Dick, I have heard that you have an excellent reputation for training
athletes and powerlifters to new levels of performance. I'm curious, how
did you get started in the training business? When did rubber bands become
your focus?

In 1978 I was the head football coach at West Branch. I wanted the players to train fast with the weights, because that is the way the game is played, and yet they were coming up with neck and back injuries. At that time, the idea occurred to me that maybe these explosive lifts could be done more safely with rubber. It was then that the name "Jump Stretch" popped into my head. Two years later I developed the Flex Bands and Base, with the help of a former football player of mine who was an engineer. A couple of months later I received my patent.

You own a gym that is entirely based on flex bands, could you tell us a
little bit about it? Do you use any other devices at your facilities?


Our gym has a large "rubberband room" with bases all across the back wall for squatting and sets of pipe arrangements on two side walls for doing resisted running drills. The middle of the floor is actually wide open, unless a class is going on, because that's where we do the flexibility routine. There's room for about 30 people to stretch out comfortably at the same time. The other side of the gym has a fully-stocked weight room and cardio equipment. We recently put an addition on the back for warehousing and shipping, and we have a project in the works for a doctor of chiropractic to start doing rehab here within the next month. Roughly 90% of our members train in the rubberband room.

What are the uniuqe advantages of your Jumpstretch bands?

What's most unique about the bands is their versatility and simplicity. We work with kids as young as 10 through high school, college, and professional athletes, and even adults who just want to stay in shape. We use the bands to improve speed, vertical jump, flexibility, and endurance, and even to prevent and rehab injuries.

You have been widely sought after many professional sports team for your
expertise in dealing with sports injuries. Could you describe some of the
success you have had and tell us a little bit about your methods for helping
athletes get over injuries?

The ankle traction techniques that I have developed for rehabilitating sprained ankles get athletes back where they want to be - on the field or court - in hours or days, rather than weeks and months like "traditional" methods that include ice, which actually delays the healing process. My methods are currently being studied by Dr. William Kraemer at the University of Connecticut so that we will soon have evidence to back up my so-called "anecdotal stories". I work with all types of injuries...shoulder, back, knee, you name it! I've worked with former pro tennis player Patrick McEnroe, Chris Maumalanga of the Cleveland Browns and Mark Malaska of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

More specifically, as an example, what would you do to help an athlete with
chronic back pain? It seems almost endemic amongst today's athletes, so
what do you do to work on this problem?

I have a minimum of 40 different exercises to relieve chronic back pain. We start out with come hamstring stretches to relieve a lot of the tension. We do some flexion by lying on the floor with the band stretched from knee to knee across the back. The biggest thing we do to help get the person comfortable fast is to do traction with the bands. We use four bands that are doubled & slip-knotted together and hang the set-up down from our highest level of pipe. The lower two bands are positioned one around the waist and the other across the back. The person then twists & turns & re-positions their feet as long as they want to stretch out and relieve pressure from the back.
I realize this is hard to visualize! Anyone who wants to see it is welcome make a trip out to our gym. Just a reminder, this is not recommended for acute injuries unless a doctor's permission has been received. In December, we'll have the doctor going full-go here at the gym, so anyone is welcome to make an appointment with him or bring a script from their own doctor stating that they are cleared for exercise. Once they have medical clearance, any of our trainers are able to work with the person. I'm out of town quite a bit, but I've got three guys who are just super including my son-in-law and gym manager Carl LaRosa.

I know of a few people that have created home gyms centered around
Kettlebells and flex bands. What do you think of kettlebell training?
Also, do you think combination of kettlebells and flex bands is adequate for
the developement of most athletes?

As far as Kettlebell training goes, I have to be honest - I've never used them. I have no experience with them, other than I know that they are isotonic like barbells and machines. The bands are considered "variable isotonic" because the resistance changes as you take the band through the range of motion. They are extremely beneficial to power lifters, as evidenced by the fact that the top power lifters in the world use our bands!

Power lifters who wish to order bands should do so by contacting Dave Tate of Elite Fitness, an authorized Flex Band dealer. He can be reached at 888-854-8806. For information on setting up a band room or learning injury prevention techniques, call the Jump Stretch Fitness Center at 800-344-3539.