Monster Walk
Also known as: monster walks, banded monster walk, resistance band monster walk, monster walk with band, mini band monster walk, diagonal band walk
- Primary muscleGlutes
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeCompound · Locomotion
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Quads
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Staying in a quarter squat while stepping sideways keeps the band taut around your ankles from the first step to the last, and that constant tension is the entire exercise. Count steps rather than reps: ten to fifteen in each direction, without ever letting the feet come fully together.
How to do the Monster Walk
- Place a resistance band around your ankles.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bend your knees.
- Take a step to the side with your right foot, maintaining tension on the resistance band.
- Follow with your left foot, stepping to the side to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.
Tip: Swing the arms and keep an upright posture rather than leaning forward into the incline.
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes · Legs
Incline walking and monster walks load the glutes with every step, especially the outer part of the hip.
Secondary
Common mistakes
- Holding the treadmill rails — leaning on the rails on an incline walk takes most of the work out of it; swing the arms and set the incline lower if needed.
- Slouching on the elliptical — keep the chest up and the shoulders back rather than leaning on the handles.
- Big, fast monster walk steps — keep the band tight, the knees bent and the steps short, since the whole point is constant tension.
- Strolling instead of walking — steady walking is easy, but that is the point; keep the pace brisk enough that you could talk but not sing.
Where it fits in a workout
Walking goes at the start of a session as a warm-up, at the end as a cool-down, or as its own easy conditioning on rest days. Monster walks pair well with hip abductions in a lower body warm-up.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Monster Walk in SetGrip
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.