Lateral Band Walks (How To, Benefits & Alternatives)

The Lateral Band Walk is a simple but effective exercise for strengthening the glutes—especially the glute medius—and improving hip stability. By stepping side-to-side against band resistance, you activate the muscles that control knee alignment and hip positioning, which helps with injury prevention and movement control.

It’s a great warm-up, activation drill, or finisher for any lower-body workout.

Primary Muscles Worked: Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Maximus
Secondary Muscles Worked: Hip Flexors, Core
Equipment Needed: Resistance band (loop-style)

---

How To Do Lateral Band Walks

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set-Up:
   • Place a resistance band around your legs—either just above the knees (easier) or around the ankles (harder).
   • Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hips pushed back into an athletic stance.
   • Brace your core and keep your chest up.
2. Execution:
   • Step laterally with your lead foot, keeping tension on the band.
   • Follow with your trailing foot, but don’t let your feet come all the way together—keep tension throughout.
   • Take 5–10 steps in one direction, then return in the opposite direction.
3. Tips for Proper Form:
   • Stay low—maintain a slight squat to keep glutes engaged.
   • Don’t let your knees cave in—keep them pushed outward against the band.
   • Move slowly and with control—no bouncing or dragging your feet.

---

Key Benefits

• Strengthens the glutes, especially the often-undertrained glute medius.
• Improves hip stability and knee tracking.
• Enhances performance in squats, lunges, and athletic movements.

---

Modifications and Variations

• Easier Option: Use a lighter resistance band or place it above the knees.
• Harder Option:
  • Use a heavier band or move the band down to the ankles or feet.
  • Add a pause after each step or increase the number of reps.
  • Perform with a mini-squat hold throughout to increase time under tension.

---

Common Mistakes

• Letting the Band Snap Feet Together: Keep constant tension by stopping short of fully closing the step.
• Standing Too Tall: Stay in an athletic stance with knees slightly bent.
• Knees Collapsing Inward: Keep pressure outward against the band the entire time.

---

Reps and Sets Recommendations

• For Activation/Warm-Up: 1–2 sets of 8–10 steps each direction with light band tension.
• For Strength & Stability: 2–3 sets of 10–15 steps per direction with moderate to heavy band.
• In Circuits or Finishers: 30–45 seconds of continuous steps each direction or back-and-forth laps.

Lateral Band Walk Alternatives

Don’t have resistance bands? Don’t worry, I’ve got a couple of simple alternatives to the lateral band walk that also work glute activation and require no equipment at all.

Lateral Leg Raises

Lay on your left side, hips stacked on top of each other, with your left leg bent and pulled up to a 90 degree angle. Keep the right leg straight, foot dorsiflexed and toe pointed slightly down toward the ground.

From this starting position, raise your right leg and then lower back down, under control, back to the starting position. Complete 10 to 15 reps and then flip to the other side.

Fire Hydrants

For fire hydrants, start on all fours, like a tabletop position in Yoga.

From here, lift your right leg up, keeping the knee at a 90-degree angle and then lower back down to the starting position.

Not the most elegant name for an exercise, but once you know how to do it you have to admit it is descriptive.

Other Glute Activation Exercises

Often I will pair lateral band walks with one or two other glute activation exercises, usually on our squat days. All of these exercises involve using a resistance band in the same position, just above the knees, which makes it easy to transition from one exercise to the next.

Linear Band Walk

Very similar to the lateral band walk, but instead of a lateral walk you’ll walk forward and backward instead.

The key on this exercise is to keep the base shoulder width and the knees pushed out (avoid knee valgus).

Banded External Rotations

Also similar to the lateral band walk, this glute exercise is performed from a more static position.

Start in the same athletic stance as lateral band walk, but instead of a lateral walk, simply let your right knee collapse towards your mid-line. Now push it back out wide. Once you complete your reps for that side immediately do the other.

Banded Bodyweight Squat

The final exercise I’ll share with you is perhaps the most simple. Bodyweight Squats with a resistance band just above the knees is a great warmup movement that gets the blood flowing and can help activate the glutes.

Final Thoughts

I personally suffered through a time when I was having horrible pain in my IT bands due to poor glute activation. How, I thought, could someone who could squat 500 pounds not be using their glutes?

It seemed crazy, but after a couple of weeks of glute activation work all of my pain was gone and I was sold.

Now that you know the proper form, I highly recommend working lateral band walk and other glute activation exercises into your warmups.

Share This