What do you guys think about using elastic resistance (theraband) in training. I got some samples of the bands and I have to “play” with them for I while to decide wheather we are buying it for our kids…
This is my opinion for now:
— Bands are usefull for rehab and prehab movements (auxilary work)
— Bands can represent “strenght training” with kids, but the free weight cannot be replaces
— Bands are usefull for muscle activation during the warm-up or while learning squat (thera band btw knees)
— Simulating sporting movement seems like a bad idea to me
— Resisted running seems like a bad idea too - use the damn’ hills!
— Resisted lateral movements (high speed) like defensive slides with resistance btw knees, or with the lateral pull from the partner is bad idea – it is better to use slow movements like lateral lunges to activate muscles or sled for higher speed work???
“My” kids uses bodyweight stuff and partner squats… they should be heading to the gym this fall! I had some troubles teaching them simple bodyweight squats, lunges, medball RDLs etc… But now they do it almost perfectly!!! I had troubles teaching them to differentiate btw lumbar flexion and hip flexion…
Bands, on my opinion, can be usefull as axilary work, prehab and rehab. I am also carefull for what James Colbert have said, but I am not so exclusive, because some stuff are really helpfull, like doing bw squats with band btw knees—this facilitates usage of glutes medius, and teach athlete to avoid knee buckling…
James, I agree with you, and I know where you are heading… but sometimes resistance “per se” (be it elastic, or gravity) is usefull to “activate” some muscles… you don’t have to be specific all the time — this said, when the hell athlete lay down and press up during comp? So, as Joe deFranco stated — neither one exercise in the gym is sport specific!!!
You mean, connecting lastic bands to waist and ground and doing heigh jumps? I saw it somewhere… can be usefulll I think…
What I have also found usefull for hip flexors is the following exercise (From Shirley Sahrman’ book).
Sit down to chair, knees at hip heigh. Keep back in neutrall all the time, do not allow flexion nor extension. Now slowly lift one knee as high as you can. Keep the hip in neutral (no rotations, nothing, just straight). You can press the knee down with your hands. Use another arm to check low back curvature. Great exercise for isolating iliopsoas, which usually overdominated by rectus femoris -caput longum!
And for hams stretch (or to adjust relative stifness btw hams and low back – erector spine) use the following stuff:
Same position. Extend the knee of one leg. Keep the back stiff — normall curvature. Keep the knee in neutral (no hip rotations). You may have normal lenght of hams, but if it is more stiffer than your low back, then the lumbar spine will go into flexion… Anyway, everything is not corrected by only stretching.
I found those two exercises very usefull and very freakin simple!
And for elastic band… I found that side walk with band btw my knees pretty activate and warm-up my hip. We have just played with the bands in the gym. I think we look like a bunch of gays for the average “gym rats”
for the average “gym rats”