BodyBlitz Fitness Solutions

The Geek

I am a self program fitness gadget geek, I love anything that I can tinker with so that I can improve my understanding of performance development.

I rely on gadgets mainly because it is useful and can help track performance while improving my understand of how I can improve my training program and planning.

Currently I have many gadgets that I use and will not stop investing in them. Yes, it is an investment if you know how to use the gadgets to your advantage.

The Gadgets

The current array of gadgets that I use is as follows -

• BodyMedia Gowearfit/Bodybugg
• Casio Mudman digital wrist watch
• Gymboss Interval timer
• Sansa Clip+ MP3 player

These are relatively inexpensive gadgets to use to track your performance and allowing you to outsource your responsibility with regards to time keeping and focusing more on training itself.

My next investment will be on a GPS watch by Garmin which will record my distance and pace for any distance related activity.

Technological Edge

Why I use gadgets is because I train alone most of the time, I do not have a training buddy and also I have the freedom to train anytime I want and still able to analyze data that I can record.

Lets break down the gadgets and see what they do -

Bodymedia Gowearfit -

Have you ever wondered how many calories you burn while playing with your kids? Or how active you really are over the course of a week? Now you’ll know – with BodyMedia^® FIT, the clinically proven system that turns your body’s everyday information into a tool to help you manage a healthy lifestyle.

Simply wear the BodyMedia Armband during the course of your day, then log onto your personalized BodyMedia FIT Activity Manager. You’ll get accurate, easy-to-digest information about the calories you’ve burned, plus a calorie consumption calculator and tips for how to best reach your fitness and lifestyle goals.

The BodyMedia FIT System also measures sleep duration and efficiency – so that you can begin to understand the influence your bedtime has on your overall health.

The bodymedia Gowearfit is a very useful device to track caloric expenditure and how your daily activity measures up to, it is a very valuable insight into your everyday life and how each exercise activity burns calories.

As such, I won’t say that it is a needed tool but a very useful one if you’re interested to invest to look into “what you believe to be the best exercise for fat loss” to be. Also it allows you to see if you’re consuming enough calories for bulking stage and if you’re NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenics) is eroding your daily caloric intake to meet your goals.

It also gives me a chance via the display to see how many steps I have to take in order to meet my daily activity rate so that I know roughly how much I have to move to get a certain amount of calories burnt a day.

It gives me consistency though it is not 100% accurate but at least something to fall back on and adjust from there.

Casio G-shock Mudman Wrist Watch

Casio makes very good watches, well engineered and very robust against abuse.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve knocked my watch against the wall or the amount of sweat that has been poured on to the watch.

So far I’ve been using this watch for the past 3 years and it hasn’t even broken down nor has the rubber strap disintegrated yet – this is notwithstanding that I’ve not changed the battery yet.

That said, this is a very useful tool for me as it has a dual stop watch and a count down timer. The one thing I like about the watch is the count down timer feature which beeps 1/2 way of your time – i.e 1 minute into your 2 minutes count down, and the next feature that is cool is that it has the count down beep at the last 10 seconds.

Very useful for doing intervals or when you want pace yourself doing distance runs/swims.

So far one of the best investments to date.

Gymboss

The Gym boss is an interval timer which helps you count up and count down interval set.

It is cheap and extremely easy to use – once you get past the setup part, just press start it’ll automatically count down your intervals.

Although many watches have this feature, it is very troublesome to press the small buttons on your watch plus try to fiddle around with it on your wrist while doing an activity.

Simply press start and start your activity and then tune yourself to the beeps or vibrates or both.

This is the extremely useful feature, the beeping and vibration. Tactile cues is good for people like me who listen to music to focus on the task at hand, this allows the user to focus 100% without the need to keep checking the display.

Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player

The clip+ is an extremely durable and small foot print player with extremely good sound.

Used by audio enthusiast and exercise crowd, it is a great tool to store music and listen to on the go, be it at the gym or on a run.

Simple just clip the Clip+ on to your shorts and start your activity.

Why you need to outsource

The whole point of delegating your responsibility is to free up unnecessary distraction that can be filtered out.

We are bad multi-taskers, and it is not a good thing when you want to do the best you can with your physical limit.

Ever tried brushing your teeth, wearing your pants and replying an email?

Well we don’t need to do it to find out the answers because it just won’t end well.

Multi-tasking is only done when you have no choice, so don’t do it when you’re trying to achieve a goal.

Other than just visual and audible cues which we are so useful, tactile cues allow us to open up more “bandwidth” to process information.

We live in a technological age now, and mass production makes this kinda “tweaks” to your training life cheap and inexpensive to use.

It is an investment, and can be one that brings your training to the very next level. Also apart from that, you can record data to analyze what is bringing you down towards your progress.

I had a dream, the dream of owning a top notch facility with all the equipments that you see in the modern ones in the US. All the cool contraptions and device for testing, the amount of free space in their warehouse gym. It is just a sight to behold.

However I was jaded that I could never have the chance to play with the weights like how the people across the globe did, my dream became less optimistic.

The only time where I found it decent was when I was working in the now defunct Optimum Performance gym. But reality has made it such that  Singapore Sports Council was okay, but the freedom that is lacking there is seriously a drag to work with. The only other place which I thought was great was at woodlands, at Republic Polytechnic. Dumb bells going up to 50kg, bumper plates with a spin bar, a great platform to train with and lots of space without much crowd.

The main draw for me was that it had a Kaiser Functional Trainer, which is driven by air pumps. The  other best place to be lifting in a old skool manner would be Singapore Weightlifting Federation which has quite decent equipment and a whole lot lesser rules. All in all there are great places but non of them are really accessible to me due to my location and work schedule.

Home gyms are great and are also a seriously affordable investment but the problem is the lack of space and living in a HDB doesn’t really cut it to do such things. However reality is such, there is no perfect environment to train in and basically you have to make do with what you got. I was dealt this lesson when I left a gym to work for myself, condominium gyms were quite badly equipped and most of the things I’ve learned using barbells and proper dumbbells all went out of the window.

Sometimes all I had to work was with this, and seriously I was stumped. I would stare at it with bewilderment as I sometimes have no clue what to do. So one day, I decided that I just needed to go back to the basics. No cutting edge equipment, as ghetto as it can be and to make do whatever I can with whatever I could find.

I surfed the web for many Ideas on bodyweight training, there were a few but nothing really convincing. Then I chanced upon Ross Enamait’s Never Gymless which was a great resource to work with and draw inspiration upon. My further understanding of bodyweight work was with Coach Sommer’s Building a Gymnastic Body, it was all good resources to rely upon.

I went on to purchase my gymnastic rings and to me was the most sensible investment as a training tool so far. It packs up quite compactly, its not too bulky to lug everywhere and for $80 bucks shipped… I can’t find any tool other than the jump rope to match it’s return of investment.

Anyway my transition to a more basic and minimalist approach got me thinking about my training philosophies, and I can’t help but to realize that I’ve became an equipment/fitness atheist. This sudden enlightenment was further enhanced with clarity from reading two articles by Bill Starr and Dan John.

Everything works, some better than others in some aspects of training but not everything is a perfect tool. Buying a power drill to hammer a nail isn’t the best of choices. Yet some people are extremely dogmatic with their approach, believing that is a one size fit all program or a one tool fit all thing.

Fitting square pegs into round holes is just plain ignorance and yet there are many people who doing that.

So my dreams were smashed and reality was a killjoy. However it didn’t stop me from discovering new things, allowing me to be more versatile that ever. The take home point is this, reality is a bitch, suck it up and get with the program.

You can train anywhere, with anything and with anyone. It may not be optimal but you can make it work with enough dedication and creativity. And in the words of the wise Dan John, “don’t get suck it.”

Jump ropes is an effective tool for conditioning that often is overlooked by many. It is simple to use, fun and effective not to forget cheap to purchase.

Jump rope can be used by anyone, anywhere to do your conditioning and all you need is a simple lift landing or ample space to do it.

I’ve been using Jump rope for my conditioning and my clients as it also helps with more awareness of space and coordination of the foot work. Although jumping rope is usually associated with boxing you can get a nice caloric burn from using it as with recording of the GOWEARFIT.

Jumping rope also raises your heartrate faster than most things I’ve tried and the impact is not as bad as running or jogging which is why I like it very much. This is a great alternative to traditional treadmill work for road warriors and cardio bunnies who would like to change up their routine or have no time to go to the gym.

However do not just buy any jump rope you see in the stores – I’ve bought two readily available and yet they disappoint me.

The Kettler one which retails for $9.90 handle is too big, the rope is not that fantastic because its quite stiff and kinks easily. Adjustment is a pain because they glue the edges to the caps, so you’d have to either break the glue and tape it up or tie a knot to shorten it.

The Reebok one which retails for $12.90 handle is just nice, but the rope is utter crap. It gets stiff and kinks up which makes it quite frustrating to use as you’d spend more time try to straighten it up. The adjustment clip broke off after 6 weeks of use and i’d have to use tape to fix it.

I’m hoping the next one from Skipping.sg will not disappoint me because I do not wish to import one in just to jump ropes…

I recently purchased a pair of rings from Gymnast bodies which is run by Coach Sommers, I took some time to choose my investment because it is something worth spending a little bit more money on.

This is what I’ve gathered so far -

My experience with the rings may not be accurate and also biased to my purchase.

China rings – Buckles tend to slip after adjustments, not a good thing if you’re doing dynamic ring strength with a faceplant finale – can secured but for security sake I’d rather not risk it. The Straps are hard and rough, abrasion doing consecutive dips and stuff like that.

Cheapest option so far – If you’re doing just dips and chins then get this one, you don’t need to pay so much more for rings. However if it was a tad cheaper, then i’d be more swayed to get this option but the price is not attractive – $80 SGD

Elite rings – Works great however I have read that the two ply rings have cracked, and also the buckle system got abit tough when the straps get old – may happen to all I guess. The Rings are smooth so you may slide without chalk or have sweaty palms.

Most expensive option – Not feasible for the cost + shipping. The price over rules it all. 71.95 USD + Vpost

Xtreme rings – The straps are softer and the buckle is ridiculously easy to use and one adjustment and you’re good to go. Most people who “say” it has a better feel and the rings can take alot of abuse.

Next Affordable option – This is just over a hundred or so with shipping, if you want to do serious ring work then this is the next best option – this applies if you buy 2 at a time(so share the cost with someone) – $115USD + $20 USD + Vpost

Coach Sommers has been great with his customer relation and after-market service.

Reviews that I’ve read -
http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewto … ?f=10&t=33
http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=28962
http://tofugymnast.blogspot.com/2008/03 … eview.html
http://beyondstrong.typepad.com/shafsbl … gs-by.html

So I got my Xtreme rings today, and the difference is quite stark.

The Xtreme rings gripe is alot more solid than china generics – china generic quality control is quite bad, one side is warped and smaller.
The texture of the rings feels much more secure than elite rings, feels good actually.

But if you’re doing dips and chins then china ones works fine, ring work wise – take xtreme rings.

Silver buckel – Xtreme rings
Strap – Left side Xtreme/Right China Generic

Full package -

Your GoWear fit has multiple sensors. Those innovative sensors take 5 different “views” of your life:

Motion	The armband contains an accelerometer, a device that measures motion. (Your car air bag has an accelerometer in it that lets it know when you’ve been in an accident.) We use it to measure HOW you move from multiple axis and perspectives, allowing us to better understand your activity.
Steps	We count your steps, using the accelerometer to measure the distinct patterns created by walking and/or running.
Galvanic Skin Response	When you sweat, your skin becomes more electrically conductive. This measurement help us see how active you are.
Skin Temperature	There’s an electronic thermometer inside your armband that helps us know how hot you are.
Heat Flux	When you move, your muscles produce heat. We measure the heat that’s flowing from your body into the environment.

Once we’ve gotten these “readings” we can determine what kind of exercise you’re getting, and how difficult it is for you. That’s important since your body burns calories differently than anyone else’s.

Our clinically proven algorithms crunch your numbers – pairing up sensor data with calorie information and presenting it to you via the GoWear fit online activity manager… so you know how far you are toward reaching your goals!

This is the pitch by them, I recently got one off from amazon.com to play around with it.

Great device to know your caloric output almost exactly after which you can estimate your activity level, the main reason I’m getting this is to assess what kind of exercise/activity produces the best caloric burn and advise accordingly to clients on a fat loss program.

So far the reading has been fairly accurate, I’ve tested to see if it picks up the slightest movement, apparently it did.

I’m going to play with it for a few more days to do some research with it.