Explode with a little band aid

Training equipment often comes with outlandish claims about increased performance – as FFT finds out every month.

But when half the NFL, NBA and MLB start using a product, you know there must be something good going on – and footballers are the latest group of athletes to cotton on to the benefits of Vertimax.

The resistance-based training system aims to develop explosive power, using bands that retract into a specially designed system, so they don’t go slack like conventional versions.

“It’s extremely good at giving players strength and speed that provides an edge in matches,” says Fabien Richard, a FIFA-qualified personal trainer who uses Vertimax with Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba.

“The Americans have seen this and now it is growing in European sport. Yohan and Demba have systems at home. Yohan says it has given him an extra five per cent power, while Demba ties the bands around his waist and practises twisting. It has made him much stronger when turning and shaking off opponents.”

Vertimax is particularly renowned for getting athletes to jump higher, by maximising both leg strength and arm swing velocity: invaluable for footballers as much as basketballers.

Costing around £2,000, it has already been adopted by Manchester United, Celtic, Arsenal and AC Milan.

Click here for a resistance band workout that doesn’t require a Premier League wage