Compulsive Speed L-Bands
Note: Should anyone be interested, this was retrieved from the old homefitnessequipment.org website (via archive.org)
Condition and train muscles to exert maximum effort. Bands help athlete remain
in an efficient running position while using leg muscles to generate force and power
during a run or an agility drill. Adjustable nylon straps; thigh straps close with Velcro.
Rubber tubing provides resistance. Includes instructional manual. Sizes: S, M, L,
XL, XXL: Color: Black. Wt. 2 lbs.
Compulsive Speed started as Black Lion Strength & Speed with training
athletes in balance, control, explosion and mental focus. After years of training
while honing the teaching and coaching skills with the athletes, Black Lion Strength
& Speed has developed into Complosive Speed that involves many levels of athletic
performance that include: specific speed training that is unique and effective with being
an explosive athlete, an in-depth training program working on speed, explosion,
balance, control and core strength, selling the patented L Bands, recruiting evaluations
to help college coaches and high school achieve the goals of making university/college
sports programs the best possible and finally bringing all art enthusiasts the possibility
of enjoying personalized sports & landscape works of art.
L System History
During my playing days in college, I was introduced to video analysis with practices
and games. I caught my first glimpse of my incorrect running form while watching
others in my same position move much more quickly and agilely. I noticed they were
all lower to the ground while not letting their legs stay behind them thus putting
great emphasis on the hip flexors for knee drive and fast turnover. All in direct
contradiction to what I’d been taught.
I knew the two major areas for increasing speed were stride length and stride
frequency. Stride frequency was an easy concept , you just had to move the legs
faster but what about stride length? Across the board it seemed that driving the
knee out in front you with the hip flexors would achieve full stride length. What was
going to go past that would be the conditioning of the muscles to “explode” into the
leaping motion to stay in the air longer and increase the distance with each jump.
By keeping the knees bent at all times I was eliminating wasted distance in the
back and having a quicker turnover with the knees coming out as far in front as
possible with emphasizing the hip flexors once again. I started to understand
what people meant when they referred to a sprint as floating on the surface. I
had a soft hit on the surface while rotating the legs at a fast rate. I couldn’t hold
the sprint for long and thought that this would be my full sprint speed when I needed
to kick it in.
With that in mind, I practiced transitioning into the position during a normal
run when I was more upright and it worked!
Now all athletes who train go through the system’s principal while combining
all aspects of training.
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS FOLLOW UP A DRILL WITH THE BANDS
DOING THE SAME DRILL WITHOUT TO WORK ON THE MUSCLE
MEMORY OF THE ATHLETE WHEN IN COMPETITION!
A Brief Synopsis of the L System Research
For balance, the body uses a principle called reciprocal inhibition which means
if one muscle is weak compared to its counterpart, then the body is only as strong as
its weakest muscle in that joint. With sprinting, the hip flexor muscles are weaker than
the buttock and hip extension muscles. This means that the body can run only as fast
as the strength of the weakest muscle. In sprinting, the action of the leg pushing off is
labeled the thrusting leg. The action of bringing the leg forward to thrust again is
labeled the recoiling leg. The study above shows you can only run as fast as you can
put your leg out in front of you. The graph shows an actual sprint of five seconds
and how hard each leg is working. Though the sprint starts out with the thrusting leg
working harder than the recoiling leg, the recoiling leg reaches its maximum ability to
accelerate, which dictates the runner’s maximum velocity. Strengthen the body’s ability
to recoil the leg and save the energy in the thrusting leg, you can achieve a higher
running velocity. Shorten the leg for more speed! In physics a shorter lever always
generates more speed than a longer lever.
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.
PATENTED L BAND SYSTEM
L-Band Sizing
You should measure yourself before selecting which size you would like to buy.
We can also manufacture custom sizes upon request if the numbers below do not
work with your body type.
Small L Bands (general fitting is from 5 foot 2 inches in height and below):
Foot strap (circumference around arch of foot) Largest-13″ Smallest-9″ Thigh strap (circumference around top of hip flexors)
Largest-22″ Smallest-9″ Length from high
hamstring (below gluteus maximus) to heel Longest-9″ Smallest-4″
Medium L Bands (general fitting is from 5 foot 8 inches down to 5 foot 3
inches in height):
Foot strap (circumference around arch of foot) Largest-15″ Smallest-11″Thigh strap (circumference around top of hip flexors)
Largest-26″ Smallest-13″ Length from high
hamstring (below gluteus maximus) to heel Longest-13″ Smallest-8″
Large L Bands (general fitting is from 5 foot 9 inches up to 6 foot 2 inches in
height):
Foot strap (circumference around arch of foot) Largest-19″ Smallest-15″Thigh strap (circumference around top of hip flexors)
Largest-30″ Smallest-17″ Length from high
hamstring (below gluteus maximus) to heel Longest-17″ Smallest-12″
X-Large L Bands (general fitting is from 6 foot 3 inches up to 6 foot 8 inches
in height):
Foot strap (circumference around arch of foot) Largest-23″
Smallest-19″Thigh strap (circumference around top of hip flexors) Largest-34″
Smallest-21″ Length from high
hamstring (below gluteus maximus) to heel Longest-21″ Smallest-16″
XX-Large L Bands (general fitting is from 6 foot 9 inches up to 7 foot 2 inches
in height):
Foot strap (circumference around arch of foot)
Largest-27″ Smallest-23″
Thigh strap (circumference around top of hip flexors)
Largest-38″ Smallest-25″
Length from high hamstring (below gluteus maximus) to heel
Longest-24″ Smallest-20″