How to make the best use of LILA Exogen


At Scirocco TF we work with the athletes of our permanent team or the ones that turn to our help for shorter periods on training camps, to help them develop their performance.

The athletes we work with range from the beginner levels up to the international high-performance level and each one comes with their own unique characteristics and training backgrounds.

We observe, analyze and set different levels of goals and tasks to fulfill them and decide the necessary training means and methods for the process. With some athletes, at some point in the process, we turn to one of our favorite training tools; LILA Exogen


What is LILA Exogen?

LILA Exogen is a light wearable resistance training equipment made of compressive garments (vest, shorts, arm or leg sleeves) to which you can attach small fusiform weights (50-300 g) and wear them in different methodological ways while doing physical activities.


Why, how and when does Scirocco TF use LILA Exogen?

A generic training continuum, from the most general types of activities to the most specific ones, is made of a very wide spectrum of exercises, each with its respective training effect and purpose, relying on the individual characteristics and training history of the athlete.

Depending on the way the coach wants to categorize exercises, a movement can be considered a special exercise for a beginner or intermediate-level athlete, but may not be anymore a special exercise for an advanced-level athlete.

This is a fact that independently of the way a coach categorizes their exercises, he/she has to keep in mind when prescribing training to athletes of different levels.

At Scirocco TF we see three main ways or goals for using LILA Exogen;

  1. a wearable load,
  2. the stimulus for a change in the movement sensation, or
  3. a contrast training method to gain enhanced power output in a following exercise or repetition(s).

Coach Jani Ratia applying loads on Hassane Fofana’s forearm.
Coach Jani Ratia applying loads on Hassane Fofana’s forearm.

1. a wearable load

If we would use it as a merely added resistance, we’d mainly use it in more general types of exercises and in that case with relatively heavier weights and more volume of exposure. One example of this could be for example doing lunge jumps or scissor jumps with LILA providing added resistance in different parts of the body.

As is the most general way of using it, therefore we’d use it this way in more general phases of our training year and to elevate the preparedness of our athletes.

2. The stimulus for a change

The use for the second purpose requires a much more deep understanding of human movement. For us, the more specific is the exercise, the lighter the loading would be and much lower the volume and density of its use. If we want to develop a specific sport skill or change part of the technique, instead of jumping into giving conscious cues, we want to dive deeply into the reasons why the athlete moves in a certain way. Often the main reasons for not-so-optimal movements can be found in the compromised functions of some joints of the body, causing faulty, even protective, movement solutions from the body.

Sometimes the complete exercise selection (means) or the way they are used (methods), at times combined with the cues used and/or the way the athlete interprets them, causes the athlete’s kinetic system to produce forces in such a way that not optimal movements can be observed. In each of these cases, giving conscious cues for movement corrections would be in vain or even cause more inaccurate movement patterns.


When to implement the tool?

When all the main reasons for faulty movements are corrected and the athlete’s levers and the kinetic system are free to move in optimum ways, then, we can truly start developing new skills.

It is at this stage that LILA Exogen comes in handy and effective as a tool for skill development. We can work with the athlete performing the specific sports movement, concentrating on a maximum intent, while a light LILA Exogen loading attached to a certain body part(s) is giving a special extra stimulus for the movement and learning process. This second way of using LILA Exogen would mainly take place only when the trainability, preparedness, and readiness of our athletes allow it. 


Hassane Fofana using LILA Exogen as a stimulus for a change.
Hassane Fofana using LILA Exogen as the stimulus for a change.

3. a Contrast training method

The third way of using LILA Exogen would be somewhere in between the two first options. If we use it as a contrast method, the more specific the exercise we look to enhance, the lighter the load and the lesser the volume.

Just a small stimulus for a change in the work of the neuromuscular fascial system is necessary to get higher power output in the following exercise or repetition(s). Also for this third way of using LILA Exogen, the coach has to make sure that the trainability, preparedness and readiness of the athlete should be in place.


Important considerations and useful steps in using LILA Exogen

As with traditional strength training, LILA Exogen has to be used wisely. It’s really easy to add weights to the bar and get over-excited, going full throttle on that route. This can happen with LILA Exogen too.

Whereas with traditional strength training, adding too much weight may increase the risk of injury, with LILA Exogen, the coach has to be cautious with its effects on the most precious and precise skill; the proper sports movement. Coaches don’t want to mess up the timings of action of a talented athlete.

Start with adding very light loads, observe, and take notes.

As with all training, the body has to adapt to the use of different loading, so our strong suggestion is that you make small changes, gradually, so that you give time for the body’s structures to adapt.


Elisa Maria di Lazzaro and Hassane Fofana collecting LILA Exogen after the session.
Elisa Maria di Lazzaro and Hassane Fofana collecting LILA Exogen after the session.

Try it yourself

We highly recommend that coaches try the means and methods they use with their athletes. This might open new horizons in exercise prescribing, as getting a first-hand experience of how the different ways of loading feel and affect the movements, helps in understanding them better.

Communicate with the athletes. For example, knowing how the athletes feel about the different types and amounts of loading in certain exercises, within a single session or between sessions, gives the coach valuable feedback for steering the training process.


Would you like to try LILA Exogen?

Scirocco TF doors are always open. Join us for a training camp or coaching internship to work hand on the product together with coaches and athletes here in our headquarters.

More on LILA Exogen can be found at https://lilateam.com/. Their development team can offer deep insight into methods and use, do not hesitate in getting in touch with them.

In case of interest in purchasing LILA Exogen, get a 15% off on Lila Exogen with the code: SCIROCCO⁠TF. Do not forget it.