James Harrison BandBell®️ Case Study
What Happens When a Point B Nervous System Trains Against Oscillating Load via BandBell?
When BandBell innovator Jim Seitzer reached out to us about this case study, we were immediately on board. It’s an opportunity to explore what happens when an athlete at Neurological Point B interacts with new forms of loading—and we wanted to share it with all of you at Absolute.
Please understand: subscriber feedback continues to be the most valuable loop we have, so after reading, let both us and Seitzer know your thoughts.
Case Study Details
From a Point A perspective—specifically training history and Level of Competition1 —we know that James Harrison has a scaled-up neurological network of absolute strength.
Harrison consistently posts his training, and from these sessions it’s apparent that he is strong enough—meaning he’s operating at Point B Absolute Strength. Add to that his NFL résumé, including Defensive Player of the Year, and it’s clear he represents a neurological Point B athlete.
This distinction matters. As Louie Simmons would say, “What works for a Honda Civic won’t scale to a NASCAR.”
In programming terms, that logic means if a training input works for an athlete like Harrison, it can be scaled down through load modulation and programmed strategically to create potent stimuli for other athletes.
As you watch the training clips, view them through the lens of a strength coach. Ask yourself:
What is happening at the Level of Adaptation?
What’s occurring on the inside—specifically within the neurological network of absolute strength driving Harrison’s outputs?
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Our Working Hypothesis
Oscillating resistance (see videos above) increases information flow through tissue resonance, improving the nervous system’s capacity to generate and regulate force output through the neural network of absolute strength. Over a multi-week period, this produces measurable increases in both force expression and barbell control in athletes already at Neurological Point B.
Give Us Information Flow
Please let us know your hypothesis on the improvements from the first video to the third video.
Jim was a training partner of Louie Simmons when Westside Barbell was a garage gym in the back of Lou’s house. He has an extensive bodybuilding and powerlifting career. Joint specific biological accommodation lead him to innovate the BandBell. He is a wealth of knowledge and he was kind enough to join us for a founders meeting. Check it out below to hear from Jim directly.
Two feedback loops of Point A.
It would seem to me, that the oscillation is excitatory (because of the instability of the bar) for the nervous system, so more neurological output going to the tissues. The increased required tissue tension and force production, leads to biological adaptation, whereby more connective tissue is laid down and more connective tissue is engaged in the movement. As well, more neurological capacity because of the stimulatory effect of the oscillation. The oscillation adds a stimulus to the cells in the tendons, ligaments and joint capsules that otherwise may not be as engaged, which gives more feedback to the nervous system to deal with and produce outputs that can deal with the oscillating forces. This then enhances the function and efficiency of these cells and the communication loop, and can potentially increase the growth of these particular cells, which would also lead to more efficiency in dealing with these oscillatory forces.
Just my guess.
I think Chris nailed it in his response. What I would be curious about is if James used the Bandbell for a particular training block, what would his lifts look like going back to a steel bar. I would imagine even someone with his training history would have a jump in some of his lifting outputs.