Not only that, if it’s lower on the hips, it can’t shift down and throw you off mid-sprint.
Great info guys. I had a hunch that was it but, I did not want to start talking shit to people without knowing the reasoning behind it.
the reason I asked was because, I have an old USA Track Technique it has dennis mitchell in the blocks on the cover. Anyways the article has a protocol for core training. One of the exes were that you could pull a sled with the belt around your bellybutton to really “work” your core. I never liked to do this with people b/c of fear hurting someones low back.
When using the exerciser, do you have it attached to a wall or can the coach hold the main unit? Will they get pulled off balance?
Although it would be best to atach itto a solid point, this isn’t always possible. With the lower tensions we use, it should be fine to hold it steadily in your hands. I’ve done it many times.
Hi,
I finally got hold of an Isorobic Exerciser and 50m of 5mm rope but I am having a few problems:
The rope keeps getting twisted and locking up as it passes through the exerciser. When this happens anyone holding it has thier arm yanked off and it can’t be too good for the device either!
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How do others preven this?
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What kind of rope do you use? How thick?
Cheers,
TC
I use a soft nylon rope that seems to work well. I’ve never had any problem with it getting stuck. I couldn’t say for sure what size it is, but it’s probably 3/8" x 40 yards.
I’ve only used mine attached to a fence, which works well.
One other tip: get a spooling device to make it easy to deploy and pack up quickly. I had a lot of problems with tangles until I got the spool. I got mine in the electrical section of a hardware store – it’s really designed for electrical cord but works great for the isorobic rope.
I bought a dog tie out steak from home depot.It looks like a giant cork screw and you screw it into the grass at the top of the 100m. I usually straighten out the rope and lay it out on the track then I start using it.
Thanks for your input!
I don’t think my rope is soft enough. It is pretty hard (not like the stuff in the device when i got it). I think softer rope won’t twist as much.
Spooling! Well I can’t find a spooling system anywhere so I went and bought a small hose pipe cart. It works very well and keeps the rope in perfect condition. I will look around for a smaller spooling system.
Anyone else have any advice?
I probably should have added that you take the exerciser off the spool before using it. Wouldn’t want anyone trying to use it off the spool – though that should be fairly obvious.
The dog tie down is a great idea if using this on grass!
I lay the rope out straight on a small angle on the ground. Walk or jog to the end, unhook the rope and walk back to the start.
A word of wisdom: Don’t lay the rope out straight where you are running!
You’ll end up like a charging dog that does’nt know how long his backyard chain is!
The only problem I encountered was using the device on indoor turf. The rope tends to “stick” to the “grass” and not slide smoothly. But this didn’t seem to effect how the athletes ran.
I just got mine from ebay for 18 bucks.
It came with no directions or anything, does any one know of any tutorials on how to use it. thx
Great price! I think you already have the CFTS. There is a section in there about its use.
with an isorobic exercise, would you use the same workout you did like you used on a sled?
If anchored properly, you can use the Isorobic with starting blocks, as it can release the line above the blocks. Same for the old Excellerator. It’s not possible with a sled which will hit the blocks.
Could you make the sled higher and wider to clear the blocks?
Problem is the sled might not track exactly straight and the line might hang down and catch the blocks. Either would be potential for disaster.
You can use the isorobic with blocks but there is a little slack at starting. Also be careful the line does not catch or twist when going through the device, it isn’t that nice to be pulled to a stop or to have your arm yanked off if you are holding it by hand. From personal experience i would use it anchored to something.
At what height would you anchor it, or would it be better to create a variable hight anchor?
I only had one anchor point availible and it is about 1m off of the ground. There is a lot of trail and error involved. While the device works great it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to use straight away you will need to experiement.
At the risk of giving away my age…grin…this originally was the Apollo Trainer (circa 1960’s) I have two in the original packaging. They were designed to be used in a weightless environment (space missons) and the device has adopted a variety of names since. The most popular being the Exer-Genie…just goes to show you when you think you’ve got something current and cutting edge…it’s all ready been done !
Train SMART…not hard ~~~