My Favorite Monster: How the Banded Monster Walk Can Help Your Knees (and Your Butt)

You are Not a Monster. (But, Maybe Your Squat Form is.)

The scariest thing in the world: watching the knees collapse in during leg squats, lunges, deadlift, etc. Well, maybe not the scariest thing in the world, but it’s definitely up there. Especially if you want to be able to use your knees in the future.

The Banded Monster Walk exercise is dynamite for protecting your knees. It does this by charging up some of the external rotators of the hip (e.g., your butt) and bringing your knees into correct alignment. This makes your body more efficient, helping you move better, avoid injury, and helps your buttocks look spectacular.

Check out the video, but the key points are to start with the band above your knees, and as that becomes easier you can start to lower it below the knee, and eventually down to your ankles. Think about hinging at the hips and pushing your buttocks back. Try to keep your shins vertical, and keep extension in your spine. You can do long strides or short ones; try to mix it up. Remember to do equal reps for both legs, and be sure to measure your distance; if you can go 30 feet in 10 steps to your right, and only 20 feet with 10 steps going to your left, you’ve got an imbalance you will need to get checked out.