I did banded lateral walks every day for a week — here’s what happened to my glutes and lower body

Many gym goers use banded lateral walks to get a shapely backside, but strengthening these muscles is important for reasons beyond aesthetics.

Your glutes and hip abductors are responsible for a lot of vital movements like moving your hip joints, stabilizing your pelvis, and maintaining your balance. Keeping them well-conditioned is a must.

My squats and lunges have been feeling a little unstable lately, and I quickly realized that long writing sessions at my desk have weakened my glutes and hips considerably.

Wanting to address the deficit before picking up another barbell, I grabbed a looped resistance band and added banded lateral walks to my workout regimen for a full week. Here’s how it went.

How to do banded lateral walks

You’ll need a looped resistance band and a yoga mat for this exercise. If you don’t have a yoga mat, you can clear some space on the floor.

• Stand at the left end of a yoga mat and step into the center of your resistance band with both feet
• Slide the band up both legs until it sits slightly above the knee
• Ensure that the band is smooth and free from any twists or kinks
• Bend your knees slightly and set your hips back behind you, as if you were beginning to sit down into a chair
• Engage your core
• Keeping both toes forward and your feet parallel to each other, step your right foot to the right side of the mat. Lead with the outside of the foot, and don’t allow the toes to rotate outward
• Step your left foot to the right, following your right foot and keeping your toes in front of you
• Continue stepping your right and left feet toward the other end of the yoga mat, maintaining good form
• Once you’ve reached the end of the mat, reverse the direction leading with your left foot
• Continue walking back and forth until you’ve covered the length of your yoga mat 6 times, or until muscle fatigue

You may also choose to place the band around your ankles, which increases the difficulty of the exercise and requires work from more muscle groups.

I specifically wanted to target my glutes and hip abductors, so I used a moderately-heavy resistance band positioned right above my knees. Here’s what I found after a week’s worth of banded lateral walks.

My hips felt sore and tight for a few days

I woke up sore the morning after my first day, and that was something I didn’t really anticipate. While soreness isn’t an indicator of a “good” workout, it can be a signal that you’ve worked your muscles in a way that they aren’t used to.

I do lower body exercises three days a week, so it was a wake up call to see how extra desk time had impacted my strength and conditioning levels.

By day three, my hips had become incredibly tight, and my range of motion was noticeably decreased. I decided to throw in some additional hip mobility and stretching time, and that seemed to alleviate the issue.

Remember that any good workout includes warm up and cool down time. If you want to try adding banded lateral walks to your own routine, be sure to get a good stretch afterwards.

My single-leg balance improved

I have decent balance, but exercises like single-leg Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) can sometimes be a challenge. It shouldn’t be surprising that I’d been stumbling through this exercise lately, so I was curious to see if the banded lateral walks would improve my performance.

By my mid-week lower body workout,I noticed a lot more stability in my single-leg RDLs, especially on my historically-weaker right side. By the end of the week I was even able to up my weight a bit without negatively impacting my form or range.

You don’t have to be doing single-leg RDLs regularly to get the benefits from banded lateral walks. They make a great addition to any dynamic balance practice.

My squats felt more even

Inefficient squat form was my first clue that something was off, so I was very happy when my squats looked and felt more comfortable by the end of the week. The hip hike I noticed initially was all but gone, and my squat depth even improved slightly.

I’ve always had some issues with knee valgus (a condition where the knees move inward when standing up from a squat). The banded lateral walks also addressed that problem, strengthening my external rotation and keeping my knees more in line.

Good form is paramount for any exercise, but especially if you’re working with heavy weight. Banded lateral walks could potentially prevent injuries due to muscle imbalance and weakness.

Going up stairs was a breeze

Stairs have never been a huge challenge for me, but something definitely shifted after my week of banded lateral walks. I noticed that with each step up a staircase I was able to engage my glutes better, naturally setting my hips back more in order to properly recruit the muscle.

A few flights weren’t leaving my quads burning any more, and I had way more energy once I made it to my destination. I was thrilled to see that my work had transferred into the real world too.

If you’ve been dreading the subway stairs for years, banded lateral walks could make a huge difference in your daily commute.

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched the gym and tried this back strengthening resistance band workout instead — here’s what happened to my upper body
• Try these resistance bands leg workouts for beginners
• Pilates instructor says this standing resistance band workout will strengthen every major muscle in 25 minutes