to your right leg and bring your left leg in toward it, adapting the starting position.
Continue this movement on your right side. Perform 12 to 15 reps before switching to the left leg.

Correct form

Maintaining the right form is important with any exercise, whether it is in strength training or other forms of exercise as this is how you get the most out of it without injuring yourself.

Here are some pointers you can follow to make sure you’re doing the lateral band walk right:

1) Do not slouch your shoulders

Keep your back straight during this exercise (Image via Pexels/Shvets Production)

During this exercise, you may lean forward while stepping out if it helps you stabilize yourself. However, ensure your back is straight even then.

Keep your core tight and do not let your shoulders slouch. You may end up hurting your hip flexors.

2) Do not tilt your hips

Another common mistake when doing the lateral band walk is not keeping your hips level. Tilting hips impairs movement and could cause you to pull a muscle in your hips, thighs, or lower back. And that’s hard to recover from!

3) Do not sway

Stabilizing yourself is important in this exercise. It allows for optimal movement and muscle endurance and growth.

Swaying while doing the lateral band walk does not add any benefit to the development of your strength or muscles.

Benefits

The lateral band walk provides many benefits when performed correctly. Some of the benefits of lateral band walks include:

1) Prevents knee injuries

Knee injuries are commonly caused by weak glutes and quads. Strengthening these muscles will help prevent any possible knee injuries and lead to better movement.

2) Eases lower back pain

This exercise provides numerous benefits (Image via Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk)

Keeping your core stable during this exercise not only strengthens it as well as the lower back.

A strong lower back means less chance of injury or lower back pain.

3) Improves stability and balance

Constantly shifting your weight from one foot to the other with an obstruction such as a resistance band is a great way to challenge your body’s sense of balance and improve stability.

Better stability means better movement and posture.

Now that you know how to do the lateral walk and all the benefits it provides, it may not be such a bad idea to add it to your next lower body routine.

This exercise can even be done from home. Who would've thought resistance bands could be so handy?