If you were stuck on a desert island in-between fights and allowed only one piece of training equipment, it would have to be the agility band. With an agility band looped around your palm tree, you could effectively train every aspect of your game to a more comprehensive, sophisticated degree than you could with anything else.
Functional movement is governed by three things; gravity, ground reaction forces and momentum. An agility band will increase the forces of gravity, make you work on your ground reaction time and increase the amount of momentum involved in a given movement pattern. What this means is that as a result of working with the bands, you become stronger against gravity, accelerate faster, more capable of controlling your momentum and deceleration which increases your agility. All of these skills are essential to striking, but also for sound, effective footwork. To hit someone, you have to be able to put yourself in the right place at the right time. To avoid getting hit, you need to be able to get out of there before the attack arrives. This is the essence of footwork and the reality of dictating the pace of the fight.
There are two ways to attach an agility band; one is the hip attachment, while the other is the harness attachment. The hip attachment is the basic method and will fundamentally engage your legs. The harness attachment means that your abdominal muscles become involved, also. This increases the effectiveness of the exercise, but also the stress exerted on your lower back. The two exercises detailed in this article employ the hip attachment. It is best to develop a solid feel for the exercises, as well as a conditioning base, before progressing to the more advanced harness attachment.
Forward and Back
- Set out four cones in a square
- Attach two agility bands together and fix one end to a post. Loop the other end around your waist
- Starting between the first two cones, touch the one of the closest
- Sprint to the second pair and touch, as you would with a suicide run, stretching the band so it is working against you
- Focus on precise foot placement and clean, economical movement.
Backward
Essentially the same as above, but face the post to which the band is attached. Touch the first cone to either right or left and run backward. Touch the cone at the finish of your run and then return to the start.
The scope of this article is limited for detailing all the possibilities for which you can use the agility band. The best thing for a newcomer is, as in all cases, some basic knowledge. There are three planes of movement; saggital (front and back), frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotational). It is essential to train in all three. The previous drills present a basic progression for you to develop your fitness and expertise with the bands so you can begin to see how they develop your performance in the ring, the cage or on the mat. The potential for their application is limited only by your power of invention.
Article by Jarrod Boyle - Pro Fighter & 2007 winner Victorian Heavyweight Kickboxing Titles