Resistance band stretching: the best exercises to tone and lengthen your muscles
The resistance band is the home training tool par excellence: it's cheap, it fits in your bag and it opens up a huge range of exercises. For stretching it has one specific advantage over bodyweight work: the resistance grows as you pull it, so the muscle enters the stretch gradually instead of all at once.
Bands come in different resistance levels, and that lets you set each exercise to your own mobility instead of forcing your way in.
5 band stretching exercises for your legs
1. Stretch with legs at 90°
Back on the floor, legs at 90°. Put the middle of the band on the soles of your feet and grab the ends. Pull down until your arms touch the floor.
4 sets of 30 reps.
2. Single-leg stretch with the other knee bent
Back on the floor, one leg bent. Place the band on the sole of the other foot, hold it close to the foot and pull your elbows down until they rest on the floor. From there, straighten the leg upwards, lengthening it as much as you can.
Keep the foot flexed and don't let the knee rotate inwards. Hold for around twenty seconds, then switch sides.
3. Same exercise, other leg flat on the floor
Same as before, but with the resting leg straight on the floor. You'll notice the stretching leg goes up less: that's because the working angle at the hip is wider, so the posterior chain is already under tension before you start.
4. Stretch with both feet together
Still on your back, feet together, band under the sole of both. Pull the band down until your elbows touch the floor, then straighten your legs upwards.
5. Seated stretch
Sit on the floor, band under the soles of your feet, legs well extended in front of you. Pull the band gently towards you and lower your torso slowly. Feet flexed, and keep breathing: if you hold your breath the muscle contracts and you're working against yourself.
When to do them (and when not to)
Long static stretching — the kind with 20-30 second holds, like exercises 2, 3 and 5 — goes after training or in a separate session. Doing it right before a match or an explosive session temporarily reduces your ability to produce force quickly, which is exactly what you need in order to jump.
Before you play, use dynamic, progressive movement instead. Save the long stretching for the evening or for your lighter days.
Mobility and jumping are connected
A stiff posterior chain limits how far you can drop into the countermovement, and how far you drop sets the pushing distance you have available. It's not that stretching makes you jump higher on its own, but stiffness is taking away centimetres you'd already have.
One way to check: measure your jump with the JHP test before you start working on mobility, then measure again after four weeks. It's free, two seconds of video is enough and the video never leaves your phone.
The full manual
The Stretching Bible collects over 50 exercises of dynamic and static stretching, with guidance on when to use which. It costs €20 on its own, and it's included in the JHP subscription together with 12 other programs for €99/year.
If your problem is your knees more than your mobility, the right path is Knee Power (€40).
What's next
Stiffness is already costing you centimetres.
Measure your jump today, work on mobility for four weeks, measure again. It's the only way to know how many you were leaving on the table.
Measure your jump — free The Stretching Bible — €20Also included in the JHP subscription together with 12 other programs, €99/year.
You might also like: stretching for shoulders, arms and hands and stretching in volleyball.
