Body Coach's Corner: Lateral Band Walks | TB12

Welcome to the TB12 Body Coach's Corner! Here in The Body Coach’s Corner, we’ll be answering questions that we hear from clients here at the TB12 Sports Therapy Center and on our social media channels. You’ll meet our Body Coaches and they’ll share knowledge that will help you feel and perform your best.

Today we’ll discuss a basic movement pattern that athletes of all experience levels should be familiar with: Lateral Band Walks.

To start this exercise, grab a small looped band and place it around your legs, just above the knees. You’ll want to get into an “athletic position” with your feet hip-width apart, your hips flexed to 60 degrees, your knees flexed to 15 degrees, your shoulders back, your head and neck in a neutral spine position, and your hands on your hips. While in this position, the band is going to put pressure on your knees, pulling them together, or internally rotating you at the hips. We can’t allow this to happen. Facilitate those glutes and externally rotate at the hips, keeping your knees directly over the midline of your feet. “Zip up” those abs — activate them and keep your stomach tight.

Next, you’ll start walking laterally. Make sure to keep constant tension on the band, never letting your feet come closer than 18 inches apart. Try to move at a functional speed of sport. The goal for this exercise isn’t to move from point A to point B too fast or to cover a lot of ground. Instead, the goal is to move your feet quickly, maintain that athletic position at all times, be explosive in the movement pattern, and most importantly, maintain proper knee position throughout the entire exercise.