360 BANDS®

Resistance / Exercise Bands

I’d like to share something I found that has helped me. I know I’m not the typical long driver. As an older person, I constantly battle with things (that I once took for granted) that age takes away.  A few months ago I was introduced to David Wolfendon, the owner and founder of 360 BANDS®. 360 BANDS® are a collection of resistance exercise bands that vary in length and resistance. There are a lot of resistance bands on the market…and I’ve used a couple over the years, but 360 BANDS® are unique in that David designed 360 GRIPS™ into his bands. Read about 360 GRIPS™ HERE. 360 BANDS® will improve flexibility, strength, agility, stability, and speed

 

Flexibility

I started doing some (very) light workouts with the bands, and didn’t really expect to see any quick results. I was amazed at how much flexibility I gained in a very short time. I first noticed the gain in flexibility at the top of my back swing and in the follow through. My swing felt more fluid…more elastic. One of my swing issues was related to tension in my shoulders. A broken shoulder from motocross accident several years ago along with a stiff back from racing stock cars on dirt tracks has hampered my golf swing for the past (nearly) 30 years.  I later read about David’s concept of creating the “Elastic Athlete” on his website at https://360bands.com. Guess what…it works. At 65 years old, I’ve lost a ton of flexibility and had given in to this being the norm. I have also noticed that I’m losing muscle mass with each passing year. The combination of loss of flexibility and muscle mass can really make aging a (literal) pain! To the right is a photo of 360 BANDS® Spokesperson, Nikki Hawks, doing one of the exercises in my routine. She looks much better doing this than I.

Strength

As I continued to experiment with 360 BANDS®, I added more exercises to my routine, and tried all the bands. I noticed an increase in strength in a short time. So, within a couple of weeks, my swing was more fluid and I felt stronger. I haven’t looked at my club head and ball speed yet, but I know I’m improving….I actually won a couple of events towards the end of the season.  In the set of bands that I acquired from David was one he appropriately named “Big Blue”. Big Blue is the largest of the set and offers the most resistance. Big Blue now travels with me in my backpack….along with one I call Slim Green.  There are many exercises that can be done with just one band. Add a second band and the options are endless.

Agility and Stability

We all know important of balance is in our golf swing…and that importance is magnified in long drive. Working with 360 BANDS®, I noticed, along with flexibility and strength, that my balance was improving. Makes sense. The more control i gained through fluid range of motion and tone,  the more balanced I became. I’m not saying I’ve solved all my swing issues, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m onto something that can help me counter the effects of aging. These same exercises and techniques will benefit hitters of all ages. Here’s another image of Nikki doing an agility and stability exercise

Speed

This is the one I’m most anxious to test. If increased club head speed correlates to increase ball speed, and ball speed (along with other factors) creates distance, increasing speed should be on the menu of every long driver.  Many athletes in other sports use resistance bands to improve explosive speed. Sounds like something every long driver should want to do, right? As I stated earlier, I haven’t checked my swing analytics yet, but I will do so soon and share the information with you. It makes sense that improving flexibility, strength, agility, and stability should lead to improved speed. We will see.

Check Them Out

I believe this product can help any long driver in one way or another….probably in many ways. We plan to include resistance band training in some upcoming long drive clinics. Starting at just $15 this is a no-brainer. They are so compact, you can take them with you anywhere. I suggest putting at least  one in your golf bag.  The 360 BANDS® website has loads of information about the benefits of resistance training. Creating an elastic athlete is a perfect description of the 360 BANDS® experience.

Here’s a video with Nikki doing a variety of exercises using 260 BANDS®