From the August 2004 issue of Runner's World
Jumping on the Bandwagon
Why this plan works for runners
Three years ago, Tommy Sheehan, director of strength and conditioning at Columbia University, heard about Movement Training Systems (MTS), a band-training workout adopted by the men's basketball team at Metropolitan State College in Denver. By focusing on building stability, agility, and strength, MTS claimed to provide athletes with a full-body workout that had more direct carryover to their sport. MTS uses high-intensity drills that teach muscles to respond more efficiently with better balance, speed, and power.
Sheehan went to Denver to see MTS for himself, and was so impressed that he decided to test it at Columbia, starting with the men's basketball team. "After four weeks, the guys moved faster, jumped higher, and just played better," says Sheehan, who has since introduced it to the football, swimming, tennis, and track-and-field teams. "The coaches were sold."
Word of the innovative program spread, and others at Columbia joined the MTS bandwagon. "The band workout is incredible," says Gene Schafer, a marathoner and athletic trainer who worked with Columbia's basketball, cross-country, and track teams for five years and now trains clients with bands at ARC Athletics in New York City. "The bands build strength, keep athletes injury-free, and don't interfere with their main activity." Schafer says that the basketball players who used the bands didn't complain of the pain or soreness they had after their typical weight-room workouts.
Athletes respond so well to band training because it's an active way to build strength. The bands put constant tension on the body, which produces a challenging cardiovascular workout.
Also, the resistance provided by the bands doesn't overload joints as can a too-heavy dumbbell or weight plate. As a result, there's less risk of injury, more work that can be performed in a single session, and faster recovery between workouts. "Your knees, shoulders, and back won't hurt the next day," says Sheehan. "So there's minimal impact on your running."
Several of the exercises in the band program require a balancing act?multiple muscles working simultaneously to perform a single move. "The bands work on synchronizing the lower body and upper body, which helps provide core stability, balance, and muscular power?all things that can improve a runner's performance," Sheehan says.
Although MTS hasn't been officially adopted by Columbia's cross-country teams, other runners have found success with it. Triathlete Jim Bolster, head coach of Columbia's men's swim team, shaved a minute off his 10-K time after starting to train with Sheehan twice a week. Since then, several of Bolster's running buddies have latched onto the routine. "The bands provide a great cross-training workout," Bolster says. "It's also less intimidating. I know I'm not going to overextend or hurt myself so I push myself harder than I would using weights."
