Healthy hips aren’t something we usually talk about. But did you know that hips play a central role in overall health and wellness? So, even if your current fitness goals are to get slim and toned, it’s a good idea to strengthen hips, too. If you’re not sure how to do that, you just need to add one simple thing to your workout: a mini band. Scroll down to read more about adding a mini band to your workout as the best way to strengthen hips.

We strengthen abs, arms and legs, but why is it important to strengthen hips? For starters, weak hips make it harder for you to move around. And limited movement makes you more susceptible to back and knee pain, and even chronic injury. No thanks, right?

Luckily, it’s easy to strengthen hips. All you need to do is use a mini band while you do a lower body exercise.

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And if you want to know the best hip strengthening exercise you can do with a mini band, it’s the lateral walk.

According to personal trainer, Darin Hulslander, C.S.C.S., “The walk targets muscles that tend to be weaker or imbalanced in most people. It requires lateral movement, something we don’t commonly do, and works to strengthen so many muscles involved – the glutes, particularly the flute medius, which is the outer part of the hips and is in charge of stabilizing your knee, the hamstrings, back extensor muscles and quads.”

To strengthen hips with the lateral walk and mini band, here’s what you do:

Place the mini band around both legs, at calf height. Stand with your feet a little wider than your shoulders, with a slight bend in the knees, and feet pointing forward. Then, step the left foot to the left, and then step the right foot toward the left. Always maintain tension in the band, with feet pointing forward. Then, repeat on the other side.