QUESTION AND KEY POINTS ABOUT L BANDS
What is the purpose of having the bands?
The bands were created to be more efficient in athletes using their hips, especially with sprinting. As an athlete using his/her legs, the hips are the strongest, most balanced and powerful muscles of the body for positioning, movement and balance. In any jump or sprint, the strength and explosion comes from the hips. You must have full range of motion in performing the movement while moving fast as possible to create the greatest force and explosion. When jumping, performing agility drills or sprinting with the bands on, the athlete should keep as little stress on the bands at all times as to keep all stress on the hips. For the jumps and running that are performed with the bands, the athlete has the ability for full range of motion in the hips while working on the fast twitch muscles in the hips for movement and reaction.
Will the bands make me faster?
If performed properly you will learn how to keep stress on the hips while forcing the quick reaction in the hip flexors and extensors for the movement. If you keep your knees bent without putting tension on the bands while running, you will increase stride frequency in the hips (how fast your muscles will move forward and backward during a run). If you get your knees up in front of you during the run, you will achieve maximum stride length (full range of motion in the hips being able to maximize area covered during a run). The hard part is to combine these two areas for the best results. Some athletes are quick in stride frequency but shorten their stride length while others have long strides with slow stride frequency. The key is to combine the two areas for maximum results. If sprinting correctly with the bands, the athlete will become faster.
How long will it take to see results?
Nothing comes easy, especially in the case of the L Bands. Most athletes will take some time just understanding the positioning and conditioning their muscles need to keep resistance off the bands...easier said than done. The running isn't as strenuous on the muslces as the stances and conditioning drills for the hips, but it takes time to understand the concept and change your way of running. I have had athletes who've mastered the technique in a couple months while others have taken years to perfect. It depends on your dedication and devotion to using the bands with the training manual.
Why do my foot straps keep sliding to one side?
This was a great surprise and addition when creating the bands. If you keep your toes pointed up as much as possible (dorsiflexed) and keep a quick motion bringing the back leg forward during a run without stretching the bands, the foot straps will remain even on both sides. If you are slow with keeping too much tension on the bands or just letting the legs stay behind you during a movement, the straps will turn to one side. If the toes are pointed up during the whole drill it will be virtually impossible to keep the legs straight behind, thus teaching the athlete that quick hit off the ground for stride frequency and stride length. Keeping the toes up will help you think about hitting the ground with the balls of your feet all the time rather than the toes. The hard part about that is the chance that you will want to hit your heels on the ground. Maintain focus and think about what you are doing.
How do I keep the thigh straps from falling?
The L bands are a teaching tool and not a resistance device. I can not tell you how many times I told an athlete that before they put them on and they still stood up after putting them on. They're teaching muscle memory and conditioning for endurance and explosive reaction. The more someone stands with them, the more incorrectly they're using the bands. Make sure you also have the thigh strap all the way up until you can't pull it up anymore ( at the very top of each leg). I also tend to see someone put them on and only have them halfway up their thigh. You want the bands positioned at the highest point on the thigh so that the legs are around a ninety degree angle as much as possible without stretching the bands.
