Banded Side Shuffle: at-home strength training

Strengthen your hip muscles and lower body.

Although this exercise targets the muscles of the posterior hip, it can be used to strengthen all of the lower body.

Begin the exercise by standing upright with the knotted elastic band placed around both legs and positioned between the knees and ankles. Everything else being equal, the further down the leg the band is positioned, the greater the resistance to the movement.

With the band positioned according to your ability, bend slightly at the hips and knees. From this position, take reaching steps to the side. Repeat moving first to one side and then the other.

Supporting your knees while exercising can help prevent injury, especially in the patella tendon (the main tendon under your kneecap).

The GenuTrain knee brace is designed to relieve mild aches and pains. The special Omega pad and compression weave will support your knee while moving, as well as improve your recovery afterwards.

For more advice on staying injury-free while running, try this blog Tips to Get Back Into Running. 

Why you should own a set of resistance bands

Resistance bands work similarly to free weights and provide external resistance that your muscles have to work against. When you’re pushing against a resistance band during an exercise, your muscles have to engage to fight the tension.

The biggest difference, though, is that resistance bands do not rely on gravity the way that free weights do. Instead, you’re working against the force of the band. Which might sound easier, but you’re working against resistance throughout the entire range of an exercise, not just during the portion where you’re moving against gravity.

Resistance bands take up very little storage space, so they are the perfect addition to a home gym or home workout routine. They’re great for warm-ups and for activating your hips before a run. A lot of band exercises make it easy to target your glute medius, a small hip abductor muscle on the outer side of each butt cheek.