Using JumpStretch Bands for Conditioning

During the off-season and pre-season, the use of strong rubber bands (like the Flex Band® from jumpstretch.com) as an alternate form of conditioning can be a great supplement to your program. Bands are usually very durable, and cheap enough to buy 7 or 8 for your team. You need at least 1 band per every 2 players to get the right type of work to rest intervals in this conditioning program.

I like to use bands in many areas of our programs. We use them in the weight room attached to bars to develop power or unload the lower part of the movement. We use them as a form of stability training for the adductors and abductors during stability phases. And we also use them to condition our athlete by intensifying our agility drills. These drills would work great on the field as a supplemental conditioning for agility type movements.

The Program:
This should be used as anaerobic conditioning for your team.  You will also see increases in functional stability and strength of the hips, core, quads, and hamstrings, as well as an increase in effort due to the new stimulus.

Shuffles: We start with 2 athletes sharing 1 band (Player 1 puts it around his waist while player 2 holds the band a desired tension).  Start the drill by having them shuffle 20 yards, with the player in front trying to pull the other player and the trailing player trying to keep good tension on the band. We will do several sets of this trying to make them work for 20-40 seconds at a time.

Carioca: We will have the players start in the same position as before, but instead of shuffling we will have them do various types of carioca (driving step, high knee, quick feet, etc.).  The athletes should feel not only the conditioning, but also the strength and stabilization that is going on in the hips.

Backpedals:  Try and cue the athlete to drive back while maintaining a good body position (slight forward lean), and to cover as much ground as possible with every step.

Sprints:  Sprint working on good mechanics:

• Elbow drive
• Forward knee drive
• Good leg cycle
• Rhythm
• Powerful strides

At this point you can become creative and mix up each of the drills above to progress the drills into an agility based workout.

Backpedal to Shuffle
Shuffle to Sprint
Shuffle to Sprint to Shuffle to Backpedal
Carioca to Sprint
And so on…

Keep the drills simple and the rest intervals about 1:2 (work : rest) and at very most 1:1  I usually sprint no more than 10 yards with out a directional change. When using the bands the athletes will change the way they run and I don’t want them to think that they are working on running mechanics.  This is pure strength and conditioning.

Scott Moody
Founder, CEO
scott@capprogram.com
tel: 913-851-1862
mobile: 913-269-0770
www.capprogram.com