When it comes to your athletic longevity, don’t take chances – use a rubber. According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, doing resistance-band exercises can help bolster neglected leg muscles and prevent injury. Elite soccer players who performed a hip exercise that incorporated the bands were able to strengthen their inner thighs by 30%. “The hip adductor muscles are stressed substantially in soccer and other sports that call for high-speed direction changes,” says Kristian Thorborg, the study’s lead researcher.
If those muscles are weak, the stress shifts to the groin area. Protect yourself by including the exercise below in your workout.
Loop a resistance band around a pole, threading one end through the other one so the band is secure. That’s the anchor point. Stand with the anchor to your right and loop the band around your right ankle. Take a step left (away from the anchor) so the band is stretched. Lift your right leg and let the band pull it toward the anchor. Then pull your right leg to your left so your feet touch. Reverse the move. Do 3 sets of 15 reps with each leg twice a week.
Photograph by Miles Holden/Red Bull Content Pool
