Leverage Band.!?

Jonnyf

Hall of Fame
Has anyone bought/used heck even copied the leverage band, (apparently) found in Bolleterri's Killer Forehand and for sale at the the AP Belt website.

I read about this on Hi-techtennis where Jeff praises it,the band is supposed to assist with the "double bend" idea on the forehand etc. and I just wanted to know if anyone has tried this.?


Thanks

JF
 

tricky

Hall of Fame
The Leverage Band is the device described below:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=16929&highlight=leverage+band

So, yes, it's basically a piece of black rubber tube with small and big loops held together by electrical tape, and it comes with a single sheet of instructions with no pictures. Even for $15 you're kinda thinking "hmm, rather pricy for what it is. I could have made this myself."

But, that said, it and the Wrist Assist are perhaps the single best teaching aid for the WW double-bend form. The first 20 minutes is very awkward, because it's giving you a lot of feedback on what you're doing wrong. As you try to make the swing more comfortable, you'll learning which muscles (primarily the kinetic chain used with "punching") are optimal for the WW. Also, it automatically makes you use the rest of your body to generate power. You not only stop snapping the wrist into the shot, but you also learn how to use your feet to push the ball into the racquet. The timing between shoulder and body is corrected, and finally you learn to rotate the racquet around the shoulder without wiping with the hand.

Initially, it's uncomfortable because the wrist really is laid back through the entire stroke, and you'll want the wrist to warm before practicing with this. Also, the large loop can be a little comfortable if you have even moderately sized forearms. Getting the wrist angle is easy; but you'll need to experiment with mantaining elbow angle so that the swing is comfortable.

These devices are designed to teach the WW with the racquet always on edge. Eventually you'll want to learn the WW form with a more relaxed wrist, but a racquet on edge is a good foundation because you want to make sure you drive into the ball with a laid-back wrist, and not snapping it forward to get around the ball.

It's really worth trying out when you're learning the double bend. Really with one session, you'll know what a WW should "feel" like, and also you can experiment with different finishes without bringing the hand into it.
 

JCo872

Professional
The Leverage Band is the device described below:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=16929&highlight=leverage+band

So, yes, it's basically a piece of black rubber tube with small and big loops held together by electrical tape, and it comes with a single sheet of instructions with no pictures. Even for $15 you're kinda thinking "hmm, rather pricy for what it is. I could have made this myself."

But, that said, it and the Wrist Assist are perhaps the single best teaching aid for the WW double-bend form. The first 20 minutes is very awkward, because it's giving you a lot of feedback on what you're doing wrong. As you try to make the swing more comfortable, you'll learning which muscles (primarily the kinetic chain used with "punching") are optimal for the WW. Also, it automatically makes you use the rest of your body to generate power. You not only stop snapping the wrist into the shot, but you also learn how to use your feet to push the ball into the racquet. The timing between shoulder and body is corrected, and finally you learn to rotate the racquet around the shoulder without wiping with the hand.

Initially, it's uncomfortable because the wrist really is laid back through the entire stroke, and you'll want the wrist to warm before practicing with this. Also, the large loop can be a little comfortable if you have even moderately sized forearms. Getting the wrist angle is easy; but you'll need to experiment with mantaining elbow angle so that the swing is comfortable.

These devices are designed to teach the WW with the racquet always on edge. Eventually you'll want to learn the WW form with a more relaxed wrist, but a racquet on edge is a good foundation because you want to make sure you drive into the ball with a laid-back wrist, and not snapping it forward to get around the ball.

It's really worth trying out when you're learning the double bend. Really with one session, you'll know what a WW should "feel" like, and also you can experiment with different finishes without bringing the hand into it.

Great post Tricky! Good to hear your experience with this device.
 

Jonnyf

Hall of Fame
Thanks alot guys I ordered mine a few days ago, I just need to wait for it to arrive.

Thanks tricky.!
 

athiker

Hall of Fame
Bumping an old thread.

Any other opinions on this device? I've been noticing arm/wrist/racquet angles more on serve, forehand and backhand videos lately, they seem very important, and was thinking for $25 this might be useful for me. I'm mostly interested in improving the spin, pace and placement of my forehand.
 

7zero

Semi-Pro
I looked at the AP belt videos and it seemed to me it was blocking some wrist wiper action - I got an idea that my wrist problems might be due bad technique - trying to generate spin with wrist. What do you think about this aid? Worth a try or it is different thing?
 

Tight Lines

Professional
I looked at the AP belt videos and it seemed to me it was blocking some wrist wiper action - I got an idea that my wrist problems might be due bad technique - trying to generate spin with wrist. What do you think about this aid? Worth a try or it is different thing?

Wow, a 2007 thread. Anyway, IMO, these wrist layback devices definitely work. When I suffered tennis elbow a year ago, my son and I together figured out the source of my problem. Not so great stroke technique. I was muscling the ball too much. When I started to recover, I wanted to play, but was worried about the injury coming back. We looked at all the commercial devices on the market and decided to make one ourselves. If you are interested, you will need to click on my user name and go to my home page. I have links to some really compelling youtube videos that you might be interested in seeing.

The three that I know are: leverage band, WristAssist, RacketBracket. They all work. There are others like angle doctor and volley doctor, but they are mostly for volleys.

The leverage band is definitely worth a try IMO.

Harry
 

Tight Lines

Professional
Couldn't you just buy some surgical tubing and tie some knots?

Yes you can. I use a bungee cord which works well.

The only problem I see is it will slide down the arm. Since you need to practice with it for at least an hour to get the feel of the correct stroke, I would think it may be a little inconvenient.

Harry
 

Bendex

Professional
I have one. If a kid is using too much wrist, I threaten to put it on them, which takes care of the problem. They really hate actually having it on. :)
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
I was researching the Racket Bracket, WristAssist and Leverage Band to use on my wife who's a beginner whom I'm trying to teach to play tennis. I'm a firm believer in teaching locking your wrist as one of the most important and fundamental steps in playing tennis.

Between these 3 devices, I like the Leverage Band the most. I have a friend who bought the Racket Bracket so I have some personal exposure to it. The draw back of it is that you can only use it for a fixed drill because you can't quickly change grips on the fly with it. The other problem is that by design, it requires you to choke up on your racket handle way too much. Doing drills choked up like that is not good because you're training your muscle memory to play in a choked up position.

The Racket Bracket claims that it's better than the WristAssist because it FIRMLY locks up your wrist and does not allow any flexibility/possibility for you to unlock your wrist, like that's a good thing. I'm not sure if I agree with this. As a training aid, I believe the device should not be too rigid but instead should have some play/give in it to allow some flexibility, and let the built-in resistance guide the muscle memory to lock the wrist, but not necessarily lock it up too hard all the times.

The WristAssist is better in my opinion because you can change grips quickly on the fly with it and you don't have to choke up on the handle. The flexible cord design is also an advantage over the hard lock design of the Racket Bracket. The problem with it is that it's ridiculously priced at $70.

The Leverage Band at $30 is the best choice between these 3 devices because it's the lowest price, gives you freedom to change grips quickly, and no need to choke on the handle. I also like the fact that the tie in is on the arm just below the elbow instead of at the wrist like the WristAssist. I believe that this keeps the cord a little more out of the way and would let you change grip more quickly and easily. I also notice it's on sale currently for $25 from $30.

Shipping is $8 for the WristAssist, $9 for the Racket Bracket and $10 for the Leverage band inside the US.

I almost ordered the Leverage band, but the idea of paying $10 shipping for a $25 device like the Leverage Band irked me a lot. So I thought about it a little bit, and I realized that wait a minute, I have an AP Belt that I bought a long time ago. The ankle straps from it are what is used for the Leverage Band as well, from what I can tell. Even the Euro Sandow plastic clips used for the AP Belt are also used for the Leverage Band. Only the rubber string is different -> the AP Belt bungee cord seems to be tighter.

So I decided to just reuse the ankle strap on my AP Belt as the arm strap for the Leverage Band. For the rubber cord and Euro Sandow plastic clips, I was going to order them from Amazon (surgical latex tubing for cord). But then I came across this Nite Ize Knotbone Adjustable Bungee Cord that already comes with the plastic clips and is fully adjustable between 6" to 28" for only $6 on the bay with free shipping. So I went for the Nite Ize bungee cord instead.

The Nite Ize cord is on the way to us, but yesterday I had my wife try out the AP Belt strap with a home made bungee concoction anyway, and it worked out very nicely for her in improving her shots and techniques. The Nite Ize cord is going to make it even easier to clip on and off the racket and also make the length adjustment even more easily when it comes in. And you can take it out and use it as a bungee cord for other purposes as well in a cinch.

If you don't have an arm strap like what I have from an AP Belt already, you can probably look around for a different arm strap that may work instead just as well. There are all kinds of arm strap around meant to wear to help with tennis elbow while playing. Maybe one of those will work just as well in combination with the Nite Ize Knotbone bungee cord.
 
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Tight Lines

Professional
...
The Racket Bracket claims that it's better than the WristAssist because it FIRMLY locks up your wrist and does not allow any flexibility/possibility for you to unlock your wrist, like that's a good thing. I'm not sure if I agree with this. As a training aid, I believe the device should not be too rigid but instead should have some play/give in it to allow some flexibility, and let the built-in resistance guide the muscle memory to lock the wrist, but not necessarily lock it up too hard all the times.

The WristAssist is better in my opinion because you can change grips quickly on the fly with it and you don't have to choke up on the handle. The flexible cord design is also an advantage over the hard lock design of the Racket Bracket. The problem with it is that it's ridiculously priced at $70.

The Leverage Band at $30 is the best choice between these 3 devices because it's the lowest price, gives you freedom to change grips quickly, and no need to choke on the handle. I also like the fact that the tie in is on the arm just below the elbow instead of at the wrist like the WristAssist. I believe that this keeps the cord a little more out of the way and would let you change grip more quickly and easily. I also notice it's on sale currently for $25 from $30.

... But then I came across this Nite Ize Knotbone Adjustable Bungee Cord that already comes with the plastic clips and is fully adjustable between 6" to 28" for only $6 on the bay with free shipping. So I went for the Nite Ize bungee cord instead.

I think that is a really nice summary of the three devices available.

But, when I was designing ours with my son, we tried the Nitize cord and found its cord to be really really stiff without any elasticity. I would be curious to hear your opinion on it once you receive it.

Take a look at my avatar on the left. I think what I made is even better than the leverage band. Clicking on the avatar will give you some additional pictures and hints as to how to make it better if you choose to make it yourself.

Good luck.

Harry
 
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volusiano

Hall of Fame
I think that is a really nice summary of the three devices available.

But, when I was designing ours with my son, we tried the Nitize cord and found its cord to be really really stiff without any elasticity. I would be curious to hear your opinion on it once you receive it.

Take a look at my avatar on the left. I think what I made is even better than the leverage band. Clicking on the avatar will give you some additional pictures and hints as to how to make it better if you choose to make it yourself.

Good luck.

Harry
Wow, Harry, I saw your comments on this thread but I didn't realize that you actually sell the product that you came up with. Had I known about your PermaWrist before, I would have just ordered your product instead of trying to make my own. $20 is VERY reasonable and even the $2 shipping is reasonable as well. In fact, I went ahead and ordered one. Thanks for making it available at such a reasonable price and shipping. You should toot your own horn a little more loudly to make it known that you're selling your product so other people like me can take advantage of it. I think you're doing great service to the tennis community here by making it available for others to buy, and again, at such a reasonable price and also not try to gouge people on the shipping either. If you can ship your product for $2, it's a shame that the other 3 products ship theirs for $8-$10.

I particularly like the fact that you loop the cord at the top of the handle instead of clipping it at the bottom of the racket like the Leverage Band, where the clip can wear out the racket paint over time.

Great videos you posted about your product as well as other stuff.

Also, thanks for the feedback about the Nite Ize cord being too stiff. Wish I had also known about that before ordering a couple of them. But no big deal, I can use them for other purposes around the house. They're not that expensive anyway.
 
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Tight Lines

Professional
Wow, Harry, I saw your comments on this thread but I didn't realize that you actually sell the product that you came up with. Had I known about your PermaWrist before, I would have just ordered your product instead of trying to make my own. $20 is VERY reasonable and even the $2 shipping is reasonable as well. In fact, I went ahead and ordered one. Thanks for making it available at such a reasonable price and shipping. You should toot your own horn a little more loudly to make it known that you're selling your product so other people like me can take advantage of it. I think you're doing great service to the tennis community here by making it available for others to buy, and again, at such a reasonable price and also not try to gouge people on the shipping either. If you can ship your product for $2, it's a shame that the other 3 products ship theirs for $8-$10.

I particularly like the fact that you loop the cord at the top of the handle instead of clipping it at the bottom of the racket like the Leverage Band, where the clip can wear out the racket paint over time.

Great videos you posted about your product as well as other stuff.

Also, thanks for the feedback about the Nite Ize cord being too stiff. Wish I had also known about that before ordering a couple of them. But no big deal, I can use them for other purposes around the house. They're not that expensive anyway.

Thanks for your really nice comments. In TT, no advertising is allowed. So I have to tread very carefully :):).

Harry
 

bradsm01

Semi-Pro
Hello Tight Lines, not sure if your name is Harry, but I am very interested in your PermaWrist. Can you explain why it is better than the Leverage Band? I plan to purchase one until I noticed this thread and might get your band instead. Thank you
 

Tight Lines

Professional
Hello Tight Lines, not sure if your name is Harry, but I am very interested in your PermaWrist. Can you explain why it is better than the Leverage Band? I plan to purchase one until I noticed this thread and might get your band instead. Thank you

Please send me a private email by clicking on my ID to the left. I don't want to be banned from TT :):)

Harry
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
Hello Tight Lines, not sure if your name is Harry, but I am very interested in your PermaWrist. Can you explain why it is better than the Leverage Band? I plan to purchase one until I noticed this thread and might get your band instead. Thank you
It's a great question, and while I'm not TightLines/Harry, I can also try to answer this question from a consumer's perspective who's evaluating both, and not as a vendor nor do I have any affiliation with the vendor, so I don't think I'd risk getting banned or anything.

First of all, the Leverage Band will cost you $35 out the door ($25 sale price and $10 shipping cost inside US). The PermaWrist will cost you only $22 out the door ($20 for item and $2 for shipping).

With respect to the arm band, I think they're pretty comparable. They're both Velcro based that you strap on your arm. I think the PermaWrist arm band is easier to put on by yourself because you loop the velcro strap through the rectangular loop which allows you to pull the strap backward to tighten up the band around your arm easily by yourself. The Leverage Band doesn't have this so while you can put it on yourself, it's harder to get it tightened by yourself once it's in place. You'd almost have to wrap the band around tightly initially up front, and that's a 2-handed effort while you only have 1 hand available, unless somebody else helps put it on for you.

The PermaWrist arm band is also slightly wider than the Leverage Band, which I think will help reduce the chance to slip down the arm due to a larger contact area.

In terms of the rubber band, the Leverage band has the plastic clip on both ends. You would clip one end on your racket at the bottom of the frame (for forehand/back hand) or lower side of the frame (for volleys). This is fine and dandy, but the plastic clip will rub around your main strings and racket frame. I can only imagine over time, the friction will wear out the racket's paint job, and also has the potential to wear out and cut into the string's mains.

The PermaWrist doesn't use a plastic clip to connect to the racket. It has an ingeniously simple design that has a loop which you loop through either one side (for volleys) or both sides (for forehand/backhand) of your racket frame where it meets the handle. This solves the problem of having the plastic clip wearing out your racket's paint or main strings that exists with the Leverage Band.

The tie in points to the racket are different between the Leverage Band (on the bottom grommets' frame area) and the PermaWrist (just above the top of the handle). I personally think the PermaWrist's tie in point is a better location from the stand point that it won't alter the balance of the racket as much because it's closer to the handle. The Leverage Band's tie in point, being at a higher point on the racket, for sure will affect the balance of the racket more, deviating further from the true feel of the racket.

On the end that clips onto the arm band, the Leverage Band has a metal loop to clip on, compared to the soft loop of the PermaWrist's arm band. I think I'd prefer the metal loop but I'm not sure if it really makes that much difference, as long as the soft loop of the PermaWrist is durable enough to last as long as the metal loop.

Obviously the Leverage Band will use a longer bungee cord than the PermaWrist's bundgee cord due to the design. This means the triangle formed by your forearm, the racket and the bungee cord is smaller on the PermaWrist than the triangle on the Leverage Band. The question is which is better to have here? The smaller triangle or the bigger triangle? I'm inclined to go with the smaller triangle because the shorter cord keeps the triangle more compact and out of the way. But more importantly, it should have less "give" and therefore will "lock" your wrist in better than the bigger triangle which should have more "give".

Hope these personal observations are helpful in evaluating the differences between these 2 very similar devices. In almost all aspects as spelled out above, I think the PermaWrist wins out in almost all the points considered.
 
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volusiano

Hall of Fame
Also, thanks for the feedback about the Nite Ize cord being too stiff. Wish I had also known about that before ordering a couple of them. But no big deal, I can use them for other purposes around the house. They're not that expensive anyway.
My Nite Ize Knotbone adjustable bungee cords came today. I tried it out and it's not too stiff for me, there's plenty of stretch in my opinion. Maybe you tried a longer/bigger version so maybe that's why it's stiffer for you, Harry? Anyway, I think it's definitely usable for this purpose. When my ordered PermaWrist arrive, I'll report back on the Nite Ize's stiffness compared to the PermaWrist's stiffness once I have them side by side.

The problem with the Nite Ize is that the plastic clip is too small to be able to hook onto the racket's frame. So what I have to do is loop it through the handle to connect the one end to the top of the handle, a la PermaWrist style, thanks to the design which has a clip on at the cord's end to keep it tidy that enables me to use it as a loop. In this configuration, the plastic clip on that end sticks out a bit doing nothing, but that's OK because it's not in the way of anything anyway.

I'd still recommend people to just get the PermaWrist instead of making their own homemade device. Unless they already have an arm band with a loop for some reason, then for only $6 more, the Nite Ize cord can turn it into a complete device.
 

Tight Lines

Professional
Volusiano,

Thanks for your great comments. For the most part, you are spot on.

Regarding the Nitize, it is definitely stiffer than mine. I found the stiff cord to be a bit uncomfortable when releasing the racket immediately before and after the hit. I would be curious to have your comparison in a few days.

Harry
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
You're probably right about the Nite Ize stiffness, Harry. While it seems fine to me just shadow swinging a few strokes at home, my wife tried it out today and she said that it's stiffer than our homemade cord for sure, and she doesn't like it too stiff. She's the one wearing it and trying it out for real so her opinion matters more than mine.

We'll wait until our PermaWrist arrive to compare side by side for sure.
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
News about PermaWrist?
Is it arrived?
Sorry I forgot to update. Yes, it's arrived and my wife has been using it. Its band is a little more flexible than the Nite Ize band, not by a whole lot but noticeable enough to help make it feel more comfortable if used for a long time.

The PermaWrist band as customized for the device is a lot more compact and better fit than the Nite Ize anyway. I would for sure pick the PermaWrist over any homemade solution since the cost of most homemade solution would probably approach the cost of the PermaWrist anyway.
 

Tight Lines

Professional
Sorry I forgot to update. Yes, it's arrived and my wife has been using it. Its band is a little more flexible than the Nite Ize band, not by a whole lot but noticeable enough to help make it feel more comfortable if used for a long time.

The PermaWrist band as customized for the device is a lot more compact and better fit than the Nite Ize anyway. I would for sure pick the PermaWrist over any homemade solution since the cost of most homemade solution would probably approach the cost of the PermaWrist anyway.

Hi Volusiano, I am glad you liked the PermaWrist product. Thanks.

Among all of the training aids out there, I truly believe the wrist laying back training devices are one of the few aids that actually work. I hope the mods are okay with me listing all of the known devices available on the market.

Feel free to comment on any of them or add to them. They are in order of most expensive to least expensive.

Wrist Assist (www.squarehittennis.com)
Racket Bracket (www.tennisracketbracket.com)
Angle Doctor (www.oncourtoffcourt.com)
Wrist Brace (www.sports-split-step.com)
Volley Doctor (www.oncourtoffcourt.com)
Leverage Band (www.apbelt.com)
Permawrist (www.permawrist.com)
EaziAce (www.eaziace.com)

Harry
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
Feel free to comment on any of them or add to them. They are in order of most expensive to least expensive.

Wrist Assist (www.squarehittennis.com)
Racket Bracket (www.tennisracketbracket.com)
Angle Doctor (www.oncourtoffcourt.com)
Wrist Brace (www.sports-split-step.com)
Volley Doctor (www.oncourtoffcourt.com)
Leverage Band (www.apbelt.com)
Permawrist (www.permawrist.com)
EaziAce (www.eaziace.com)

Harry
Wow, nice compilation here, Harry. I didn't know there are this many products.

A few personal comments:

1. I would not use the EaziAce if they gave it to me for free. Look at how high you're force to choke up on the handle. Way too high!!! And your wrist doesn't even appear to be locked with the contraption on.

2. For similar reason, I don't like the Racket Bracket either. You're forced to choke up on the handle and can't quickly change grips.

3. Volley Doctor: again -> choking up on the handle per the video. But I don't see why you can't slide it down further on the handle?

4. Wrist Brace:
a. I like how compact it is and that it doesn't use a bungee cord so nothing is really in the way.
b. I'm not sure how weird having a strap inside your palm would make you feel and whether it would interfere with your game?
c. And whether the curvature of the brace is one size fits all or not for hands and wrists of all sizes?
d. I'm curious whether this design would cause less fatigue than the kind using the cord or not? My wife says her arm kinda cramps up a little if she uses the PermaWrist for a long time.
 

Tight Lines

Professional
Hi, does the Leverage Band hinder or inhibit your serve? Thanks!!

I believe these wrist layback devices like wrist assist, racket bracket, leverage band and permawrist can help you serve better by setting the proper angle between the lower arm and the racket. To take full advantage of pronation (internal shoulder rotation + forearm roll) during a serve, that angle is very important. First, check out this video by Jim McLennan about serving leverage.


To get that proper racket angle, you need a 2-1 grip where the index knuckle rests on bevel 2 and the heel pad (pisiform bone) rests on bevel 1. See the discussion of this pros' grip here.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...-is-the-pro-continental-grip-for-real.483360/

Pat Dougherty talks about the same grip here, but is less clear.
 

LaZeR

Professional
I believe these wrist layback devices like wrist assist, racket bracket, leverage band and permawrist can help you serve better by setting the proper angle between the lower arm and the racket. ...
Thanks @ Tight Lines ~ is this also your actual experience from serving while using these devices? Thanks!!
 
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Cheetah

Hall of Fame
Theres no 'choking up on the handle' with these things. What are you talking about?? Anyway, I have one... Free to a good home. You pay shipping.
 

Cheetah

Hall of Fame
Well to be honest. I can see why you think you have to choke up because I've seen some vids of ppl and they were choking up. I'm thinking if was because they didn't have it adjusted right for their forearm length and desired degree of wrist lay back. It takes a little while to adjust it just right. I think the one I have is the racquet bracket. I did a review on it here. Maybe you can search these forums. I 'won' it at the battle by the border. I used it for about a month. It was helpful. It definitely does what it says. I got out of the habit of using after a month. I used it again for a day about 2 months ago actually. I think it's worth a shot. It's helpful in my opinion. . One thing that bugged me was that it slips if you sweat a lot. My arms sweat so to use it for an extensive period of time I had to wear a slave on one arm. Maybe some talc powder or whatever would do the trick. Without it I would get like 10 swings and then I had to readjust due to slippage
 
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