Top 3 Mini-Band Exercises For Knee & Hip Health

Poor mobility in your joints and underdeveloped stabilizer muscles create a physical chain reaction that inevitably leads to injury. If an individual has poor hip mobility and because of this, cannot properly activate his/her glutes, this places the stress of a movement pattern on the low back. This compounded under load will lead to injury in the future. 

Load upon dysfunction is a dysfunctional load. 

Minibands are a criminally underrated piece of equipment. They are one of cheapest yet most versatile tools you can buy with their return-on-investment yielding years of pain free movement and proper muscle activation. 

They are great addition to warmups before training or any athletic endeavor. The three exercises below will each demonstrate lateral, linear and external rotation of the hip. These movements will properly activate your glutes and the stabilizer musculature surrounding the knee.  

You’ll need a set of mini-bands at varying levels of resistance as each exercise requires the use of two bands.

To start, grab two bands - one heavier, one lighter. You’ll need to find a combination that offers a respectable level of resistance.

Take the stronger of the two bands and step into it, positioning it directly above both knees.

The weaker of the two bands needs to then go just above your ankle, giving you two points of force. 

Lateral Side Steps 

Start by assuming an athletic, strong posture; slight bend in the knees and hips with your chest facing forward. Looking straight ahead, take a step to the side with your knee stacked on top of your ankle. Do not aimlessly reach your foot out as far as possible.

You want there to be constant tension in the bands throughout the whole exercise. This is accomplished by maintaining your athletic posture, never overreaching your foot out or bringing your feet to close together.

Aim for 3 sets of 8 reps - one rep being a complete step with both legs. This means 8 steps to the right and 8 steps to the left. 

Again, ensure you are taking deliberate steps with both legs, and not merely shuffling the follow-up leg; the goal is to maintain tension at all times!

Forward Walks

For this movement maintain the same form as you did for the lateral exercise. This time, though, step forward rather than to the side. 

Again perform 3 sets of 8, walking forward for 4 reps and backwards for 4. 

External Rotation

For external rotation you’re going to start by removing the band at your ankles, as 

This is a stationary exercise so there will not be any stepping involved.

While maintaining the same strong stance we discussed earlier, slowly externally rotate your knee and hip in a circular motion with your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Again, 3 sets of 8 for this exercise. Do 8 reps on each leg to make 1 full set!

You can do these exercises pre or post workout, or really any time during the day. 

Just make sure you get them in. They take up barely any time, and you can’t put a price on the insurance they offer for your physiological health!