Band-Aids

  Back in 1987, when I was 17 and a junior in high school, my very first job was at a fitness center. I was basically a part time maintenance guy who kept the gym and all its contents clean and in good working order. When I first started there, I really didn't have much knowledge about weight training or fitness in general other than what I had learned in the physical education classes in the public school system. Shortly after I started working there I befriended a fellow there a few years older than me named Troy Culberson. Troy was in fantastic physical shape. I mean like a pro bodybuilder physique. If I remember correctly he had placed in the top 5 in a Mr. Teen Texas bodybuilding contest. Oh....and he loved to fish as well. Through our mutual interest in fishing, we became fast friends. And, it didn't take long for him to invite me, this "out of shape" awkward teenager into his inner circle of weight training partners. Troy and I continued to lift weights together AND, fish together for the better part of a couple of years. Unfortunately, we lost touch as I started college and he entered law enforcement, but I have never forgotten the good times we had together, both in the gym and on the water, or the importance of all aspects of resistance training that I learned under his watchful eye. 

 Throughout the years I have implemented some form of weight training in my life, as often as was possible. Throughout the last decade however, steady access to the proper infrastructure has been intermittent at best. Last year I purchased Jackson a nice weight set up for Christmas, and we have since been using that regularly to get into better physical shape. Recently however, I began doing some research on ways to implement some angling-specific training, and the subject of resistance bands came up. I had always been aware of their existence but hadn't ever bothered to implement them into a steady training routine. I know I am probably a latecomer to the resistance band party, but let me tell you, these things are a GAME CHANGER for me, for three reasons.

1. They are cheap
2. They are highly portable
3. They are extremely effective (for a VERY long list of reasons)

  Not only are you able to initiate a very effective and robust routine with resistance bands, but because they do not rely on moving a fixed mass against the force of gravity, they open up a whole new world of angling-related functional exercises. Aside from all of the basic free-weight movements like squats, presses, pulls, etc...that can be mimicked with resistance bands, one can also engage in fly casting specific motions designs to target a specific muscle or group of muscles such as the rotator cuff complex of the shoulder and/or the tricep/forearm/wrist complex in the arm. And the beauty is that these can be done virtually anywhere at any time. Additionally, the versatile and creative use of resistance bands is a nice way to break up a monotonous free weight routine.

  There are tons of resistance band exercises and routines on youtube, and most of them are really good. And, with a little research and creativity, you'll soon be coming up with all kinds of ways to use these unique tools to not only develop a better level of overall health and fitness but to also help develop those casting specific muscles that are so vital to keep in top shape so we can continue to play this great game well into out 50s, 60s and beyond!

Hope you're all staying safe and healthy!

Andy