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Exercise of the Month - June/July 2007: “Mini Band Walk”

gluteus musclesThe glutes (butt muscles) are a group of muscles that are recruited in the majority of all lower extremity movements.  Exercises where glute recruitment is key include lunges, squats, dead-lifts, and step-ups.  Proper glute functioning has been said by many strength & conditioning experts to be a way to prevent low back pain.  With the majority (upwards of 85%) of Americans experiencing low back pain at one time or another in their lives, enhancing glute functioning can be a great tool to prevent such pain.  A fantastic exercise to start your workout with by warming up the glutes is the mini band walk.  To perform the mini band walk…

  • Start with the with mini band around the ankles slightly wider than hip-width apart mini band walks
  • With perfect posture (shoulder blades pulled down and back, chest out, back straight) and a tight mid-section, begin by extending one leg out and planting it, landing on the toes with each step taken. 
  • Keep the feet pointed straight the whole time, and the knees pushed apart to engage the glutes.
  • The feet should never be narrower than hip-width distance, whether traveling forward, backward, or side-to-side.

The mini band walk can be performed in a linear (forward and backwards in a straight line) manner or laterally (side to side).  A great way to warm up the glutes at the start of a workout is to perform 10 steps forward and 10 steps back (hips/thighs/gluteus maximus) followed by 10 steps to the left and 10 to the right (gluteus medius).  A link for a video demonstration of the mini band walk is as follows:
http://www.bu.edu/athletics/sass/sc-vids/prehab-activation/mini-band-walk.MOV

  • To order your mini band, click on the link for Perform Better, located on the lower left side on the home page of my web site (http://www.pcconditioning.com).

Good luck and let me know how you enjoy the mini band walks.

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