RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS

Underrated and underused, resistance band exercises can help you build muscle, improve your flexibility, allow you to train hard at home, and upgrade your workouts. Here's how to get the best results.

The first rule of resistance training: you don’t need weights to create resistance. Whether it’s with bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or resistance band exercises, there are many ways to challenge your body, build muscle, and burn fat.

If you’ve ever thought about adding resistance band exercises to your routine — or are limited to working out at home and don’t have much equipment — you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish without any iron.

How Can You Use Resistance Bands in Your Workout?

Resistance bands can be used for at least four different types of exercises:

• Stretching and mobility

• Warm ups and muscle activation

• Resistance training and “getting a pump”

• Developing the “mind-muscle” connection (learning to better “feel” your muscles working)

Each of these goals require you to use the bands slightly differently, but with each example, you can accomplish quite a bit with just a few bands.

Resistance Band Stretches and Mobility Work

Resistance band stretches can help you overcome the hardest part of stretching — feeling like you are limited by the range of motion in your muscles. You know this as “feeling tight.” (A.K.A. “I’m not flexible!”). Funny as it might sound, the limitation might really be in your head, or in another part of your body.