Athleticity™ is the methodology that sits at the very core of the SuperFlex® Bands programs. Back in 2006, I was looking for ways to increase speed and explosion in athletes without having to use heavy weight training in pre-competitive and peaking phases for golf, tennis and baseball.  I was frustrated because the weight training was increasing the likelihood for an injury due to joint compression, muscle soreness and muscle fiber damage. The last thing a competitive athlete or anyone needs is a string of injuries due to over straining especially in sports where they can compete for 20 plus years. An injury to a high level athlete can cause millions of dollars in lost revenue and in some cases can end an athlete’s competitive career.

As the search began to solve this problem I came across a resistance band-training guru who was working with resistance bands called flex bands.  The guru took me under his wing and personally taught me how to use these very unique continual looped resistance bands.  I began to implement bandwork into all my training sessions and began to experiment with the flex bands myself.

As a former high ranked collegiate tennis player, I had a dream to compete on the professional tennis tour but it ended abruptly following three right ankle surgeries during my junior and senior years at University of South Carolina.  For years following the surgeries, my body began to slowly breakdown from the myofascial strain patterns caused by the disfunction of the right ankle injuries.

The cool thing about this design of bands was that I could target any specific area I wanted to strengthen, stretch or traction. The purpose of traction is to apply a force that draws two adjacent bones apart from each other in order to increase their shared joint space. Tractioning also stretches the soft tissue that surrounds the joint.  Naturally a pretty tight guy, I began working the bands by combining all these creative stretches with foot and ankle strengthening and tractioning exercises. The results were amazing and had dramatic effects on my ankle and body. I was able to start to run again and move laterally with confidence and out of pain!  The bands became my way of managing the pain and protecting my body’s weak spot.

Around this same time I was working the bands with Ty Tyron (at the time the youngest golfer in PGA Tour history to earn a PGA Tour card) and Ty said to me, “Dave, I’m beginning to feel very athlastic”.  I had never heard that word or term before but I knew what he meant because I was experiencing the same feelings and sensations.  I began and the athletes themselves began to notice dramatic improvement in their flexibility, suppleness, and explosive speed with a big decrease in muscle soreness. And the amazing thing is that all the improvements happened with less pain! So the concept Athleticity™ was born.

Athleticity™ is developing athleticism and elasticity in an individual and can be accomplished through specialized resistance band training. If someone is said to have a lot of athleticism and elasticity it means they are fit, explosive, physically strong, and reactively agile. They have the ability to easily pick up new motor skills and/or sport skills.   It means that the muscles, tendons and ligaments are elastic and can handle more torque resisting micro tears in the fiber or collagen.  It means they are able to continually develop speed and explosion through fast twitch fiber discharge and fiber recruitment. It means the muscle has the ability to snap and react quickly.

The beauty about the Athleticity™ concept is that it creates conditions for an individual to sustain higher levels of performance for a much longer period of time because of the elasticity effects on the body. It’s joint friendly training and muscle-strengthening techniques add years of healthy function to the body. By adding the concept Athleticity™ into an athletes whole program the results are amazing. A happier pain free athlete will consistently stay with their training programs year in and year out with a substantial decrease in injuries, which often results in a higher percentage of breakthrough performances and championship wins.

Stay tuned with us through the summer, as we will bring you more information about how to develop Athleticity™ through SuperFlex® Band training and how to incorporate these training techniques into your daily athletic lifestyle.

Thanks for stopping by,

Dave Herman