If you think about sports that need explosive movements, such as the start of a sprint, or the lunge of a sport fencer, or the backpedal of a footballer–the SKLZ Acceleration Trainer can help you get faster and more powerful in those movements. The basic idea is that the athlete wears a special belt with a ring, and a coach or partner holds a stretch resistance band that loops through the ring. When the athlete starts their movement–sprint start, lateral shuffle, backpedal, etc–the band provides resistance that the athlete must overcome. Once the athlete has accelerated through the movement, the coach can release one end of the band, which slides through the ring and allows the athlete to continue with their movement safely. In the box are the special belt with ring and stretch resistance band, as well as a mesh nylon holding bag and two pages on general use. Note that while this product is ideally used by two people–the first person wears the belt and performs the accelerating movement while the second person holds the band’s handles to provide resistance to the first person–this product can be used in solo training. As an example, one of the band’s handles can be anchored to object, such as a vertical pole. The other band handle would be looped through the ring and held by the solo athlete. The athlete would then perform the desired movement, releasing the handle at the appropriate time. The belt and band are made of high quality, heavy duty materials. The belt is padded in front and is about 4.5” at its widest part–the belt sits comfortably around your waist and does not get in the way of your thighs when you run. The belt includes a metal buckle that, in my use, did not slip. The back of the belt is a simple nylon strap that the metal ring (about 3” in diameter) can slide freely along. The stretch resistance band is also meant to loop through the ring and has a middle section that identifies the middle of the stretch resistance band. The stretch resistance band has two handles that are simple nylon loops–they are meant to be thin so that the handle can move easily through the ring when the handle is released. The stretch resistance band, like a bungee cord, is made to act like a spring–when the athlete moves, the band stretches and provides resistance, and when the band is released, it returns to its original shape. The bands provide a medium level of resistance. To me, the SKLZ Acceleration Trainer is built to last and is designed well for the purpose of training in developing power and speed in accelerating movements. One minor issue is that the box says that instruction videos are included–actually, only a link to instruction videos on the web is included. But overall, this is a durable product that can be a great training tool. Thanks for reading. By the way, if my review was helpful to you in choosing or not choosing this product, please consider clicking on the "was this review helpful" link at the end of this review—this motivates me to write more reviews!
